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KACE Systems Management Appliance

Comprehensive systems management for any network-connected device

Automate and streamline endpoint management

As the quantity of endpoints you have to manage continues to grow, ad-hoc and manual processes and disparate endpoint system solutions are no longer sufficient. What if you could address hardware and software management, network security, and better service your end-user systems more efficiently all with a single endpoint management solution?

The KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) helps you accomplish these goals by automating complex administrative tasks and modernizing your unified endpoint management approach. This makes it possible for you to inventory all hardware and software, patch mission-critical applications and OS, reduce the risk of breach, and assure software license compliance. So you’re able to reduce systems management complexity and safeguard your vulnerable endpoints.

Key benefits

Comprehensive systems management

Fulfill all of your endpoint management needs, from initial deployment to ongoing management and retirement.

Secure network-connected devices

Block dangerous or unnecessary software and devices, and painlessly patch mission-critical applications and operating systems.

Streamline IT asset management

Gain visibility to software usage, so you can better allocate resources and assure software license compliance.

Features

Inventory and IT asset management

Transform insight into action with turnkey reporting on all endpoints, from laptops and servers, to printers and IoT devices.

Server management and monitoring

Provide more consistent availability of business-critical applications with comprehensive server monitoring and management.

Software license management

Ensure software compliance and take ownership of the entire software license management lifecycle.

Efficient systems administration

Leverage an integrated console for an easy-to-use, single-pane-of-glass administrative interface with a dynamic set of administrative functions.

Patch management and endpoint security

Leverage robust endpoint security along with automated set-it-and-forget-it patch management and deployment.

KACE Go Mobile App

Work from wherever you’re most effective. Submit service desk tickets on-the-go, access the knowledge base and check on existing ticket status using from any mobile device.

Software distribution

Remotely distribute and install the right software to the right person at the right time.

Multiple deployment options

Choose to deploy the KACE SMA as an on-premises virtual appliance or as a hosted virtual appliance if you are interested in a hosted option.

Chromebook management

Comprehensive hardware and OS inventory and asset lifecycle management that improves service desk efficiency.

KACE Cloud Mobile Device Management integration

Manage and view both traditional endpoints and mobile devices when used with the KACE SMA through a single pane of glass.

Service desk

Improve user experience and make delivering a great help desk user experience look easy.

Add-ons

IT Ninja Community

A go-to resource for a wide variety of information on setup and deployment topics, this collaborative community serves as a spot for IT professionals to share with one another.

SimpleHelp® Remote Control Software

New KACE customers can now receive five free licenses of SimpleHelp’s Business Edition Remote Control and Monitoring Software. SimpleHelp bundled with KACE Systems Management and Deployment appliances offers an easy and cost-effective way to enhance remote support options.

Free web-based training

Leverage comprehensive, free, web-based training that’s designed to help get up and running faster and provide you with unlimited access to our complete KACE training library.

Tranxition profile migration solution

Fast, secure premium user profile migration tool that supports a wide range of third-party applications.

The KACE Systems Management Appliance provides both inventory and service desk on a single appliance, and it was far less expensive than the competitive solution we considered.

Tom Condo Supervisor of IS Operations, Seminole County Public Schools

Read Case Study

We use the SMA for managing all the software deployments and upgrades in our networks for all of our endpoints. Before we had KACE, we found it challenging to keep software constantly updated.

Jonathan Guthrie Senior LAN Administrator, Jaeb Center for Health Research

Watch Video

Home page

Home page

See all the information you care about on a customizable home page.

User Interface Themes

User Interface Themes

Choose light, dark or hybrid environments to suit your taste.

Inventory

Inventory

Discover and manage all connected systems and devices from a single dashboard.

Monitoring

Monitoring

Monitor and manage assets across multiple platforms.

Reporting

Reporting

Ensure compliance and accurate inventory with flexible reporting.

Software Distribution

Software Distribution

Distribute software packages with flexible options for priority and timing.

Patch Management

Patch Management

Automate OS patching for Windows, Mac and leading third-party applications.

Service desk

Service desk

Increase efficiency and productivity by integrating systems management with the service desk
dashboard.

Specification

Virtual Appliance Technical Specifications

Virtual machine system requirements

Virtual KACE Systems Management Appliance software can be installed on virtual machines that meet the following requirements.

Processor & Memory

Network Interface

Available Disk Space: 1 TB (minimum)/3 TB (larger installations)

Media: DVD

Server and Operating System: 64-bit

Virtualization Infrastructure Requirements

For VMware® installations:

VMware ESX®/ESXi™ 6.5 or later
Open Virtualization Format (OVF) 1.0

For Microsoft® Hyper-V® installations:

Windows Server® 2012 R2 with Hyper-V
Windows Server 2016 with Hyper-V

Operating system requirements for Agent-managed devices

The KACE SMA Agent is an application that can be installed on devices to enable device management through the KACE SMA. The agent can be installed on devices that meet the following operating system requirements. For additional specifications, see the operating system vendor’s documentation. The appliance imposes no additional requirements, and supports 32-bit and 64-bit architectures where applicable.

Operating system

Details

Windows

Windows 8,8.1, and 10

Professional, Enterprise

Windows 7

Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate

Windows Server 2016

Essentials, Standard¹ , Datacenter¹

¹Cannot be running in Server Core mode

Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2

Foundation, Essentials, Standard² , Datacenter²

²Cannot be running in Server Core mode

MAC

MAC OS X

10.10, 10.11, 10.12, 10.13

Linux

Linux Red Hat® Linux AS and ES

Versions 6.x – 7.x, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

Ubuntu®

Versions 14.04, 16.04, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server

Versions 11 - 12, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

Raspbian Linux (on Raspberry Pi devices) J

Jessie, Stretch (Debian versions)

*Cannot be running in Server Core mode.

Operating system requirements for Agentless management

Agentless management enables you to inventory devices without using the KACE SMA Agent. Agentless management can be enabled for devices that have the following operating systems:

AIX®
CentOS™
Chrome™ OS
Debian®
Fedora®
FreeBSD®

HP-UX®
Mac OS X
MacOS Sierra
Oracle® Enterprise Linux
Rasberry Pi/Raspbian Linux
Red Hat

SUSE
Solaris®
Ubuntu
Windows
Windows Server

Browser requirements for the web-based user interfaces

To access the Virtual KACE Systems Management Appliance Administrator Console and User Console web-based user interfaces, use a monitor with a screen resolution of at least 1280 pixels by 800 pixels and one of the following web browser applications.

Browser

Details

Internet Explorer®

11.x or later

Microsoft Edge™

12.x or later

Firefox®

45.x or later

Safari®

7.x or later

Chrome™

49.x or later

SaaS Technical Specifications

Feature requirements

Some KACE SMA features require direct access to the customer’s network, which is established for KACE as a Service using site-to-site VPN connections. VPN connections leverage the shared KACE as a Service network, and a single VPN connection is usually sufficient to enable the functionality for a single company. In some cases, however, additional VPN connections might be necessary, and dedicated network bandwidth might be required.

Features require a VPN connection:

Wake-on-LAN.
Network Discovery, including IP Scan, Active Directory ® scan, and NMAP scan.
KACE Systems Management Appliance Agent provisioning from the appliance.
Importing and exporting resources (file sharing is blocked by the Dell cloud firewall).
FTP access to backup files (FTP access is blocked by the Dell cloud firewall).
Application packages and script dependencies must be uploaded using HTTP. Large package uploads could timeout on slower network connections. Packages larger than 2 GB must be distributed using an Alternate Download Location from an internal file server.
LDAP user and device labels.
LDAP user authentication.

LDAP user import.
Active Directory single sign on for the Administrator Console and User Console.
Email forwarding, used for Service Desk tickets and other email communications.
In addition, the following User Console features are not supported in the cloud:
Automatic software installations from the User Console (downloads are supported).
The My Computer tab in the User Console.
For more information, see the KACE Systems Management Appliance as a Service Setup Guide. Go to https://support.software.dell.com/k1000-systems-management-appliance/release-notes-guides to view documentation for the latest release.

Operating system requirements for Agent-managed devices

Operating system

Details

Windows 10

Professional, Enterprise

Windows 8.1

Professional, Enterprise

Windows 8

Professional, Enterprise

Windows 7

Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate

Windows Vista™

Business, Enterprise, Ultimate

Windows XP SP3 (limited support)

Professional, Tablet PC Edition, Media Center Edition

Windows Server® 2012, 2012 R2, 2016

Foundation, Essentials, Standard*, Datacenter*
(*Cannot be running in Server Core mode)

Windows Server 2008

Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition, HPC Edition

Windows Server 2008 R2

Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition, HPC Edition

Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later (limited support)

Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition

Windows Server 1709

Server Core

Mac OS X®

10.6 (Intel only) – 10.11

MacOS Sierra

10.12

Linux Red Hat® Linux AS and ES

Versions 6.x – 7.x, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

Ubuntu®

Versions 14.04, 16.04, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server

Version 11 - 12, 32-bit and 64-bit architecture

*Cannot be running in Server Core mode.

Operating system requirements for Agentless management

Agentless management enables you to inventory devices without using the KACE SMA Agent. Agentless management can be enabled for devices that have the following operating systems: