Trend Micro Control Manager is a central management console that manages Trend Micro products and services at the gateway, mail server, file server, and corporate desktop levels. Administrators can use the policy management feature to configure and deploy product settings to managed products and endpoints. The Control Manager web-based management console provides a single monitoring point for antivirus and content security products and services throughout the network.
Control Manager enables system administrators to monitor and report on activities such as infections, security violations, or virus/malware entry points. System administrators can download and deploy update components throughout the network, helping ensure that protection is consistent and up to date. Example update components include virus pattern files, scan engines, and anti-spam rules. Control Manager allows both manual and pre-scheduled updates. Control Manager allows the configuration and administration of products as groups or as individuals for added flexibility.
Control Manager is available in two versions: Standard and Advanced. Control Manager Advanced includes features that Control Manager Standard does not. For example, Control Manager Advanced supports a cascading management structure. This means the Control Manager network can be managed by a parent Control Manager Advanced server with several child Control Manager Advanced servers reporting to the parent Control Manager Advanced server. The parent server acts as a hub for the entire network.
Control Manager Advanced supports the following as child Control Manager servers:
- Control Manager 6.0 Advanced
- Control Manager 5.5 Advanced
- Control Manager 5.0 Advanced
Control Manager 5.0/5.5/6.0 Standard servers cannot be child servers.
For a complete list of all features Standard and Advanced Control Manager servers support see the Trend Micro Control Manager documentation.
Trend Micro designed Control Manager to manage antivirus and content security products and services deployed across an organization’s local and wide area networks.
|
Feature |
Description |
|
Policy management |
System administrators can use policies to configure and deploy product settings to managed products and endpoints from a single management console. |
|
Centralized configuration |
Using the Product Directory and cascading management structure, these functions allow you to coordinate virus-response and content security efforts from a single management console. These features help ensure consistent enforcement of your organization's virus/malware and content security policies. |
|
Proactive outbreak prevention |
With Outbreak Prevention Services (OPS), take proactive steps to secure your network against an emerging virus/malware outbreak. |
|
Secure communication infrastructure |
Control Manager uses a communications infrastructure built on the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Depending on the security settings used, Control Manager can encrypt messages or encrypt them with authentication. |
|
Secure configuration and component download |
These features allow you to configure secure web console access and component download. |
|
Task delegation |
System administrators can give personalized accounts with customized privileges to Control Manager web console users. User accounts define what the user can see and do on a Control Manager network. Track account usage through user logs. |
|
Command Tracking |
This feature allows you to monitor all commands executed using the Control Manager web console. Command Tracking is useful for determining whether Control Manager has successfully performed long-duration commands, like virus pattern update and deployment. |
|
On-demand product control |
Control managed products in real time. Control Manager immediately sends configuration modifications made on the web console to the managed products. System administrators can run manual scans from the web console. This command system is indispensable during a virus/malware outbreak. |
|
Centralized update control |
Update virus patterns, antispam rules, scan engines, and other antivirus or content security components to help ensure that all managed products are up to date. |
|
Centralized reporting |
Get an overview of the antivirus and content security product performance using comprehensive logs and reports. Control Manager collects logs from all its managed products; you no longer need to check the logs of each individual product. |
Trend Micro Control Manager provides a means to control Trend Micro products and services from a central location. This application simplifies the administration of a corporate virus/malware and content security policy. The following table provides a list of components Control Manager uses.
|
Component |
Description |
|
Control Manager server |
Acts as a repository for all data collected from the agents. It can be a Standard or Advanced Edition server. A Control Manager server includes the following features:
Control Manager uses the Microsoft SQL Server database (db_ControlManager.mdf) to store data included in logs, Communicator schedule, managed product and child server information, user account, network environment, and notification settings.
Control Manager can send notifications to individuals or groups of recipients about events that occur on the Control Manager network. Configure Event Center to send notifications through email messages, Windows event log, MSN Messenger, SNMP, Syslog, pager, or any in-house/industry standard application used by your organization to send notification.
A Control Manager report is an online collection of figures about security threat and content security events that occur on the Control Manager network. |
|
Trend Micro Management Communication Protocol |
MCP handles the Control Manager server interaction with managed products that support the next generation agent. MCP is the new backbone for the Control Manager system. MCP agents install with managed products and use one/two way communication to communicate with Control Manager. MCP agents poll Control Manager for instructions and updates. |
|
Trend Micro Management Infrastructure |
Handles the Control Manager server interaction with older managed products. The Communicator, or the Message Routing Framework, is the communication backbone of the older Control Manager system. It is a component of the Trend Micro Management Infrastructure (TMI). Communicators handle all communication between the Control Manager server and older managed products. They interact with Control Manager 2.x agents to communicate with older managed products. |
|
Control Manager 2.x Agents |
Receives commands from the Control Manager server and sends status information and logs to the Control Manager server The Control Manager agent is an application installed on a managed product server that allows Control Manager to manage the product. Agents interact with the managed product and Communicator. An agent serves as the bridge between managed product and communicator. Therefore, install agents on the same computer as managed products. |
|
Web-based management console |
Allows an administrator to manage Control Manager from virtually any computer with an Internet connection and Windows™ Internet Explorer™ The Control Manager management console is a web-based console published on the Internet through the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and hosted by the Control Manager server. It lets you administer the Control Manager network from any computer using a compatible web browser. |
|
Widget Framework |
Allows an administrator to create a customized dashboard to monitor the Control Manager network. |