Jenkins is an open source automation server. Jenkins provides hundreds of plugins to support building, deploying and automating any project. As an extensible automation server, Jenkins can be used as a simple CI server or turned into a continuous delivery hub for any project.
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ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Score 9.1 out of 10
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Desktop Central from ManageEngine is a client desktop management with patching, remote control, and configuration.
Jenkins is a highly customizable CI/CD tool with excellent community support. One can use Jenkins to build and deploy monolith services to microservices with ease. It can handle multiple "builds" per agent simultaneously, but the process can be resource hungry, and you need some impressive specs server for that. With Jenkins, you can automate almost any task. Also, as it is an open source, we can save a load of money by not spending on enterprise CI/CD tools.
Compared to other endpoint management tools that I have experience with, the patch management and the system health statistics functions work much better and are easier to navigate. The endpoint control functions are nowhere near as good as what I've used with Kaseya's VSA application - with that you could remote control a machine via a remote desktop type interface, or you could connect to the command line or PowerShell and it functioned as if you were directly connected to the machine - command history, tab completion, etc.. "just worked" and if the endpoint disconnected, you didn't lose anything that was going in the window when it reconnected (Exception being if the machine rebooted), grouping systems by department or building was also easier, as was moving systems between groups
Automated Builds: Jenkins is configured to monitor the version control system for new pull requests. Once a pull request is created, Jenkins automatically triggers a build process. It checks out the code, compiles it, and performs any necessary build steps specified in the configuration.
Unit Testing: Jenkins runs the suite of unit tests defined for the project. These tests verify the functionality of individual components and catch any regressions or errors. If any unit tests fail, Jenkins marks the build as unsuccessful, and the developer is notified to fix the issues.
Code Analysis: Jenkins integrates with code analysis tools like SonarQube or Checkstyle. It analyzes the code for quality, adherence to coding standards, and potential bugs or vulnerabilities. The results are reported back to the developer and the product review team for further inspection.
We set alerts when a devices gets low on disk space. That is automatic and creates a ticket in ME SDP. We are then able to Add space to a VM Desktop, and then go thru ManageEngine Endpoint Central to extend the drives so the entire process can be done without interruption to the end user.
Using the patch scans we can easily see what patches have been installed for all manufacturers not just Microsoft, without having to physically go to the device. It also allows us to choose which patches we want to push out and automate the process so we can be hands off, freeing up out time for other things.
Remote access to devices. This allows us to remotely make changes, not just via remote control but also make registry changes and clean up space without going to the device and without interruption to the end user.
Alerts. We have set up to get email alerts when new hardware is plugged into any computers. This lets us know if someone is bringing in un-authorized equipment (thumb drives, hubs, etc) to better manage what is/is not on our network.
When I first started using ManageEngine Endpoint Central, the UI felt very complicated and cluttered up, which means as a new user, it took a lot of time to get used to using it and knowing where certain features are. This was also because specific features aren't obvious to the user, it can take time to find them through multiple routes.
When pushing out specifc software to a large number of endpoint devices such as 1500 in my organisation, the deployment fails a lot more meaning some devices dont receive the software and this has to be done manually for them. This can take a lot of time.
When an issue is reported about ManageEngine Endpoint Central, for example it constantly crashing when being heavily used. The support was delayed and it took a lot of time for first line support to address the issue and escalate it.
We have a certain buy-in as we have made a lot of integrations and useful tools around jenkins, so it would cost us quite some time to change to another tool. Besides that, it is very versatile, and once you have things set up, it feels unnecessary to change tool. It is also a plus that it is open source.
ManageEngine is considered an excellent product due to its comprehensive suite of solutions for IT management, with ManageEngine Endpoint Central specifically excelling in endpoint management. The platform stands out for its user-friendly interface, robust features, and versatility in addressing diverse IT needs. It offers organizations a centralized solution for endpoint security, patch management, software deployment, and asset management
Jenkins streamlines development and provides end to end automated integration and deployment. It even supports Docker and Kubernetes using which container instances can be managed effectively. It is easy to add documentation and apply role based access to files and services using Jenkins giving full control to the users. Any deviation can be easily tracked using the audit logs.
The application itself is great. However, I have little insight to what the patches are doing. Being able to see patch download progress, not just the status, would be great. The user interface could also use an overhaul. The countless menus, sometimes containing similar if not duplicate tabs can be frustrating to navigate.
No, when we integrated this with GitHub, it becomes more easy and smart to manage and control our workforce. Our distributed workforce is now streamlined to a single bucket. All of our codes and production outputs are now automatically synced with all the workers. There are many cases when our in-house team makes changes in the release, our remote workers make another release with other environment variables. So it is better to get all of the work in control.
As with all open source solutions, the support can be minimal and the information that you can find online can at times be misleading. Support may be one of the only real downsides to the overall software package. The user community can be helpful and is needed as the product is not the most user-friendly thing we have used.
The immediate chat support is great and very helpful. However, if you need escalated support or have a deeper need that the chat tool can't help with, you will experience significant wait times and slow responses. The time zone difference becomes painful to the point of often just giving up.
It is worth well the time to setup Jenkins in a docker container. It is also well worth to take the time to move any "Jenkins configuration" into Jenkinsfiles and not take shortcuts.
Overall, Jenkins is the easiest platform for someone who has no experience to come in and use effectively. We can get a junior engineer into Jenkins, give them access, and point them in the right direction with minimal hand-holding. The competing products I have used (TravisCI/GitLab/Azure) provide other options but can obfuscate the process due to the lack of straightforward simplicity. In other areas (capability, power, customization), Jenkins keeps up with the competition and, in some areas, like customization, exceeds others.
I tend to use a combination of solutions to keep the estate running efficiently. ManageEngine Endpoint Central has more control over the timing of patching for users. Juggling users being able to work and keeping systems up to date with user satisfaction in mind is a monthly goal. Pushing updates with giving users some control seems to be working.
It has greatly helped us with our compliances through the compliance scans, such as taking our CIS compliance from 36% up to around 90%.
It has massively reduced the number of application/patch vulnerabilities through automated patching & dynamic configurations with custom scripts. From 60 criticals and 300 highs down to just 5 criticals and 25 highs, very quickly.
It has helped us identify issues with our Bitlocker not syncing to Azure AD properly, because the recovery keys in ManageEngine were always correct but werent always correct in Azure AD.
