Jump to content

Not happy with ERA 6


Recommended Posts

I've been using ESET since around 2006.  I have always thought the Remote Administrator Console was rather simplistic, to the point, and functional.  It wasn't always what I would call  "pretty", but it worked and was easy to manuver.  Now I am testing Remote Administrator 6 and my opinion of ESET's RA Console has just about hit rock bottom.

 

First of all, the documentation is pretty vague, especially when it comes to pointing to a new repository.  Some sort of syntax or example of what needs to be in that field would be extremely helpful.  I would rather the 600+ computers download from a local server and not the Internet for agents, updates, etc.

 

I have not successfully deployed a single agent from the console regardless of any proxy settings on the console or my proxy server.  I was able to modify the agent installing BAT file and point it to a network location for grabbing the agent MSI file.  I shouldn't have to do this.  I should not have to jump through hoops to install a single agent.  If I wanted to do that I would have gone with Sophos back in 2006 when you had to manually create a self-extracting exe file with WinRAR and create custom scripts to install or upgrade their software.

 

Once I did get an agent installed (manually of course) I moved onto installing the EndPoint Security product.  Once again, documentation is vague (useless), but I was able to finally install the product using a local share path.  It was so much simpler in version 5.

 

Okay so I have an agent installed, a product installed...now I need to activate it.  Once again documentation is useless.  Reports are useless as they don't show any real details about the error messages.  I'm one of those admins that if I can look at a log, I'll figure it out.  I checked all the proxy settings multiple times, turned them off and allowed everything through, but I can't even get a single product activated.  I had to settle for manually activating it from the client, which is not going to work.  I'm not going to manually activate 600+ clients when the RA Console "should" do the job automatically.

 

I didn't care for having to recreate all our special policies.  It would have been nice to be able to migrate them from version 5.  I'd be okay losing some event logs for the sake of not having to recreate my policies from scratch, but I guess knowing what happened 6 months ago out-weighs that.

 

My experience with testing RA version 6 has been just a little above using McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (back when I used it).  My opinion is ESET fired the programmers that knew what they were doing  in version 5 and hired in a bunch of graphic artists to make version 6.  It's nice, I have to give them that, however it is anything but simplistic and functional.

 

I'm sorry for the rant.  I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I can usually figure stuff out pretty quick without a support call.  If I can't then OK let's call support, but at the same time I'm thinking maybe I need to be looking at a different product from a competitor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Former ESET Employees

I've been using ESET since around 2006.  I have always thought the Remote Administrator Console was rather simplistic, to the point, and functional.  It wasn't always what I would call  "pretty", but it worked and was easy to manuver.  Now I am testing Remote Administrator 6 and my opinion of ESET's RA Console has just about hit rock bottom.

 

First of all, the documentation is pretty vague, especially when it comes to pointing to a new repository.  Some sort of syntax or example of what needs to be in that field would be extremely helpful.  I would rather the 600+ computers download from a local server and not the Internet for agents, updates, etc.

 

I have not successfully deployed a single agent from the console regardless of any proxy settings on the console or my proxy server.  I was able to modify the agent installing BAT file and point it to a network location for grabbing the agent MSI file.  I shouldn't have to do this.  I should not have to jump through hoops to install a single agent.  If I wanted to do that I would have gone with Sophos back in 2006 when you had to manually create a self-extracting exe file with WinRAR and create custom scripts to install or upgrade their software.

 

Once I did get an agent installed (manually of course) I moved onto installing the EndPoint Security product.  Once again, documentation is vague (useless), but I was able to finally install the product using a local share path.  It was so much simpler in version 5.

 

Okay so I have an agent installed, a product installed...now I need to activate it.  Once again documentation is useless.  Reports are useless as they don't show any real details about the error messages.  I'm one of those admins that if I can look at a log, I'll figure it out.  I checked all the proxy settings multiple times, turned them off and allowed everything through, but I can't even get a single product activated.  I had to settle for manually activating it from the client, which is not going to work.  I'm not going to manually activate 600+ clients when the RA Console "should" do the job automatically.

 

I didn't care for having to recreate all our special policies.  It would have been nice to be able to migrate them from version 5.  I'd be okay losing some event logs for the sake of not having to recreate my policies from scratch, but I guess knowing what happened 6 months ago out-weighs that.

 

My experience with testing RA version 6 has been just a little above using McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (back when I used it).  My opinion is ESET fired the programmers that knew what they were doing  in version 5 and hired in a bunch of graphic artists to make version 6.  It's nice, I have to give them that, however it is anything but simplistic and functional.

 

I'm sorry for the rant.  I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I can usually figure stuff out pretty quick without a support call.  If I can't then OK let's call support, but at the same time I'm thinking maybe I need to be looking at a different product from a competitor.

shawkins, 

 

This type of feedback is very useful and we encourage it. You may have guessed that those of us who man the forums aren't developers, but rest assured that your communication about V6 will be delivered to not only the developers, but everyone beyond them in the chain of command. ESET is a huge proponent of customer experience and as a result we all have skin in the game. Again, your time in putting this post together is much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to echo the first post.  

 

I have been using eset for just over a year.  I loved the product.  The admin console was quick and easy to use. Navigation was simple. Detection was amazing. It was fast, and did bog down the workstations. Everything I hated about symantic, mcafee, etc was gone!  

 

Then v6 was released...  oh, how I wish I would have spent more time with it in testing before deploying it to production.  I am not happy with v6 at all.  There really isn't much I like about it. I don't care for the web based console.  I don't like the agent approach of the client, I'm seeing it cause some odd issue with WMI service, and consuming cpu.  The deployment of a/v, generating reports, view the panels, just about everything is overly complicated and cumbersome.  Not all is bad, I do like the rouge scanner.  

 

I'm torn on what to do next. Do I give v6 more time, and maybe grow into it?  Regardless, change is going to happen, but it looks like I'll be changing back to v5!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Although ERA v6 may seem to be complicated at the first glance, it offers much more possibilities to administrators than the previous versions, with room for improvements for future versions. To name some advantages: running both on Windows and Linux, console accessible from a browser without the need to install a separate application, agents capable of controlling Endpoint on clients even if there's no connection to ERAS (e.g. they can apply a policy to disconnect the computer from network when an active threat is detected), etc.

 

ESET Customer care as well as moderators here will be happy to help you solve potential issues or clear up things you might not understand after installing ERA v6. We have established a moderator team that now also includes a handful of ERA developers so that you could get most accurate response here.

Before deploying a brand new product on a big number of machines, we always strongly recommend users to test it in a testing environment and get used to it and just then gradually deploy it on other computers.

As for ERA v5, it hasn't been completely discontinued yet and is still available for download so should we be unable to help you quickly solve issues, you may consider downgrading to it, reproduce the issue(s) in a testing environment and work with us on finding a solution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that fulling testing a product before going into production is a must.  Unfortunately, with limited resources, it makes it more difficult.  Some users don't have labs or test environments to use.  With that being said, I didn't encounter most of my frustrations until after deployment!  

 

So to continue with my frustrations,  I updated my ERA server.  Now it appears that none of the clients are reporting back.  

 

I think ESET customer care and support is great. The few times I needed help with something, they have been very helpful and responsive.  However, at not fault of ESET, I just don't have the time, staff, or resources to dedicate right now to get back to some basic functionality that was easily available in v5.  

 

I think that I've made up my mind on rolling back to v5.  I'll use it until its EOL, and then evaluate what to do next when that time comes.  

 

I think ESET will get v6 where it needs to be, but for the time being, I'm not a fan of v6!  I guess that's the price I paid for trying to be cutting edge! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I came in this morning and I was going to give ERA 6 one more shot before I abandon my testing.  Of course I ended up with the same outcome, not working, tasks failing, activation not working, etc.  Then I did some more reading in the forums and came across the post about ERA 6 taking away the local update mirror, unless you use the Apache HTTP Proxy.  It blows my mind that ESET would take away all the great and simply functionality that made ERA 5 awesome for whatever you want to call version 6.  My maintenance is up in July, so I'll stick with ERA 5 while I look at other products to switch to.  I hate saying goodbye to ESET because it has been great for the many years we have used it, but I can't see spending my time trying to make something work and keep it working while I could put something else in place that does just as good of a job and monitor it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Moving to Apache HTTP Server has many advantages compared to the small http server included in previous versions of ERA that couldn't serve many clients at a time. Also with the increasing number of modules used by new versions of ESET's products, the volume of update files downloaded with each update to a mirror would continue to grow.

If one needs a local mirror it can still be created by Endpoint v6.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We shouldn't have to be your beta testers. This product is terrible. If there isn't some major improvements, we will be switching to something else.

Although ERA v6 may seem to be complicated at the first glance, it offers much more possibilities to administrators than the previous versions, with room for improvements for future versions. To name some advantages: running both on Windows and Linux, console accessible from a browser without the need to install a separate application, agents capable of controlling Endpoint on clients even if there's no connection to ERAS (e.g. they can apply a policy to disconnect the computer from network when an active threat is detected), etc.

 

ESET Customer care as well as moderators here will be happy to help you solve potential issues or clear up things you might not understand after installing ERA v6. We have established a moderator team that now also includes a handful of ERA developers so that you could get most accurate response here.

Before deploying a brand new product on a big number of machines, we always strongly recommend users to test it in a testing environment and get used to it and just then gradually deploy it on other computers.

As for ERA v5, it hasn't been completely discontinued yet and is still available for download so should we be unable to help you quickly solve issues, you may consider downgrading to it, reproduce the issue(s) in a testing environment and work with us on finding a solution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We shouldn't have to be your beta testers. [...]

 

Boy, does this line resonate with me.

 

I actually like the new upgrade but it wasn't until after overcoming a LOT of hurdles. Sure, it was partly my fault for being a Linux Admin, things are never easy out of the box on Linux. I felt like the developers bragged about having a product that could function on Linux, but there was hardly any Linux support. Me and a select handful of other Linux users needed to work together to figure out out to build and troubleshoot errors. ESET shouldn't be pushing out updates and making posts like "ERA VERSION 6.X IS RELEASED!" and then not have any documentation published or even created for nearly a week afterwards (I'm looking at you, Global Release 6.1.128).

 

My biggest complaint that really pissed me off is how misleading the North American December release of 6.1.336 was. Nowhere did any piece of documentation, warning, notification, or even ESET Dev say that the release was a beta/soft-release. As a paying customer, that was kind of a slap in the face that I was given an incomplete product.

 

BUT, all that said, after figuring things out and steadily using the product for about a month, I like it. I don't blame the Moderators of the forum for anything, but I feel the Developers and QAs should have more collaboration before release, even if it means pushing the releases back one week. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am SO in agreement with the OP. My environment is much smaller (150 clients) and I've been using Eset for 10+ years, but I'm about done. I've wasted days trying to get this working. I do see that there have been a lot of brand new KB articles in the last few days, but the main installation documentation is a botched, incomplete and irritating mess, especially the whole 'mirror replacement with Apache' part. Unfortunately, I've got to get it working because we have some OS/x machines that require version 6 clients. Reminds me of Windows 8- supposed to be better but pretty much unusable without a time-consuming learning curve.  Bah!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

...the whole 'mirror replacement with Apache' part. Unfortunately, I've got to get it working because we have some OS/x machines that require version 6 clients.

 

If you don't like the new approach with Apache HTTP proxy that has advantages over using the former mirror, you can still create a mirror using Endpoint v6. However, it will download more data as new modules have been added to v6 and other new ones will be added in the future. Using the Apache HTTP server, many more clients can be served at once and only files that are really needed by clients will be downloaded from ESET's servers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always idolized the ESET philosophy of simplicity in design yet effective in its approach towards all form of digital unwanted for the last 10+ years but with the introduction of endpoint V6, all i can request ESET is to try and maintain the basic foundation that makes ESET so much different from the rest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ERA 6  is a bad joke, is it still a beta version?


If ESET will continue in this direction of testing non finished product on customers, I'll not prolong my licence and will be looking for a better AV solution.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

With close to 17 years in IT I have to say that this is the first ESET product that I do not like. From the installation through to the steps required to get it working properly after the setup is complete. I would assume anyone with ESET product knowledge will have issues with this. I have been working on ERA 6 for almost a week, I still cannot deploy an agent, activate clients or get ERA 6 to display nice messages about virus signatures being up to date even though the client is up to date.

 

Not to mention the three fold price increase for ESFW. Which we will now be removing from our servers if we do get ERA 6 working.

 

Current issues

- Can't deploy agents.

- ERA6 reports clients need signature update, clients do not report this and are updating daily.

- Can't activate clients from ERA6

 

ERA6 is running on 2012 server, Windows firewall is disable, and the server has a hole created in the company firewall for testing. I must have read the agent deployment page at least 50 times double checked everything and still it won't deploy.

 

I would call ERA 6 in it's current form Windows 8. Lets hope there is a damn quick upgrade to ERA 8, skipping 7 of course. Like Windows 8 I am prepared to give it about 2 more weeks, I will obviously be in touch with support, I can't be expected to waste all of my time trying to sort these features out.

 

I would love to hear from someone that has ERA 6 working in a complex environment with dynamic groups and policies to match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We don't have a "complex" environment, but we do have everythign working for 150 clients. We use the Live Insatller to deploy the agent, and from then on everything is done via the console - including install of EEA and activation of same.

 

We're not using a proxy, we're using just ERA on a remote box (2012 R2). But it's all working.

 

Anything I can help with?

 

 

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • ESET Staff

 

Then I did some more reading in the forums and came across the post about ERA 6 taking away the local update mirror, unless you use the Apache HTTP Proxy.  It blows my mind that ESET would take away all the great and simply functionality that made ERA 5 awesome for whatever you want to call version 6.

 

Shawkins- I'd just like to point out that at mirror server can be configured on a client with Endpoint Security or Endpoint Antivirus 6 installed. The process is very similar to ERA 5 and the process is documented here.

 

We also have documentation available for Apache HTTP Proxy, which as Marcos explained, has been introduced as a more complete solution than the previous Mirror server arrangement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators
ERA 6  is a bad joke, is it still a beta version?

Please be more specific as to what issue you are having. We'll be happy to assist you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been with ESET for over a decade. I was using every business version starting with v2 and I always felt positive about it... until v6, which looks and feels as complete ...! I posted on this forum already three separate issues and nobody from ESET replied.

 

Back in good old days, ESET AV used to be the same version for home and for business... and it used to work good across the board. What happened now ESET? A new VP came up with a clever idea "Why pay our own QC/QA? Fire them all and use that crowd of hungry beta testers out there for free!".

 

If no new, GA quality!! build will be offered soon, I will be switching back to v5 and will start planning for an alternative solution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • ESET Moderators

Hello,

 

we are sorry for your negative experience, but as you can see we are doing what we can to reply all the ERA 6 related issues on the forums.

We are aware that it is a completely new and redesigned product so some issues might appear. We are collecting the feedback and incorporating it into the product.

 

Bugfix release is planned, the most pressing issues reported by customers should be fixed. 

 

P.R.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Then I did some more reading in the forums and came across the post about ERA 6 taking away the local update mirror, unless you use the Apache HTTP Proxy.  It blows my mind that ESET would take away all the great and simply functionality that made ERA 5 awesome for whatever you want to call version 6.

 

Shawkins- I'd just like to point out that at mirror server can be configured on a client with Endpoint Security or Endpoint Antivirus 6 installed. The process is very similar to ERA 5 and the process is documented here.

 

We also have documentation available for Apache HTTP Proxy, which as Marcos explained, has been introduced as a more complete solution than the previous Mirror server arrangement.

 

 

I have tested ESET Remote Administrator 6 Virtual Appliance on Hyper-V with single Windows 8.1 client.

After two day test I have concluded:

 

1. I DEMAND solution that gives me APSOLUTE control over endpoint Antivirus from my server.

If I want clients to update only from my server than you have to give me that option.

If I want to change port over which clients get updates than you have to give me that option.

I will not accept this as solution hxxp://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN3641

 

2. Making security software is complex job that needs to give me as end user simple step-by-step process from end to start.

Making me take additional steps outside installation process and possibly first run setup wozard is missed security goal.

I will not accept this as solution:

https://forum.eset.com/topic/4255-setting-up-the-clients-update-with-eset-6x/#entry24611

hxxp://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN3637

 

You should consider consulting people in IT security business regarding how to make your products more professional.

 

 

3. Not making configuration exportable from v5 to v6 looks to me as amateur job.

 

4. Not making simple single upgrade process looks to me as amateur job.

 

5. You have made my life so complicated with v6 that I have chosen to stay on v5 version for less than one year until license expires.

Then If I don't see changes in right direction I will switch to other antivirus solution.

 

 

I'm really sad that I have to consider leaving you but you have made big mistakes with this release and leave me no option.

 

 

Kind regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't figure out how to simply restart a client computer from the ERA. I tried to create a "Run Command" task to restart the computer and it did not work, even though ERA said it was successful. I had to resort to logging into a server as admin and using the "shutdown -i" command to restart the computer in question.

 

Also the "Send Wake up Call" doesn't appear to work. I instead had to use WOL.exe (wake on LAN) instead.

 

These were some of the simple things that ERA v5 did well that ERA v6 is unable to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Your post resonates perfectly with our experience with version 6.

It may have more 'potential' as a platform, but for us, until deployment issues are sorted it will be shelved.

This is disappointing for a product that was functionally mature and stable in version 5.0.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

It may have more 'potential' as a platform, but for us, until deployment issues are sorted it will be shelved.

Please create a new topic with deployment issues you've run into. We are not aware of any global issues and will do our best to assist you with upgrade to v6 products.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...