Centralis^® AXE

The ZENworks Application Publisher

End of Life
Centralis® AXE has reached end of life status. It is no longer available for distribution and there will be no further enhancements. For more information on our latest products, please click here.

Introduction

Centralis has created and updated AXE as the core ZENworks tool for our own corporate consultants, to minimise the time and effort associated with creating eDirectory application objects, and to improve standards both within environments and between consultants. Centralis AXE has sold over 250,000 user licenses worldwide, introducing thousands of ZENworks administrators to the concept of automated snAppShot processing - the ability to apply a standard set of rules which transform a snAppShot into a working application object in a fraction of the time needed for manual editing.

Centralis AXE imports ZENworks for Desktops snAppShots into a database, creating Application Profiles which can then be edited using the software's powerful processing capabilities. Centralis AXE contains a range of editing Rules to correct common problems in turning ZENworks for Desktops snAppShots into eDirectory application objects, allowing the creation of user-defined Rules so that new knowledge can be captured, stored and applied easily to future snAppShots.

AXE 2.0 simplified the process of creating your own rules, introduced publishing the application object to eDirectory and enabled administrators to work on both AXT and AOT files. AXE 3.0 builds on the success of the previous versions, and introduces a new feature - the ability to create Citrix Published Applications directly from the product.

Among the new features in version 3 of AXE is the ability to create MetaFrame published applications based on the snapshot, directly from AXE.

Key Product Features
 

• Storing Defaults
  AXE can store information about your ZENworks and application environment and your standard settings for application publishing. These details can be automatically provided and processed by AXE to save you time and improve accuracy. You can even read in settings from your existing objects and applications, making the whole process simpler.
• Processing Rules
  The software is shipped with over seven years worth of commercial ZENworks consulting experience, built into processing rules. These clear text rules are easy to understand and apply, and AXE allows you to simply create and share your own rules as well.
• SnAppShot Cleaning
  AXE will automatically find and remove many of the common problems associated with using snAppShot in environments based on Windows 2000 and above, including Terminal Server and Citrix deployments.
• SnAppShot Splitting
  For administrators who wish to separate out User and Machine information, AXE provides a splitting option. This flexible processing tool creates two .AXT / .AOT files which can be assigned as required.
• Templates
  AXE supports the use of one or more Templates, providing sets of standard settings (such as System Requirements) which can be merged into snAppShots to save even more time.
• File Version Compare
  If you are considering the deployment of a new application, and would like to find out whether the file versions and locations of key files such as DLLs are compatible with your existing application set, AXE provides a simple to use diagnostic report to help you identify any issues and conflicts.
• Merge SnAppShots
  AXE allows you to merge two or more snAppShots together. A simple drag and drop operation begins the process, and a step by step merge wizard allows you to step through the process if required.
• Publish to eDir
  Once you have used AXE to process your snAppShot, it is a simple operation to publish it to eDir straight from the AXE window. AXE even supports a whole range of defaults to make the operation as quick, standard and flexible as possible.
• Publish to Citrix
  If you have a deployment of Citrix MetaFrame, AXE also allows you to create Citrix Published Applications, directly from your ZENworks snAppShots. AXE allows you to define a wide range of default settings for your Citrix Published Applications as well, making the whole process simple, and using a single interface to manage both environments.
• Issuing Updates
  You don't always want to create new applications, sometimes just a single attribute needs to be updated, so AXE allows you to specify an update process, and to change just the settings you choose.

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