Managing endpoints without visibility is like driving blindfolded. You might be heading in the right direction, but you won't know until something goes wrong. And by then, it's too late.

IT teams need answers to basic questions: Are devices protected? Are they checking in? Is the configuration correct? Which machines haven't updated? Where are the problems before users start complaining?

Faronics Cloud provides this visibility through a centralised console that shows device health and compliance status across your entire fleet. This guide explains what that visibility looks like in practice, how to use dashboards and alerts effectively, and how to act quickly when devices fall out of compliance.

What visibility actually means for IT teams

"Visibility" is an overused term in IT. Let's be specific about what Faronics Cloud actually shows you:

Protection status at a glance

For each device, you can see:

• Deep Freeze state. Is the machine frozen or thawed? A frozen machine is protected; a thawed machine is modifiable. You need to know which state each device is in, especially outside scheduled maintenance windows.
• Anti-Executable status. Is application whitelisting active? Are there any execution blocks being logged? Is the whitelist current?
• WINSelect configuration. Are restrictions applied? Which restriction profile is active?
• Policy assignment. Which policy group does this device belong to? Is it receiving the correct configuration?

Connectivity and check-in status

Knowing whether devices are communicating is fundamental:

• Online/offline indicator. Is the device currently reachable? Can you send commands to it right now?
• Last check-in time. When did this device last communicate with Faronics Cloud? A device that hasn't checked in for days may have connectivity issues, be powered off, or be removed from the network.
• Check-in history. Has this device been checking in consistently, or are there gaps? Patterns can reveal intermittent connectivity problems.

Maintenance and update status

Tracking whether devices are keeping up with maintenance:

• Last maintenance window. When did this device last complete a maintenance cycle? Did it thaw, apply updates, and refreeze successfully?
• Maintenance completion. Did the maintenance window complete normally, or did something interrupt it? Devices that consistently fail maintenance need investigation.
• Last reboot. When did this device last restart? For Deep Freeze devices, reboots are when protection resets and updates persist.

Device identification and inventory

Basic inventory information for each device:

• Device name and identifier
• Operating system version
• IP address (useful for identifying location or network segment)
• Group membership
• Faronics agent version

Why this visibility matters

Without visibility, you're reactive. You find out about problems when users complain or when something breaks. With visibility:

• You spot devices that haven't checked in before they become emergencies
• You identify machines in unexpected states (thawed when they should be frozen)
• You track maintenance completion across your fleet
• You answer questions about device status without physically checking machines
• You can prove compliance to auditors and stakeholders

Dashboards and alerts: finding what needs attention

Raw device data is only useful if you can make sense of it quickly. Faronics Cloud organises visibility through dashboards that surface what matters:

Fleet overview dashboard

The main dashboard provides an at-a-glance summary of your entire device fleet:

• Total devices. How many devices are managed? Is this the number you expect?
• Protection status breakdown. How many devices are frozen vs. thawed? For a typical environment outside maintenance windows, most devices should be frozen.
• Online vs. offline. How many devices are currently reachable? A sudden drop in online devices might indicate a network issue.
• Recent check-ins. How many devices have checked in within the last 24 hours? 48 hours? Devices that haven't checked in recently need attention.

This overview lets you assess fleet health in seconds. Green across the board? Move on. Red flags? Drill down.

Filtering and grouping

When you need specifics, filter the device list:

• By group. Show only "Library Public PCs" or "School Lab A" or "Training Room Devices." Focus on the subset that matters for your current task.
• By status. Show only offline devices. Only thawed devices. Only devices that missed their last maintenance window. Find the exceptions quickly.
• By last check-in. Show devices that haven't checked in for more than 24 hours, 48 hours, or a week. Identify the stragglers.
• By search. Find a specific device by name or other identifier. Useful when troubleshooting a reported problem.

Proactive problem identification

The dashboard helps you find problems before they're reported:

• Devices in wrong state. A device that's thawed outside a maintenance window is a concern. Why is it thawed? Was it intentional? Is there a problem?
• Devices not checking in. Devices that haven't checked in may be powered off, have connectivity issues, or have been removed. Find them before absence becomes a problem.
• Failed maintenance. Devices that consistently miss or fail maintenance windows are accumulating missed updates. Identify them before the security gap widens.
• Policy mismatches. Devices that aren't receiving expected policies or are in the wrong group. Configuration errors caught before they cause problems.

Staying informed without constant monitoring

You can't watch the dashboard constantly. Notification capabilities help you stay informed:

• Check the dashboard as part of your morning routine

• Review after maintenance windows to confirm completion

• Set calendar reminders for periodic compliance reviews

• Use reporting to track trends over time

The goal is awareness without overwhelm - knowing what needs attention without drowning in data.

Acting on non-compliant devices

Visibility is only valuable if you can act on what you see. When you identify devices that need attention, here's how to respond:

Devices that haven't checked in

Possible causes: Powered off, no network connectivity, removed from network, hardware failure, agent issue.

Actions:

1. Check if device is physically present and powered on
2. Verify network connectivity
3. Try Wake-on-LAN if the device is powered off
4. If device is accessible, check Faronics agent status locally
5. Reinstall agent if necessary

Devices in unexpected states

Example: Device is thawed when it should be frozen.

Possible causes: Maintenance window still active, manual thaw that wasn't refrozen, configuration issue.

Actions:

1. Check if a maintenance window is currently active
2. Review who might have thawed the device and why
3. If no legitimate reason, send refreeze command from console
4. Investigate if this is a recurring issue

Devices that missed maintenance

Possible causes: Powered off during window, network issues, window too short, updates took too long.

Actions:

1. Determine why the window was missed (check device status at window time)
2. For one-off misses: device will catch up at next scheduled window
3. For consistent misses: adjust device power settings, schedule, or maintenance window duration
4. For urgent updates: manually trigger a thaw to allow immediate updating
5. Consider Wake-on-LAN or different maintenance times

Devices with wrong or missing policies

Possible causes: Device in wrong group, policy not applied, configuration error.

Actions:

1. Verify device group membership
2. Move device to correct group if needed
3. Force a configuration refresh
4. Verify policy applied correctly after refresh

Taking action at scale

When multiple devices need attention, Faronics Cloud supports bulk actions:

• Select multiple devices and apply commands
• Move multiple devices between groups
• Apply policy changes to entire groups
• Schedule actions for groups of devices

This scales remediation - fixing ten devices takes about as long as fixing one.

Frequently asked questions

How often does device status update?

Devices check in every few minutes under normal conditions. Status in the console reflects the most recent check-in. For real-time status, you can trigger an immediate check-in from the console.

Can I export compliance reports?

Yes. Device status and compliance data can be exported for reporting, audits, or integration with other systems. Useful for demonstrating compliance to auditors or tracking trends over time.

What if I have thousands of devices?

The console scales to large deployments. Use groups, filters, and search to focus on relevant subsets. Dashboard summaries let you assess overall health without reviewing individual devices. Bulk actions handle remediation at scale.

How do I know if a device is compliant?

A "compliant" device is one that matches your expectations: correct group membership, expected protection state (frozen outside maintenance windows), recent check-in, successful maintenance completion. The dashboard helps you identify devices that deviate from these expectations.

Can multiple team members access the console?

Yes. Faronics Cloud supports multiple administrator accounts. Different team members can monitor and manage devices. This is useful for distributed teams or organisations where different people are responsible for different device groups.

The bottom line: see everything, act quickly

Faronics Cloud provides the visibility IT teams need: protection status, connectivity, maintenance completion, and policy compliance across your entire device fleet. Dashboards surface what needs attention. Filters and search find specific devices. Bulk actions let you remediate at scale.

The result is proactive management instead of reactive firefighting. You see problems before users report them. You track compliance across your fleet. You can answer questions about device status without leaving your desk.

For distributed environments - devices across multiple locations, remote machines, devices you can't physically check - this visibility transforms what's possible. You're no longer flying blind.

Ready to see your entire fleet?

Try Faronics Cloud for 30 days. Experience fleet-wide visibility for yourself.

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