Three patch management tools are reviewed, with LANDesk Software Inc's LANDesk Management Suite 8, BMC Software Inc's Marimba Patch Management, and PatchLink Update from PatchLink Corp all receiving high ratings. Patch management applications were installed on the GCN test network, with such areas as setup and administration, detection and remediation, heterogeneous environment support, control, and automation being scrutinized. Two main types of patch management software is available, with the LANDesk and PatchLink offerings registering in the market for small- to medium-sized office environments of between 50 and 20,000 nodes, and medium to large organizations with networks of between 20,000 and 500,000 nodes. Of the three programs, the PatchLink and LANDesk solutions fit in the former category and BCS's Marimba offering fits in the latter category. LANDesk Management Suite 8 is a solid all-encompassing package that includes asset discovery and a good patch management module. Although installation was a bit difficult, the system is intuitive and easy to learn in a few hours. BMC Software's Marimba Patch Management Solution offers a good Web-based user interface and well automated network detection functionality, though it has weak Linux and Macintosh support. The PatchLink Update is an editor's choice due to its strong support of both Macintosh and Linux. It also offers strong features such as the ability to fingerprint each patch with a secure public-key-infrastructure technology.