I have OS X server set up as a directory server with portable home directories. I'd like to guarantee the 3-4 client Macs all have the same applications and versions installed without having to manually install everything. All I can find is documentation on how to set up the update server.
Do I need to get Remote Desktop 3 to be able to do what I want?
There are a variety of tools that'll let you manage client software centrally: Apple Remote Desktop, radmind, filewave, Puppet, JAMF's Casper suite, ... as well as the option of scripting it yourself. However, all of these will involve a fair bit of up-front effort and/or expense; for only 3-4 clients, it's generally easiest to just manage the computers manually.