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Opengear Simplifies Remote Monitoring Tasks for MSPs with ACM5500 Gateway Line

By Tammy Wolf TMCnet Web Editor

For managed service providers (MSPs), monitoring and managing a variety of application software, along with network and environmental devices, can be complex and costly. But now, Opengear (News - Alert) – a provider of out-of-band management solutions – has brought to market a new solution geared toward MSPs that simplifies the task of remotely monitoring their customers’ network infrastructure, regardless of their location.

Dubbed the Opengear ACM5500, this next-generation, customizable remote monitoring and management (RMM) gateway product family has joined Opengear’s lineup of secure enterprise-grade console servers and remote management solutions. A dedicated secure hardware agent, ACM5500 provides visibility and monitoring capabilities for MSPs to easily and affordably control network infrastructure devices, even behind a firewall.

Since this product family is based on open standards, it eliminates the “rip and replace” process and streamlines with most of today’s popular tools for managing customers’ IT environments, including those of Cisco (News - Alert), Juniper, Avaya and F5.

“With Opengear’s secure RMM gateways, you can monitor and manage a variety of software applications, as well as network and environmental devices ultimately resulting in a more secure and available network to meet the needs of even the most demanding customers,” said John Bedrick (News - Alert), CMO and vice president of product management for Opengear, in a press release. “By having easily deployable hardware agents that can be integrated into a common cloud-based operational management and control system, MSPs have the luxury of increasing their profits and boosting customer satisfaction.”

In addition to customized alert thresholds that proactively track the status of devices for rapid resolution, the ACM5500 family offers serial console-port connectivity, environmental monitoring, power management and monitoring, and remote site storage of offline logs and running configuration files. Other features include environmental sensors, local 4GB storage, internal v.92 and cellular modems for out-of-band access, auto response, power management, and security.

Chief benefits of the ACM5500 include extra connectivity, thanks to the addition of Ethernet, USB and serial port connections; power over Ethernet configurations; enhanced cellular connections through dual SIMs; improved device manageability; and out-of-band via network failover redundancy using dial-up modems, 3G/4G cellular or alternate Ethernet broadband.

The ACM5500 is also designed to reduce outages in the data center, a breeding ground for malfunctions like overheated equipment and device misconfigurations.

Opengear packages its secure, out-of-band RMM gateways into one small solution so MSPs tasked with managing multiple remote sites have easy accessibility to monitoring capabilities. The company’s remote management gateways deliver out-of-band and cellular connectivity to remotely manage any equipment using servers, routers, switches, firewalls, telephony equipment, UPS and remote power management solutions – regardless of the network’s status.

The ACM5500 product family is now available in both commercial and hardened versions, specifically for use in more industrial applications and environments. It currently boasts 3G support, with 4G on the way for the second quarter.

Opengear is gearing up to show off the ACM5500 product family, along with its entire product line, at next week’s ITEXPO East 2012, being held January 31 to February 3, in Miami, Fla.

In addition to interacting with decision-makers from multiple industries and spreading the word on its RMM solutions, Opengear told TMCnet this week that MSPWorld, a collocated event with ITEXPO (News - Alert), is the perfect forum for presenting its solutions. Since its inception, MSPWorld has been the only event with a single, vendor-agnostic focus of supporting managed service providers and their respective ecosystems.

“We are hoping to educate and inform attendees about the benefits of having a good Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solution in place – especially in these trying economic times,” Todd Rychecky (News - Alert), vice president of Sales for North & South America, Opengear, told TMCnet this week. “Opengear’s ‘Anytime, Anywhere, Secure Remote Access’ solutions allow IT and OT staff the ability to be ‘virtually there’ at remote site locations.”

To find out more about Opengear, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2012. To be held Jan. 31- Feb. 3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla.  ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit Opengear in booth # 831. For more information on ITEXPO registration, click here.

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Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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