Out-of-Band Management

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A Look Back at Opengear's Out of Band Management in 2012

By Susan J. Campbell TMCnet Contributing Editor

As companies throughout the global marketplace continue to support multiple locations, the demand for remote access to the network and supported applications continues to grow. IT managers are increasingly looking to out of band management solutions to address the support needs of the brand location without on-site IT.

For Opengear (News - Alert), it is meeting those needs that has led the company to a successful year. The out of band management provider continues to develop innovation solutions that IT personnel need to access secure networks across the miles. As new needs emerge, new product development focuses on meeting those needs, resulting in the introduction of solutions such as the ACM portfolio and cellular out of band.

The ACM portfolio is made up of Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) solutions that allow for remote monitoring, access and control from anywhere and at any time. RIM gateways are actually network hardware agents that allow for secure remote monitoring and management for remote locations. All the features necessary to monitor, access and control the infrastructure at remote – or even local – sites are included.

With RIM gateways, IT admin can access applications, computers, security cameras, networking equipment, power supplies, temperature settings, door sensors and digital I/O. These out of band management tools provide secure access to remote sites regardless of location and allow the IT manager to better control and proactively address any issues that can interfere with productive operations at that location.

The out of band management components in this portfolio include the ACM5000, the ACM5500 and the SD4000. The model selected for a particular environment depends on the number of ports and the access needed.

The Opengear Cellular Out of Band Connections allow for an integrated approach to out of band management that delivers flexibility and rapid deployment, enabling immediate access with a solution that is easy to manage and use and integrates seamlessly with existing IT management systems.

Internal and external cellular modems are supported with the Opengear ACM5000 and IM4200-X2 families of products. Once provisioned by the cellular carrier and matched with a data plan, the Opengear devices are configured for operation in a variety of modes. These devices will either answer out of band management connections initiated remotely, or configured to initiate a connection from the remote site.

Opengear cellular devices have the ability to listen on the carrier network at both dynamic and static IP addresses. Premium static addresses may be available from a chosen carrier, while others may not offer static IP solutions at all. If a static address is provided, IT can simply browse through the Web interface and access any connected devices.

Likewise, the Dynamic DNS allows for the locating of an advanced console server with a dynamically assigned IP address. If a primary link is experiencing an outage, Opengear connected devices on cellular modes can establish a connection automatically in failover mode.

A Call Home feature initiates the launch of a secure tunnel from server to server, and secure connections are enabled with cellular devices supporting IPSec VPNs. Finally, the ACM5004-G provides the primary wireless network connection or serves as the primary backup to existing landline connections.

Regardless of the selected method, Opengear continues to provide out of band management connectivity to ensure the network and supporting operations and applications of all enterprise locations are readily supported and optimized for performance.




Edited by Stefanie Mosca

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