Data centers host an array of computer, networking, telecommunications, environmental and power equipment - sourced from an even more diverse array of vendors. And this infrastructure is then invariably distributed between towns and often between continents.
So the data center manager is faced with an eclectic selection of management applications, access methods and control tools to use. Fortunately, Opengear provides a range of simple and reliable management solutions that help reduce this burden.
Integrated management
IM4200 infrastructure managers provide data centre managers with a secure tool for accessing and controlling data center sites, and for restoring operations and connectivity in the event of a disruption. Mission critical sites where uptime is paramount demand high availability and redundancy be built into the computers, the networks and the management systems. In such environment the IM4200 family with its integrated dual power supplies, redundant network connections; alternate broadband out-of-band access and heart beat monitoring is an ideal solution.
The IM4200 family provides an in-band and out-of-band management solution that meets the entire data center's local and remote management needs. Secure serial and network console management, service processor management, power control, network device administration and central site management - all from one appliance.
The infrastructure manager consolidates access, monitoring and control of the widest range of equipment into a single secure appliance, with strong authentication, access control, encryption and tunneling over SSH. It provides remote server and network router management from the chassis, BIOS and operating system levels right up to the applications level, using a range of industry standard service processors (DRAC, iLO, RSA, ALOM), connection types (serial, Ethernet, modem), protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, SSH, SNMP, SMTP), management tools (SoL, IMPI, console redirection) and applications (Windows Terminal Services/RDP, VNC, Windows EMS, IBM Director, Dell OpenMange).
Processing-centric data centers
Where cost, power dissipation and space efficiency are the critical decision factors, Opengear's CM4000 family of console managers may provide an effective alternative. Many data centers host row after row of racks of high performance headless server clusters, many of which only have serial management consoles and are in need of a simple reliable management solution.
The CM4116 and CM4148 are full-featured, highly-secure, cost effective console managers that provide in-band and out-of-band access to serial consoles and also provide extensive monitoring and alerts.
Reliability and Audit
Opengear's solutions all provide a highly secure, single point of access to the data center's management network. Access privileges are defined by user, by device, and by port or service - and all access is rigorously controlled so enterprise policy can be enforced.
The monitoring and logging of all access events and all serial console messages from servers, routers, switches, and UPS and power switches enables efficient disaster mitigation. Logging of network host control sessions then extends the audit trail, and these logs can be offloaded to other servers on the network. Such advanced auditing and tracking of all management activity help the data center conform to the mandatory compliance requirements such as Sarbanes Oxley and HIPPA, and ensure a quality management solution.
