Remote Management

Remote management is the ability for IT managers to have rapid and secure access to the infrastructure they are managing from wherever they are and at any time. Remote management can be conducted in-band or out-of-band depending on the capabilities of the remote management device and the devices being managed.

In-band management relies on the data network for the transport of Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and other management information. It is possible only when the network is available and functioning properly. If a network node fails or protocol stack instability occurs, in-band management tools are rendered ineffective.

The mission-critical nature of today’s business demands an alternate management path when assets lose network connectivity or when the network or server goes down. Out-of-band management is the optimal alternative solution.

Unlike in-band management, out-of-band management does not rely on their network or server availability to manage servers or the network infrastructure. For this reason, many infrastructure downtime situations can only be addressed by out-of-band management systems. The following list identifies some of the situations in which using out-of band management may be required:

The server is powered down
Operating system instability and lock ups
The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is conducting its Power On Self Test
The server hangs or is not working properly
The server is very low on resources, which causes the network driver to be very slow or makes it unable to respond to requests
The network adapter malfunctions or fails
The switch or router port fails
An operating system component is running (such as the loader or Recovery
Console that does not support in-band communication
The server is not fully initialized

Why is it important?

One of the obvious places to economize is infrastructure consolidation and one obvious solution is remote management. Remote management allows centrally located personnel and applications to monitor, manage, and respond to globally distributed networks and systems from a single location. With these tools, IT managers can respond to problems quickly and perform corrective actions from anywhere in the world at anytime. This addresses staffing issues and ensures effective systems management.

What problem does it solve?

Centrally manage a globally dispersed network infrastructure.

Informs you about what’s going on with devices, no matter where they are located.
Eliminates management “blind spots,” while rendering device location irrelevant.
Authenticates users through secure access.
Lowers overall network management costs.
Truly proactive (predictive) management.
Decreases time to resolution while lowering downtime.
Ensures connectivity to enterprise network equipment, even if the network is down.
Fewer repair costs.
Increases customer satisfaction and productivity.
Intelligently monitor, regulate and mange power to nearly every piece of equipment in the data center.
Reboot systems remotely.
Eliminates in-rush overload with power-up sequencing.
Ensures safe data center power load and distribution.
Achieves individual on/off/reboot or group control of outlets.
Slash service/maintenance costs and time.
Provides instant response time with e-mail notifications and alerts.
Allows problems to be diagnosed and repaired remotely.
Enables remote management and troubleshooting at any time after hours, on weekends or holidays, without having to send a technician on-site.
Minimizes need to access production/corporate network.
Provides better utilization of assets and staff.
Provide total solutions to increase revenue and competitiveness.
Streamlines business processes.
Empowers businesses to operate more efficiently.
Securely and remotely manages any device in the data center rack.

In today’s global environments an effective remote management strategy for servers, storage systems and other devices is essential for reducing management costs and increasing availability of a companies assets. This has become even more prevalent recently as the market drives a “Green IT” message.

Next steps: