Mixing Up The Future Data Center

As we get into December, end of the year in sight, its summary and predictions time. We look back, evaluate and learn, and more excitingly we look around and try our best to foresee what the future holds for us. Data centers are no exception. Last week, at the Gartner Data Center conference in Las Vegas, Dell VP of Enterprise Marketing and Strategy Praveen Asthana presented a very insightful look on just how mixed the Data Center of the future will be. According to Dell, the race of technologies to win over the data center won’t be won by any single discipline, but rather the result will be a hybrid, mixed environment, bridging legacy and new technologies. In the future data center virtualization, private and public clouds will live peacefully together, on top of a mixed physical and virtual infrastructure.

What this calls for is, in Dell’s words, products that are simple, that integrate well with existing IT environments and which will allow choice.

Minicom, for one, is taking a similar approach with its product development. We believe that every IT pro should enjoy the freedom to choose IT infrastructure products based on value, performance and quality, without being forced into vendor-lock in. Being open and vendor neutral, our Remote Access Management systems provide access and control to the data center’s mixed IT infrastructure in a central way, allowing choice as mentioned above. With our KVM over IP technology we offer seamless integrating with legacy analog KVM switches from hundreds of vendors, thus preventing forklift upgrades and yet again allow choice. We call this approach the Real Needs of IT.

Happy Holidays and have a great 2012!

Minicom Boosts Remote Power Capabilities of its Open Platform Access Management Solution

Integration with Eaton Corporation’s ePDU® products provide IT managers with seamless power control of mission critical servers.

Minicom Advanced Systems - a leading developer of IT and KVM remote access and management solutions for the server room and data center - today announced the integration of diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation’s ePDU® products into its remote access management solution, AccessIT. Acting as power distribution units for enclosures, Eaton’s ePDU® products measure power consumption at the data center level, as well as the sever level, to help users understand and control what is happening within their infrastructure. Eaton's technology also allows the user to fully monitor, switch, sequence and manage individual outlets. IT administrators can now have on-demand, Web-based remote access together with mission critical power distribution control of all servers and IT devices. Power commands are seamlessly sent to Eaton’s ePDU® units through the AccessIT interface without the need for a separate login and password.

This integration dramatically increases IT efficiency and reduces down time in crisis situations. If an IT administrator is accessing a server through AccessIT and an urgent reboot is required, a simple click on the power icon to the left of the server name performs the function. Administrators no longer require multiple spreadsheets of IP addresses, passwords and user names to manage, access to their IT systems, it can all be done through a single interface.

“AccessIT, with its open-platform support, addresses the increasingly diverse nature of corporate server rooms and data centers,” said Rami Sasson, VP Sales of Minicom. “This makes AccessIT even more flexible and compelling for IT managers to deploy compared to alternative KVM IP solutions. The integrated functionality of AccessIT, that includes remote power control of ePDU® products from Eaton, delivers tremendous versatility that has a direct impact on IT efficiency and can reduce hardware management costs by as much as 75 percent!”

“IT managers should be able to efficiently measure and manage power consumption, from an overview of the data center down to an individual server, to obtain a complete understanding of power distribution,” said Michael Camesano, Eaton product manager. “The integration of Eaton’s ePDU® products and Minicom’s AccessIT greatly advances power management visibility for IT managers to improve the reliability and efficiency of their infrastructure.”

AccessIT consolidates all in-band and out-of-band services thus providing highly secure, Web-based, on-demand remote access at all times. Its unique open architecture prevents the dreaded vendor lock-in by supporting the seamless integration of third party serial, power and KVM switches and devices. Other supported Access Services are VMWare, RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, HP iLO, Web access and custom applications. AccessIT continues Minicom's unique Real Needs approach of repurposing installed analog KVM systems by simply adding a KVM IP device.

Request a free DVD trial version of AccessIT to run on your own servers: http://www.minicom.com/requestdemodvd.cfm

For more information about Eaton’s ePDU® products, visit www.epdu.com. For additional information about Eaton’s power quality products and services, visit www.eaton.com/powerquality.

42U’s Interactive Data Center Efficiency Calculator

Last week, our partner 42U released a free Data Center Efficiency Calculator for IT Professionals and C-level management that shows short term and long term savings that can be achieved with improving the energy efficiency in their data center.

This tool is excellent!

From 42U’s press release:

“While “greening” the data center is good for the environment and good for the bottom line, few resources provide the business case to begin an efficiency program. In response, 42U, a leader in data center efficiency solutions and services, has premiered a free, interactive Data Center Energy Savings Calculator to help data center managers quantify the energy, cost, and CO2 savings possible through efficiency efforts.

The tool uses the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric as the basis for its calculation. After users insert their current PUE, goal PUE, electricity cost, and IT load, the calculator projects savings over a one, five, and ten year period—figures which help data center professionals determine the return on investment of their efficiency improvements.”

Go to the 42U Data Center Efficiency Calculator to get started>>

On the same page, they also give a great overview on data center energy consumption.

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Related Material:
Webcast: Minicom’s Real Needs™ Value Proposition (22 minutes)
White Paper: How to Achieve Cost-Efficient Data Center Growth
Case Study: 888.com uses global centralized management system

Press Release: New Open Management System for Remote Access

IT administrators now have a secure yet easy way to centrally manage the mix of remote access services while saving on costs.

Jerusalem, Israel - Minicom Advanced Systems - a leading developer of IT & KVM remote access and management solutions for the server room and datacenter - today announced the launch of a new, open platform access management solution. AccessIT is targeted at organizations with a minimum number of IT staff that maintains and operate up to 250 IT assets (servers, virtual servers and network devices).

AccessIT consolidates all in/out-of-band services thus providing highly secure, web based, on-demand remote access at all times. Its open architecture prevents the dreaded vendor lock-in by supporting the seamless integration of 3rd party serial, power and KVM switches and devices. Other supported Access Services are VMWare, RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, HP iLO, web access and custom applications.

“One of the challenges of IT in SMBs today is managing the ever-growing number of remote access protocols in a mixed and distributed IT environment” says Eran Kessel VP marketing for Minicom. “Different protocols are run through different interfaces to perform the specific maintenance and support tasks of each device. This calls for a secure, one-stop solution that organizes and simplifies the daily workload of the IT staff. We offer a dynamic library of Access Services™ from which to easily assign to targets, including multiple services to the same target. The result is a higher level of IT service, efficiency and productivity from which the entire organization benefits. It enables to do “more with less” and as opposed to license based enterprise management systems, AccessIT is an affordable one time investment with no hidden costs.”

AccessIT continues Minicom's unique Real Needs approach of repurposing installed analog KVM systems by simply adding a layer of KVM IP devices.

For a free interactive demo of AccessIT, fill out this form and a technical expert will contact you to set it up.

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Related Material:

White Paper: Real Needs Approach

Webcast: Real Needs Value Proposition (22 min)

Upcoming Webinar: Synnex Presents Minicom's Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Access

Friday, May 15, 2009 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

In this Webinar, you will learn how to cost effectively upgrade your customers' data centers with Minicom’s IP KVM solutions. In today's unstable economy, many companies are slashing their IT budgets and reducing staff leaving little or no money for Data Center technology upgrades and stretching employees. With fewer resources, however, the need for remote access—and the associated increase in efficiency--is more important than ever before.

• Leverage Legacy Hardware: Learn about Minicom’s unique “Real Needs” approach which allows you to transform your customers’ legacy KVM switches into IP KVM regardless of manufacturer
• Be More Competitive: Offer a solution that provides your customers with the remote access they need for a reasonable budget
• Earn better margins when selling Minicom products
• Close sales faster, while saving your customers money

Join Synnex and Minicom to learn how you can provide your customers with crucial functionality on a budget, while earning great margins.

Friday, May 15, 2009 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Space is limited - register early:

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Related Material:
White Paper: Real Needs "Boost Your ROI by investing in KVM IP Management"
Podcast:KVM IP Value Proposition (4:48 minutes)
Online Demo: KVM IP Products Test Drive

Gartner Report Says IT Spending Decline in '09

One of Gartner’s latest reports says IT spending will be affected by the economy just like everyone else.

The unprecedented decline of the global economy is impacting the IT industry with worldwide IT spending forecast to total $3.2 trillion in 2009, a 3.8 per cent decline from 2008 revenue of nearly $3.4 trillion, according to Gartner, Inc.

Go to Gartner's site to read about it>>

The full report is available with payment, but the highlights will give you a nice overview.

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Related Material:
Minicom's Real Needs Approach - Maximize past and future investments
White Paper: Protect Your IT Investment with KVM IP Management
Webcast: Real Needs™ Value Proposition (22 min)

FREE WEBINAR: Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Data Center Access

Rackit Technology Corporation and Minicom Advanced Systems invite you to join a webinar presenting cost effective solutions for remote access to data centers, server-rooms and remote/branch offices.

Is the current economic situation delaying your plans to upgrade the data center? Now, more than ever, we need to concentrate on what are your Real Needs:

Remote access? Yes, that's a real need.
Replacing your perfectly good switches? Not so much.

This short webinar will focus on learning how you can give your Data Center's KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing your legacy KVM switches.

We will be focusing on:

*Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment

*How you can save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs

*What our competitors do not want you to know - how to extend the life of your products.

Space is limited so register for this free webinar today.
Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM EST (1 hour)

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Related Material:

White Paper: Real Needs Approach: Protect Your IT Investment with KVM IP Management
Podcast: Real Needs™ Value Proposition
Case Study: Christie Digital - four remote administrators manage 100 servers in its data center

Surviving 2009 With Remote KVM

Guest Post by Rami Sasson, Vice President Sales at Minicom

I came across an article, Data center efficiency critical for surviving 2009 by Matt Stansberry, Executive Editor, Data Center and Virtualization Media, TechTarget. In the article Mr. Stansberry points out that the need for more computing power in the datacenter will continue to increase despite the economic downturn and slashed budgets so companies will have to do more with what they have.

I think this also true for remote KVM. With IT staffs being cut along with all other department head count reductions the need for the IT staff efficiency is paramount. Having the ability to have full remote access to hardware is critical for admins to minimize server downtime but I hear from many companies they don't have the budgets to upgrade to expensive digital KVM switches. This is where the power of Minicom's "Real Needs" approach to KVM solutions grabs their attention. We explain to a corporate CIO they can continue to use their existing KVM switch and simply upgrade it to an IP KVM for a fraction of the cost of putting in a completely new digital KVM.

The IT staff organization must live with the reality that they have to do more with less but that does not mean throwing up their hands in desperation. What do you Really need? Minicom can provide it.

An excerpt of the article:

Data center efficiency critical for surviving 2009
by Matt Stansberry, Executive Editor, Data Center and Virtualization Media, TechTarget

Extending the life of the data center in lean times. Despite the down economy, business demand for data center services continues to increase. And the cost of building data centers has skyrocketed. During boom times, companies would build new data center facilities because they have run out of power and cooling capacity and literally can’t supply more power into the building. But in today’s economic and credit climate, this isn’t a workable solution.

"Take a look around you. What you have now is likely what you are going to have to work with going forward, at least until the economy picks up," said Chuck Goolsbee, a data center executive at Seattle-based hosting firm Digital Forest. "If facility or operations staff have grandiose plans in process, expect them to get scaled back or shelved. Even projects in progress are at risk."

According to Goolsbee, executives aren’t funding data center projects. And even if they were, outside financing in the form of debt would be almost impossible to find.
"Ironically, demand for data center services is not going to change that much," Goolsbee said. "In my 15 years in the business, data center demand has remained on a steady ramp and hardly ever wavered."

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Want to learn more about Remote KVM Access?

Join Minicom for a FREE Webinar Remote Management - 101

Date: March 24, 2009

Time: 2:00 PM EST (Duration 1 hour)

Whether you have 10 servers or 500, learn the basic tools needed to remotely access and manage servers, PCs and devices. You’ll learn the difference between RDP, VNC, ILO and KVM. You’ll understand each tool’s value and about the products that enable you to effectively utilize all of them in an efficient and intuitive manner. If you are an IT salesperson or consultant looking to get a better understanding of the most commonly used tools and terminology that your customers utilize or an IT professional looking for a solution to a disjointed remote management strategy, this webinar is for you.

If you cannot make the live webinar, all of our podcasts and archived webinars are available at the Minicom Media Club.

Free Webinar Invitation

Is the current economic situation delaying your plans to upgrade your server rooms? Join us for a FREE Webinar: Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Data Center Access

Date: Friday, February 6, 2009

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

Now, more than ever, we need to concentrate on our Real Needs:

Remote access? Yes, that's a real need.

Replacing your perfectly good KVM switches? Not so much.

This short webinar will focus on how to give your Data Center's KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing any legacy KVM switches.


We will be focusing on:

• Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment
  
• How you can save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs
  
• What our competitors do not want you to know ---how to extend the life of your existing products.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.


System Requirements:

PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, VistaMacintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Webinar Invitation: Recession-proof Ways to Upgrade your Data Centers

Is the current economic climate delaying your plans to upgrade the data center? Now, more than ever, we need to concentrate on what are our Real Needs:

Remote access? Yes, that's a real need.
Replacing your perfectly good switches? Not so much.

This short webinar will focus on learning how you can give your Data Center's KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing your legacy KVM switches.

In this webinar, we will be focusing on
· Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment
· How you can save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs
· What our competitors do not want you to know ---how to extend the life of your products.

Webinar Details:
Date: November 20, 2008
Time: 2:00 - 2:40 pm EST

CLICK HERE & REGISTER NOW

This free webinar has limited seats, please hurry and register.

Presented by David Zucker
Director, Business Development, KVM Division
Minicom Advanced Systems

Webinar on Demand: Achieving Remote Server KVM Access to Your Data Center

In case you didn't catch our Webinar covering Remote Server Access for your Data Center, an archived version is available so you can watch it any time, at your convenience.


Total Time: 22 minutes


Title: "Achieving Remote Server KVM Access to Your Data Center"


Speaker: David Zucker, Director of KVM Business Development at Minicom


Talking points:

• Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment.
• How you save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs.
• What our competitors do not want you to know about extending the lives of your products.

Watch it now - it's FREE!

You can also download the corresponding white paper:

"KVM IP Management for Today’s IT Budget"

Add-on Technology that maximizes your IT installed base

Fortunately, there exists a Real Needs approach that allows you to cost-effectively achieve remote access and management by adding a KVM IP technology layer on top of your existing analog switches thereby preserving and maximizing your current investment. Read Minicom’s new white paper that elaborates on this Real Needs approach.

Real Needs Webinar Take Two

For those of your who missed it or heard about it and wanted to be a part of it - the Real Needs™ webinar will be happening again today. A few spaces are still available and you can register here.
It's happening at 11am Eastern Time. See you there!

Real Needs™ Webinar Today

We are going to be having a webinar today at 2pm EDT titled:
Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Data Center Access.

If there are still spaces available you can reserve your place here.

In today's unstable economy, many companies are slashing their IT budgets leaving little or no money for Data Center technology upgrades. Organizations needs Remote Access to increase efficiency and reduce those late night trips to the office.
Thanks to the webinar you can learn how you can give your Data Center’s KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing your legacy KVM switches.

Best of all, you can accomplish this upgrade at a fraction of the cost without sacrificing your Real Needs. Not only will you be paying less by just adding on, it is the greener way to do it.

The webinar will focus on:
• Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment
• How you save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs
• What our competitors do not want you to know ---how to extend the lives of your products.

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees - Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees - Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer

Real Needs Webinar

We are going to be having a webinar on June 25 2pm EDT titled: Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Data Center Access.

Space is limited so reserve your place here to avoid missing out.

In today's unstable economy, many companies are slashing their IT budgets leaving little or no money for Data Center technology upgrades. Organizations needs Remote Access to increase efficiency and reduce those late night trips to the office.
Thanks to the webinar you can learn how you can give your Data Center’s KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing your legacy KVM switches.

Best of all, you can accomplish this upgrade at a fraction of the cost without sacrificing your Real Needs. Not only will you be paying less by just adding on, it is the greener way to do it.

The webinar will focus on:
• Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment
• How you save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs
• What our competitors do not want you to know ---how to extend the lives of your products.

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees - Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees - Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer

Real Needs

Today we launched the KVM.net® II centralized remote access system. It empowers IT administrators to remotely access all their distributed IT assets such as KVM, serial, power and network devices via a single IP address.

Today’s IT departments must work with multiple interfaces, user names and passwords. KVM.net® II radically simplifies life for these IT managers by providing centralized, unified secure access to all their globally distributed services and network devices via a single click of a link on the portal.

KVM.net® II’s powerful Access Services™ feature supports a wide range of remote access technologies including KVM, Serial, RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, VMware, HP ILO and web services.
IT managers are excited about the auto login feature that bypasses the login pages of the predefined access services providing a seamless expedited access experience.

Minicom designed an intuitive graphical user interface that makes configuration so simple; the entire system can be learned in a day. Minicom has also responded to the budgetary restrictions on IT departments by offering a unique Real Needs™ approach. As the only centralized remote access system to offer 3rd party switch support, KVM.net® II rejuvenates your existing KVM infrastructure.

With Minicom’s unique Real Needs™ approach you simply add a technology layer on top of your analog KVM switches, safeguarding your investment and maximizing ROI. This cost-effective solution, where you buy only what you need, costs less than half the price of competing systems. It also provides the market’s most environmentally friendly solution, as it “recycles” your existing KVM infrastructure. KVM.net® II’s open architecture even keeps your future options open, by allowing you to add the equipment that best suits you when the need arises.

Real Needs

When budgets are shrinking, its important to spend just what you have to. The Real Needs™ approach is the answer to this problem which is keeping many people up at night. One is far better safeguarding one's investment by adding a technology layer on top of the legacy IT systems.
This cost-effective solution can save half the price of competing systems because one buys only what one needs. KVM.net II and the IP Control, for centralized management and IP enablement respectively, are the only devices of their kind to offer legacy support of existing KVM infrastructure. Instead of spending thousands of dollars replacing server control systems you don't have, you can have the control and management you want, while at the same time keeping the bean-counters happy.

Control & Monitor

Yesterday an event called Control & Monitor took place in Tel Aviv. Eight companies were invited to attend and it was an opportunity to showcase your stuff to 300 industry-related people. Amongst the other seven companies were HP Israel, AI Systems, Ayehu, 3CSI and Alexander Schneider.
Each company had time to speak. In our slot, Minicom gave its Real Needs™ presentation. The focus of this is the ability to upgrade control of your mission critical devices while preserving your investment. Each company also had a booth.
Here are some photos from the day: