(Only) KVM over IP to the Rescue!

The Problem: Server down, Blue Screen of Death, Server Crash, Frozen OS, Hanging Application, No Access, Business Downtime...

Way out: IP KVM, Remote KVM Access, BIOS Level Access, Hard Reboot, Reboot Process Monitoring, Server Up Again, Business Continuity, No Lost Transactions!

And to the point – there are two server down-time scenarios that every IT admin has nightmares about, and that ONLY a reliable KVM over IP solution in place, ready to go, can solve in real time: 

• OS Crash 
• Network Downtime

In the first case, a hanging OS means this server is not operational! Any app or software that relies on the operating system as a platform to run is just not available. Only a remote KVM connection (KVM over IP) gives you a graphical view of the entire reboot process (including the BIOS stage) and allows you to interfere along the way. While other solutions, such as a combination of software and hardware (IPMI), could provide similar functionality, it is missing one important feature - the graphical view.

In the second scenario, the server is not to be blamed but rather the network connection is down (for any number of reasons). In this situation, you need a back door emergency entrance to that server to make sure all is ok until the network guys will get the situation resolved. Again only a KVM over IP device, through its own network connection, will get you right away to that cut off server.

A lot of the time we confuse between software based remote access and hardware based remote KVM access. It’s true that there are many different remote access tools out there these days, almost every infrastructure vendor offers his own tool, and all are excellent software apps that deliver on their promise day after day.. Except for that one, unavoidable, time where something goes wrong in the server environment and the OS is not responding or cannot be reached.

But server environments don’t necessarily have to be mega data centers or colo facilities. Any small to medium business that does not want to experience down time view itself as a mission critical setup, where the seconds of down time tick away and only some sort of powerful KVM over IP technology in place can stop those seconds from turning into long minutes or hours of night mare.

So, it’s important once in a while to get back to the basics and remind ourselves that KVM over IP is one tool you never want to be missing in the IT manager’s toolbox.

There is remote access and there is remote KVM access

Savvy IT managers are coming to rely on in-band remote access software apps like RDP, VNC, SSH, and Telnet for the day to day maintenance of their servers and devices. These and other software tools increase productivity, reducing downtime and are reliable, low-cost or free.

But while an in-band remote access solution may be the tool of choice for everyday use, combining remote access software with out-of-band remote KVM over IP access gives you the best of both worlds.

Beyond just running your applications, you need to be able to control critical equipment with a single click, troubleshoot OS and below the-OS BIOS-level issues, turn power off and on, and switch between various servers while working on others all from a single remote location whether or not you have the dreaded “blue screen of death” staring you in the face.

The limitation of in-band-only remote access solutions is that the OS on the target server must be healthy, up and running. If we take RDP, for example, you can’t view, let alone fix, a Windows server that has crashed.

To go beyond the limits of in-band software, hardware devices are required. Combining in-band remote access software with IP KVM switches, give you remote access and power control over your servers - also when things go wrong. And it is the ability to combine the two that makes the difference between a true remote management solution and a more simplistic remote management capability that works only in uptime situations crystal clear.

All too often, the advantages of an out-of-band remote access solution are either brushed aside or considered an add-on that can be addressed “at a later time.” Unfortunately for some IT administrators, the realization of why an out-of-band solution, such as IP KVM is a necessity, not a luxury, comes at their expense in the midst of a computing nightmare.

When you’re faced with downed systems and are in a somewhat helpless state, having a remote KVM over IP access solution that can give you the ability to access, troubleshoot or diagnose a problem and remediate that problem remotely over the Internet, can be the difference between an ordinary workday and one that leaves you anxiously scrambling for answers and wasting precious time.

The most popular IP KVM switch?

This micro blog post is about us, Minicom, and we’d like to share some exciting news.

As a KVM over IP vendor, and like any other vendor, our goal and aspiration is one – to satisfy our customers, i.e. the IT admins of the world. So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised (putting it mildly) we were to find out that a leading on-line tech magazine in Germany ranked one of our products as runner up in a list of the 10 most popular IP KVM products, nationwide.

What can be more rewarding than the market saying its word! First place went to Raritan’s one port device, the KX 101 and second place went to Minicom’s 32 port IP KVM switch, the Smart 232 IP.

A closer look shows that our product is the top IP KVM switch on this prestigious list (!), making it the favorite multi-user KVM over IP switch among German IT pros.

The full list (in German) can be found at TechChannel.

More information about the Smart 232IP KVM Switch, can be found HERE

When IP KVM becomes POWERful!

There are just certain things in the data center you don't want to hear – and a mission critical server that “locks-up” or fails is one of them. For when this happens, every second of down time counts - and so does the cost! A complete server shutdown is likely a total interruption of business, and the race begins to quickly return a server to operational status without having to waste precious time. Yes, you’re right…This is exactly why you have invested in manageable smart or switched PDUs for your server racks.

As the data center grows smarter, remote power control offers IT pros ways to minimize downtime and shorten remediation time. With a single click of the mouse, you now have the tool to remotely power cycle the crashed server - but it doesn’t necessarily stop here. With full integration between your KVM over IP system and your PDUs in your data center, you will now be able to execute critical power commands during a remote KVM over IP session, while “at the server”.

Today, the right IP KVM solution with an integrated PDU control option offers you some very tangible benefits that you need in order to meet the growing demand of maximum business continuity and server up-time.

First and foremost it allows you to monitor the entire boot process in real-time, from the second you sent the power command. Then it lets you cut response time dramatically by preventing the juggling between the KVM session and the power management application. Third, it can prevent hazardous mistakes of power cycling the wrong server(!), if initial setup was not done properly. Finally the ideal KVM over IP solution should also give you the freedom of choice to obtain the specific brand of PDU that you prefer, thus avoiding any type of vendor lock-in.

So next time you're looking for a powerful KVM over IP switch, remember to check out all your options beforehen!

Cloud computing: the paradise of KVM over IP

As cloud computing becomes more and more accepted and is expanding from the public domain to the private or internal IT environments, the natural question arises “so what does this move mean to KVM over IP technology?”

At first sight one can argue that the answer is “nothing” - the need of an IT admin to control his servers remotely (over IP) from the BIOS level, has been around for over ten years, since networks became the main means of communication between man and machine. In recent years software based remote access applications like RDP and VNC have pushed IP KVM to being the spare wheel of the data center truck. You forget it’s there until the flat tire or server crash – then you better have it handy and full of air and ready to go, otherwise you’re into some deep trouble… Or as we earlier described it, KVM over IP can be viewed as the IT manager’s life insurance.

Servers in a cloud environment are no different than any other server out there. The IT infrastructure is the same, they require the same “looking after” by the IT staff and thus need some kind of IP KVM  technology hooked up to them to be ready when the OS crashes and RDP/VNC are not functional.

At second sight there might be something more. This might refer more to private or internal cloud setups, in which applications provided by the servers to the entire organization go beyond the standard shared e-mail or ERP applications, and include other “local” applications like Windows office for example.

Now, wouldn’t you say that this puts a little more responsibility on those servers NOT to be downed? Because now, every second of down-time directly influences the productivity of multiple workers across the entire organization, who suddenly cannot finish the next presentation, or report or price analysis. We are all accustomed to not receiving emails once in awhile, and while the IT guys work like crazy to get the server up again we continue with our daily tasks, sometimes we even see this as a blessing…   but when it comes to our daily work outside of emails, this is already a whole new ball game that we will do anything to avoid.

So this little extra reliance on servers in the cloud means to IT one thing – double check and make sure that the spare KVM over IP wheel of yours is intact.

Escaping the pitfalls of remote data center management

Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) continues to be a hot topic for data center managers in 2012 and while it’s important to keep up with new tech developments, it’s equally important to once in a while stop, and make sure that your basic management needs are really covered.

When dealing with IT infrastructure in a data center, remote access methods have become a key part of the IT manager’s tool box. But managing these tools is a sizable job in itself. In every IT environment there are a variety of remote access tools that have been purchased departmentally or have come into the data center or network closet as a result of the preferences of different technical teams, who've chosen – and don’t want to relinquish – these tools to accomplish specific tasks. All of this brings significant complexity to the overall data center management process. 

Data centers are highly dynamic and complex environments. They are multi-disciplinary, multi-vendor and multi-user to name just a few. New equipment is added at an astounding rate, in some cases to geographically disparate locations. All of this has to be accessed and managed in a remote, efficient and secure manner that doesn’t leave you relying on the glue on the back of a post-it note to be able to find critical information in the event of an IT emergency. 

A few weeks ago, we described how a DCIM system is compromised if you cannot manage the access to your data center infrastructure. When you’re faced with downed systems and are in a somewhat helpless state, having a readily available solution that enables you to diagnose, access, troubleshoot and fix a problem remotely over the LAN or Internet can be the difference between an ordinary workday and one that leaves you anxiously scrambling for answers and wasting precious time.

In our upcoming live webinar ‘The Secret Behind A Bulletproof DCIM Strategy’ on Tuesday, January 24th @ 2pm EST, we discuss more about remote data center management and how Remote Access Management is a critical piece of DCIM, used daily by IT admins to run, maintain and fix their data center's IT infrastructure. Register Now!

Data center security - a look at the other side of the firewall

In today’s cyber world nobody in his right mind, business or individual, operates without a firewall. But – did you know that around 80 percent of all security threats to organizations come from the inside? Astonishingly enough most companies focus their security resources on preventing external hackers from causing them harm, and no matter how successful firewalls and various intrusions detection/preventing systems are, they are not of much help when the attack/intrusion comes from within the organization, behind the firewall doors…

While people, or workers from within your organization can actually do far more damage to your business than any hacker, this threat is often over looked, not given enough attention or forgotten all together. A recent global study with more than 5.500 IT personnel reveals that increased threats to sensitive and confidential data are caused due to a lack of control and oversight of privileged users.

Think about it for a moment, do you (or anyone else inside your organization) really know how many of your employees, IT personnel, external contractors - or even former IT staff – have access to your critical systems and data? Or, for that sake, do you know how many of your company’s IP addresses, passwords and user names are currently floating around inside your IT department on various spreadsheets and post-it notes?

One security layer that could easily be implemented to protect against such threats is an application that manages remote access inside, as much as outside, of the organization’s data center. This would provide you with a simple way to administer IP addresses, user profiles and user rights while avoiding password sharing with external service providers. Think of it as a firewall behind the firewall - it will allow you to centrally manage and control who has access to what, and with what level of permissions, while it at the same time you can see which privileged users entered which target, from which IP address, through which access method. This will also ensure you that the right access, to the right equipment is given ONLY to the right people inside your organization. 

To learn more on how easily you can protect your internal passwords and increase the security to your own IT infrastructure, watch this video!

KVM over IP – the IT manager’s life insurance

It’s a known saying that your customers are the best advocates of your solutions and products. When that happens, your chances of closing the deal rise dramatically. In a recent sales meeting with a prospect customer one of our sales managers, Moti, experienced just that!

The customer is fortune 1000 company in the insurance industry that is consolidating its three legacy data centers into a new “lights out” data center, looking to streamline operational costs, increase efficiency and productivity of their IT staff and of course provide better service to their on-line customers.

Moti started off the meeting presenting the many benefits of an KVM over IP switch, emphasizing in particular on the critical aspect of out-of-band access - that while day by day maintenance will be done using applications like RDP, VNC or SSH (to name just a few), when disaster hits once in a blue moon, can be even once a year, in the form of an OS crash (blue screen of death ring a bell?) THEN, the ONLY means of accessing the server’s BIOS and attempting a fix is through the KVM over IP switch…

At this point in the meeting the customer politely intervened saying something like "Moti, you don’t have to sell us on this, we are in the insurance business…we sell products that in some cases are never used (!) And in other cases are used only once…but still, the mere thought of not having an insurance for when disaster happens once in a lifetime is so horrifying that everyone buys them”

Now, take out the word “insurance” from the quote above and replace it with “KVM over IP switch” and you have an elevator pitch for convincing your CFO why you need the most reliable and secure KVM over IP solution, whether you are a fortune 100 enterprise or a doctor’s clinic.

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!

How long does the glue on DCIM post-it notes last?

As a top IT pro in the data center, you’re probably chuckling because you actually know the answer to that question!

When it boils down to Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) monitoring your equipment is just not enough. Even the most organized IT manager has innumerable sticky notes papering their walls.  Accompanied with a host of homegrown spreadsheets dedicated to organizing the long lists of IP addresses, passwords, and multivendor equipment information you need to access and control your IT infrastructure smoothly, on a daily basis.  And that makes perfect sense – those IP addresses and passwords are things you need at your fingertips on a moment’s notice – no time to search for them when something goes wrong.

Chances are, you’ve been through this nightmare scenario before: IT is notified of an issue.  The first course of action is to open the spreadsheet, locate the name of the server, and copy and paste its IP address, password and user name info. This can require opening and closing numerous browsers and applications – something that takes dozens of mouse clicks and many minutes – before a device can be found and accessed.  Once the device is located, you’ve got to fix the problem. You may go for an RDP session and fail, attempt a KVM-over-IP connection, or even worse – need to force a reboot through the PDU, each of which starts the copy and paste process all over again. This kind of downtime adds up. Over a typical shift, the wasted minutes can easily turn to wasted hours of valuable work time just searching for the right information.

What you need in order to safe guard your DCIM system, is a central access console, a singular control panel, where you can see and capably manage all of your computing resources no matter where they are physically located –from the network closet to an off-site data center to a co-location facility in another city or state. - But make sure to choose the right solution!

Here is a checklist you should use when selecting a remote access management (RAM) solution that will strategically fit your DCIM system in place. Ask yourself if the solution does all seven of these things:

1. Supports a wide range of vendors: Select a solution that prevents vendor lock-in; make sure it supports all the equipment acquired over the years and offers the ability to add any brand of IT equipment – PDU, IP KVM switch, console server, or other network device in an unlimited array of vendor options.
2. Integrates in-band and out-of-band access options: A seamless combination of the two means, even if the blue screen of death appears, crashed servers can be restarted and downtime minimized with one-click KVM over IP access from the same pane of glass used for everyday maintenance.
3. Simplifies access: What makes a remote access solution truly powerful is a combination of one user interface, one url and one set of security rules.  When it comes to remote access management as part of DCIM, simplicity is king.
4. Provides seamless access to power control: The only way to avoid disastrous mistakes like rebooting the wrong server is to have full control of the PDU from within the remote access management solution’s user interface.
5. Maximizes tools that have already been deployed: Don’t throw out what works!  A must-have in remote access management is the ability for the IT staff to continue to use the existing remote access tools they find most effective and comfortable under a larger, more efficient and secure remote access umbrella.
6. Overcomes implementation challenges: Look for a solution that can be installed in hours – not a month and not a week.
7. Increases IT efficiency while maintaining security: Select a secure remote access solution that authenticates users with the organization’s own active directory, assigning user names and passwords created according to profile and task assignment.

What this all means is that Remote Access Management and Data Center Infrastructure Management are inextricably linked! Or in other words - if you don’t have a RAM, you really don’t have DCIM.

And if that’s not enough, just think how nice your wall will look without all those post-its on it...

What do slices of a hot Pizza have to do with DCIM?

No Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) is complete without a Remote Access Management system in place!

The Full DCIM Pizza

Yes, you heard right. Now, you are probably asking, what does Remote Access Management have to do with DCIM?

The answer is - A lot! Today infrastructure equipment at all levels is becoming more important and more critical to the smooth operation of data centers, in other words, it has direct impact on lowering costs, tightening security and increasing efficiency. But DCIM is not only about monitoring and planning, it is also about managing all your access control tools and methods.

Remote Access Management (RAM) is one of the most vital slices of the DCIM ‘Pizza’ that is not getting the full attention it deserves. So let’s cut the chase and state it clearly: All other DCIM slices, as important as they may be, are compromised if you cannot manage the access to your data center infrastructure!

Think of the ordering process of a hot, sizzling family Pizza – the pictures on the website look awesome, you can practically “smell” the Pizza over the phone. The person taking your order is sweet and polite, you get all the flavors you asked for and you even get a special price for being such a nice guy, but – all this is worthless without a fast and reliable delivery that brings the Pizza hot and sizzling to your doorstep…  

So why don’t you take a closer look at your overall DCIM strategy and make sure that you have all the slices in place, and not missing the management of your remote access!

KVM over IP Switch or HP iLO? That’s the question – Or is it??

Posted by:
Tobias Silber

8 Points To Consider When Evaluating the Best Remote
Out-Of-Band Access Solution For Your Data Center.

Lately we have been getting a lot of questions from IT managers that are consolidating their data centers on the issue of an IP KVM switch versus a service processor. While IP KVM switches and embedded service processors, such as iLO from HP, often are looked upon as competitive, the reality is however much more complex. So let’s shed some light on what needs to be taken into consideration before deciding which (or both?) solution is right for your data center.

• Local KVM Access: In the data center, certain situations can arise where you would need to have direct server access independent of potential network disruptions. - In other words, to have local access at the rack level. While iLO can be a good option for remote administration it does not provide local access at the rack. Only an IP KVM switch provides you with this important feature, allowing you to physically connect to multiple servers from one console, at the rack.

• Centralized Server Management: By definition iLO is a one port solution, providing remote access to a single server. An IP KVM switch on the other hand can be connected to a bank of 10s or 100s of servers, providing for a tighter control and more efficient work flow.

• Cost: In order to benefit from the iLO vKVM features, there is a licenses fee. While the license itself can be bought from $130, the true cost of using iLO can easily total over $400 per server when you include all the hidden costs. Compare this to the price per port of an IP KVM switch at $140-170 (including dongles/cable) – and you have easily saved a few thousand dollar per rack!

• Ethernet Ports & Cabling: iLO requires the use of additional cabling and an additional Ethernet port at each server in order to be connected to the network. These requirements are translated into more routers and switch ports, which mean more money spent (part of the hidden cost).  This is in contrast to a KVM over IP switch that consolidates a large number of servers into one ethernet (or two, for redundancy) port.

• IP addresses: Each server equipped with an iLO requires two unique IP addresses!one for the server and one for the iLO. This can dramatically increase the number of IP addresses the organization has to purchase (another hidden cost), and not all data center can meet this challenge. An IP KVM Switch on the other hand, centralized the remote management of up to 32 servers via a single IP address.

• Performance: The KVM over IP video performance is superior to the iLO performance with a better video refresh rate at reduced bandwidth.  To benefit from the best mouse synchronization you need the best video resolutioin support. iLO supports up to 1280x1024 video resolution whereas an IP KVM Switch goes up to HD resolutions. Users of iLO are also limited in their choice of browsers, as it only support IE for Windows and Firefox for Linux in comparison to IP KVM users that can use a whole range of remote clients.

• Ease of Operation: To install the IP KVM Switch you will only need to connect it to the servers, power up and assign to it an IP address. The time spent on configuring a single IP KVM switch in order to access 32 servers remotely is much less than the time you will need to setup 32 individual iLO servers. Think about the time difference when the need for a firmware upgrade arises!

• Security: Another big aspect of keeping IP addresses to a minimum is data security. The less public IP addresses out there, the easier it is for IT to keep the lid tightly closed and avoid the horror of security breaches, just because there are so many IP addresses to look after.

...And just to summarize: IP KVM switches provide centralized remote access to servers, regardless of brand, generation or OS running, whereas iLO is only relevant for HP servers. This however does not necessarily make them competing technologies for out-of-band access, but rather the contrary - HP iLO is a good complementary solution to the KVM over IP Switch in the data center.

Click Here to See iLO and IP KVM Managed Side-by-Side

Make IT smile!

So, you want to access your data centers remotely, butyou have a ton of servers from different brandsand they all have different control panels & passwords?


.....Now that you have many servers, you're IT managers are going "bananas" trying to keep everything under control!

Well, what can you do?Say hello to AccessIT®!!!

Why wait? schedule a live demo now >>

Remote Access Management - top priority at your Data Center

Over the course of the last 5-10 years, IT organizations from the smallest of the SMB to the largest of the Enterprise have become dependent upon remote access tools to manage their servers and devices.

The problem, however, is that these tools were adopted by different groups within the organization, without a clear strategy (i.e., the Windows team adopted IP KVM and RDP, while the network team bought console servers and adopted SSH).

Over time, the vast majority of IT departments have taken on in-band (i.e., RDP, VNC, SSH) and out-of-band (PDU, KVM, console) tools, as well as the service processors (ILO, DRAC, IPMI), each with their own IP addresses, passwords, usernames and more.

Today, IT managers face the challenge in managing all of these methods of access to their critical infrastructure. They *might* have a spreadsheet with all of the pathways. Others have all of this critical information on a white board, on post its or worse, in the “head” of the administrators.

This presents major issues with operational efficiency and data center security. With regard to efficiency, using a spreadsheet (or worse) means that each time an administrator is notified of an issue, he must first locate the server/device with the issue, copy and paste the IP, password and username for the selected tool just to gain access. If the first tool is ineffectual (RDP when Windows is down), he must do the same for the 2nd tool and if, for instance, the solution is powering down the server, he must do it a 3rd time for the PDU. This is not only a slow, painstaking process, but one that opens the door to human error.

The 2nd major issue with the current state of remote access management is security. When all of the passwords, IPs and usernames to an organization’s critical infrastructure are in a spreadsheet or in someone’s head, you are just begging for trouble. These pathways allow access to the most sensitive data in an organization, but they are not currently being treated that way. To ensure the security of a data center’s servers and devices, a RAM solution that locks down this critical information must be adopted.

With Minicom's AccessIT®, a data center can drastically increase how quickly his users can access and remediate issues on their servers and devices, all while utilizing the tools and hardware currently deployed, all while improving security and locking down remote access.

Why wait? schedule a live demo now >>

Why Remote Access Management? Security and Efficiency

The benefits of remote server access

Post by Eran Kessel (VP Marketing & Products) - Years ago, the idea of operating and maintaining data centers remotely, or with “lights out” in the server room, seemed radical. Now it’s standard procedure. Why? Because of three compelling advantages:

1. Increased data security—with remote access, the data center can be secured from unwanted visitors.

2. Improved operational efficiency—with remote access, your IT staff can fix problems from their computer screen—they don’t have to be onsite. Remote access means doing more with less.

3. Better cooling/power efficiency—one of the major causes of cooling inefficiency is service staff who open doors and wander around. With remote access, server rooms are sealed tight.

Remote Access Management™: maximizing the benefits, minimizing the risks
Despite the above, many companies are not maximizing their benefits. Worse, they may have actually created new security risks. This comes from the fact that remote server access tools have been adopted gradually, one at a time, often supplied by the manufacturers of the data center’s existing equipment. To maximize the benefits of remote server access, while minimizing the risks, companies need a strategy and a dedicated software solution for Remote Access Management.

What are the new security risks?
A critical security risk lies in access management: the vast majority of organizations store their passwords, user names, IP addresses, server names and more in a single spreadsheet or homegrown database. This provides IT personnel with almost unrestricted access to security-critical data, even data that has no relevance to their tasks. Windows admins can see how to access Unix machines, network admins can see how to access servers etc. There is no benefit to this, and considerable security risk. All an employee, intern or consultant needs to do is download the spreadsheet to a flash drive, and they can carry a corporation’s secrets out of the building.

The solution: task-appropriate access
To improve corporate security, a Remote Access Management solution should limit servers and IT tools to task-appropriate access, e.g. Windows admins should be able to access Windows servers only. An admin that only require RDP access should not have access to power and KVM.

Measuring operational efficiency: resolving critical issues faster
When a server goes down, resolution speed is what matters. With a spreadsheet or custom database, speed is a problem: first, the IT admin is notified of the issue. Then they have to open the spreadsheet, locate the name of the server, and copy and paste its IP address and password and username info. Dozens of mouse clicks and many minutes can pass before a device can be found. If, for example, an attempted RDP solution fails, the operator may try a KVM fix, and the copy and paste process begins again.

Over a typical shift, the wasted minutes can add up to wasted hours of valuable work time.

The solution: a minimum 6x faster server access and resolution
Minicom compared the mouse-clicks required to access a server with RDP and a spreadsheet, vs RDP and our AccessIT dashboard.
The spreadsheet took 37 clicks simply to access a server. AccessIT software cut the number of clicks to six. And that was a best-case situation. For each service attempt—KVM, iLO, PDU—the number of clicks, and the server downtime—jumps drastically.

A proven solution: AccessIT® from Minicom
AccessIT from Minicom was designed from the ground up to meet IT managers’ mission-critical requirements for secure web-based, centralized remote access management.

AccessIT provides fast, secure, trouble-free access to every aspect of a data center’s infrastructure, and streamlines access to remote access tools such as RDP and KVM. It supports all major manufacturers of KVM switches, PDUs and console servers, and supports the industry’s leading in-band and out-of-band remote access services, including RDP, VNC, VMWare, SSH, Telnet, HP iLO, KVM IP, and any proprietary web-based or customized applications.

For complete details, and to read how major customers have deployed Minicom solutions,

visit www.minicom.com

Schedule a live demonstartion now >>

Defining a remote access strategy for an enterprise, is it that simple?

Post by Eran Kessel

Remote Access Management is a way of effectively managing and securing all the remote access protocols (i.e. RDP, VNC, SSH, KVM IP, SP, IPMI and more) in your data center. But why use remote access management anyway?

Well, nowadays IT personnel are often physically removed from their data center where all the IT infrastructure resides. "Lights-out" data centers and disaster recovery sites have become necessities for medium to large enterprises. Now days IT staff are always on the move, they work from remote offices, from home, while on the road, or from branch offices. The ability to work remotely has been made possible due to the increased reliability and usability of the internet and of remote access tools like KVM IP, RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet and others. But, with all of these tools comes their associated IP addresses, passwords and user names, and IT managers need a way of organizing all this information. The current default option for keeping track of all these tools are spreadsheets, which require a lot of copying and pasting, and are not very secure. Organizations need a way to quickly and securely gain access to these remote access tools, which is why Remote Access Management is a requirement.

What are the benefits of a Remote Access Management strategy?

Different tech teams need different tools to accomplish their specific jobs. Different types of servers are better served by specific technologies and tools. Each technical team, or even an individual, will argue for the tool they like best. Employees will be more productive if allowed to use the tools they know and love, and aren't forced to compromise. So, having a Remote Access Management strategy not only means that you have an efficient and secure method for managing your many remote access tools, it also increases your IT efficiency and allows freedom of choice for your IT staff.

So, how does the enterprise IT define a remote access strategy for itself?

Defining a RAM strategy is quite simple and requires a few simple steps. First step is to map all remote access protocols that are being used by the IT staff, second step is to simply associate the right remote access protocol to the appropriate server or network device in the data center, let’s refer to them as targets. Third step is to assign the correct access rights to each of the IT staff, according to the organizational work flow.

Minicom's Access Management solutions aim to dramatically Increase IT efficiency & security, to save on IT costs and to simplify the daily workload of the IT staff by:

•Tighter security - Avoid unwanted access to IT assets, centrally manage and log all activity

•Enforced uniformity – All for one, and one for all! IT staff all operate through same web interface

• Open platform eco-system - Avoid dreaded vendor lock-in and integrate your choice of 3rd party KVM, Power or Serial device into the system

•On-Demand Remote Access - assign multiple access protocols to same target, whether In- band or OOB. Solve problems on the spot, in the most efficient manner

•Real Needs - Maximize past investments, Minicom's industry leading Real NeedsTM approach allows you to upgrade and repurpose running legacy KVM systems and to avoid costly replacements

Eran Kessel is a VP Marketing & Products at Minicom

3 Common Mistakes Made When Relocating Data Centers

Post by Eran Kessel

Mistake #1: IT managers create an organizational disaster when trying to keep track of IP addresses, password, and user names on spreadsheets. accessing servers and IT equipment is a given because of the increased dependency on remote access tools like KVM IP, RDP, VNC, iLO, SSH and others. All these tools are associated with confidential information which must remain secure.

Fix it: Organizations should use a remote access management SW to gain quick and secure access to their IT hardware using all thier remote access tools. Remote access management provides companies with the tool to securely organize all their protocols, IP addresses, and passwords, which allows the IT staff to work together no matter where they are located.

Mistake #2: Technical teams are often forced to compromise on tools they do not like to use. Different technical teams need different tools to do their different jobs, and different technologies are better served by certain tools. Every team or individual will advocate for the tool they like best because in turn they will be more productive with the tools they know and are accustomed to.

Fix it: Let your IT staff enjoy the freedom of choice in remote access tools by employing a remote access management strategy that provides an efficient and secure method for managing many different remote access tools.

Mistake #3: Businesses unnecessarily replace hardware and invest in new proprietary power, KVM, and serial equipment, rather than using their existing, up and running server room or data center infrastructure. This ineffectively increases overall costs for the company.

Fix it: By adding a remote access management solution such as AccessIT™, designed by Minicom, you have the ability to keep your current hardware and accommodate IT products from a wide range of vendors. AccessIT allows businesses to continue reaping the already-made investment in their existing IT equipment, knowledge, and training, while also giving the liberty to choose their own IT infrastructure products according to what fits their needs and their budget. In short, this solution reduces overall costs and allows your business to invest its money elsewhere.

Looking for more ways to avoid mistakes? You can learn more about how to efficiently manage your data center at the Winds of Change: Creative Concepts for Increasing Data Center Efficiency, hosted by the Data Center Alliance at Georgia Tech University on December 8, 2010.

Can’t make it? No worries! the DCA will be covering the DCA Event live on ustream.tv

Don’t miss out if you are unable to attend, bookmark our ustream.tv channel (http://bit.ly/dK1rM5) and log-in December 8th to see what’s happening on the conference floor!

Eran Kessel is a VP Marketing & Products at Minicom

5 Tips on How to Increase Data Center Efficiency

Post by Nir Dary

1. Reduce Clutter! I don’t know about you, but many of my fellow IT friends have been faced with the same challenges in the server room: How can I free up my overcrowded server room? How can I eliminate cable clutter in the rack? one solution I found is to combine a KVM LCD drawer with a KVM switch. This creates a less cluttered work environment, now I’m using up only one U of rack space instead of 2 and the drawer KVM cables connect to the KVM switch on the same U, providing better cable management. Now that my equipment is all neatly organized I can access it more easily, save time,increase productivity and provides a safer work environment.

2. I need a reboot, and I need a reboot now! When servers crash, the resolution time is critical crucial and you must get your system up and running as soon as possible. In addition, you must do it without making any mistakes because you don’t want to get to the point of no return where you end up recycling a downed server. With time of the essence, the best way to bring your server back to life is with one click. Yes, one click. There is technology out there that provides direct access to PDU remote reboot features without a separate login and password, with the option of going through your KVM or serial session. There is no need to decode which power port is associated with a given target. Each server has icons for both remote access and power control right next to it, making the transition from access to control easy and immediate.

3. Consolidate your system! For daily maintenance of your servers, you rely on in-band software access services like VNC, RDP, Telnet and SSH. And, when it comes to dealing with server crashes, I bet you need out-of-band tools like console servers, KVM switches, managed PDUs and service processors. Sounds like a case of an overpopulation of remote access tools. The cure: Access all your IT assets at one address. You should manage all your remote access tools from one consolidated place with all your IT assets and their associated access methods. With one click access, IT managers can maintain and troubleshoot their data centers.

4. Lower your operational costs! Companies are always looking to cut costs and increase efficiency. As I researched ways to cut my operational costs, I found Minicom’s “Real Needs” approach. The unique approach provides a management SW portal to access and control all of your mixed-vendor IT hardware. This means you can use all your existing equipment- servers, consoles, switches, PDUs etc-regardless of the manufacturer, save your money for future investments.

5. If you would like to learn more about how you can make your data center more efficient, and learn more about changes in the IT remote access field, the Data Center Alliance is hosting the following event at Georgia Tech University on December 8, 2010: Winds of Change: Creative Concepts for Increasing Data Center Efficiency

Nir Dary is a Tech Support Manager at Minicom

Viridity Software Joins the Data Center Alliance

The Data Center Alliance (DCA) welcomes Viridity Software, and is excited to add their data center energy resource management (ERM) solutions to the DCA’s offerings.

The Data Center Alliance brings together the best-in-class IT infrastructure manufacturers into one place, where IT decision makers can find the data they need to make smart decisions about their growing data center needs. For companies looking for balanced, factual data to improve productivity in the fields of power, KVM, network management, remote access, environmental monitoring and air flow, the DCA is the answer.

After the successful DCA kick-off event in California in July, we have already begun planning for the next DCA event – watch this space!

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Minicom Will Introduce New Version of Remote Access Management Solution at Data Center World

We are introducing an Enterprise Edition of our remote access management platform, AccessIT™, at Data Center World, presented by AFCOM, Las Vegas, October 3rd - 6th.

AccessIT Enterprise Edition is ideal for:
· Businesses with remote branches
· Testing labs with a large number of servers and simultaneous remote users
· Large, "lights-out" data centers where remote access is the only means of accessibility
· Any organization that relies heavily on IT uptime

Designed to meet the needs of large organizations, AccessIT Enterprise Edition can accommodate more than 250 servers and network devices, and more than 10 users.

Visit us at Data Center World (AFCOM), Las Vegas, Nevada, October 3rd through 6th, 2010, Booth #329.