LWFX

As today’s networks are growing, and the number of distributed networks and remote branches are expanding, there is a growing need for efficient console servers.  And with the economy, it is becoming even more important to include capabilities that improve the response time to an outage or other problem  This makes remote power management a key element in efficiently managing your data center.

For many equipment issues, cycling power can be the fastest -- or sometimes the only -- way to correct problems. Through a remote console server, technicians can monitor power, perform a remote reboot and control individual power receptacles. If a system freezes, the technician can remotely reboot power and quickly return the network to operational status.

The single most important justification for remote power management is the cost savings related to site trips previously required to alleviate common issues, including:

• restoring network connectivity via remote reboot of key equipment after a failure;
• determining if equipment expansion or upgrades can be done within a rack pdu’s power level;
• increases in power consumption from attached systems that can warn of an impending hardware failure;
• remotely activating standby equipment and shutting down primary equipment;
• sequencing power to outlets on power up to eliminate current inrush and maximize use of circuit ratings.

These technologies are called out-of-band management or out-of-band networking and are implemented on console terminal servers. The most common interface used for out-of-band management is a serial connection to the service port of servers, storage, routers, switches, and other types of network equipment. Through a single interface, an administrator can manage power, console terminal servers and environmental and security management for a wide variety of applications.

Complete power management – beyond the protection of a UPS – can be a critical element of network management for today’s businesses. A properly-configured power management system can provide around-the-clock remote power access and real-time monitoring that allows the data center manager to address a large number of common network problems without the need for a site visit. With this capability, businesses can greatly reduce the cost of network downtime without increasing network management staffing costs.

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