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The CM4116 console server enables system administrators and network managers to affordably monitor and control their computers and networks anywhere in the world 24/7. The CM4116 provides consolidated access to serial consoles on devices such as UNIX, Linux and Solaris servers, routers, switches, PBXs and telecommunications equipment (DSLAMs) and power distribution units (PDUs).
The CM4116 enables an unrestricted number of distributed users to control serial consoles allowing remote and local administrators to use a single CM4116 console server to manage all their IT equipment.
Secure in-band and out-of-band serial console access
CM4116 console servers provide in-band and out-of-band access to local and remote networks of servers and devices. In a medium sized network the CM4116 will generally be located on the enterprise management network. Access to this management network will be provided out-of-band through a firewall or VLAN connection which is isolated from the main production network; or through a direct management network access gateway.
The CM4116 provides additional out-of-band access through a dial-up modem PPP port. So devices can be reconfigured and recovered in event of a broadband connection failure. All these connections are secure. Communications with the CM4116 use up to 128-bit AES encryption and they are all authenticated and audited.
Enterprise policies need flexible yet powerful access control mechanisms. The CM4116 restricts access by IP address, password and account - and once a user is authenticated they are further restricted to using nominated services and TCP/UDP ports on the specific devices they have been authorized to access. All in-band and out-of-band management activity is logged and these logs can be archived off line. This advanced auditing and tracking helps the organization conform to mandatory compliance requirements like Sarbanes-Oxley, GLBA and HIPAA.
Out-of-band network console access
As a serial console server, the CM4116 provides the administrator with robust secure in-band and out-of-band access to the serial console ports. And the CM4116 ranks with the very best serial console servers in terms of its performance, security, audit and monitoring features, support for customisation and reliability. However the CM4116 goes beyond this by also providing secure out-of-band management access to the network console ports and applications.
Computers and network devices in the data center and computer rooms are configured and controlled on a day to day basis over the main production network using in-band protocols and applications (such as Nagios, OpenNMS and OpenView). Many of the computers and network devices being managed also have out-of-band serial console ports so they can be accessed, reconfigured and recovered in event of a fault (such as the operating system crashing or a production network connection failing).
However increasingly these managed devices have an Ethernet network port (rather than a serial port) dedicated as their management console. The CM4116 supports SSH tunneling which enables remote control of computers using network console tools like RDP, VNC, Telnet and X. The CM4116 can also remote monitor and control networking appliances (such as routers) and power switches over the management network using network console protocols like IPMI, SoL and HTTPS. So remote and local administrators can use the one CM4116 console server to manage their computer systems and network appliances, using (text or graphical) serial or network consoles.
The SDT tunneled browser and SSH console support enables monitoring and control of network routers and firewalls. The tunneled VNC and RDP enables secure control of the sever operating systems and applications. While the tunneled Telnet access provides secure remote command line access to BIOS, EMS and legacy devices etc. Also the SoL and IPMI support enable out-of-band management applications (like OpenManage for Dell DRAC, IBM Director for RSA, SUN ALOM and HP iLO) to access the BMCs and service processors embedded in their servers. And the CM4116 also enables the remote power cycling of computers and network devices using the selection of third party UPS and power strips, IPMI controlled service processors.
These controls are all available out-of-band - before the computers have booted, before the networks have become active and even before the operating system has been provisioned. And the CM4116 affordably delivers secure access to these controls at the most remote sites in their distributed enterprise.
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