Lighthouse software centralizes secure Smart Out-of-Band Management and NetOps automation through a single portal. It allows java-free remote access to Opengear console servers and third-party devices and is the engine that drives the NetOps Automation platform.
With SD-WAN and Edge Computing gaining adoption every day, we recognize the need for an out-of-band strategy that supports this. In fact, the importance of an out-of-band network and the alternative access pathway becomes even more critical. The increasing reliance on automation, rather than humans on site forces the approach of out-of-band networks to evolve to meet these new challenges.
We are taking this challenge head-on, and today with great pride, we are announcing the release of Lighthouse Enterprise.
The first two additional features in Lighthouse Enterprise highlight our commitment to providing solutions to solve that challenge.
1. Remote IP Access
Traditionally, out-of-band management has referred to the use of serial console ports on network devices to allow a human operator to access that device – often remotely – via CLI or a GUI, outside of the primary production network.
Increasingly, new network devices use alternative physical connections such as USB, ethernet, or fiber, which negates the use of traditional console servers. Additionally, with the adoption of NetOps workflows, there is no longer a human operator connecting to the device – in many cases it is an automated software system, which operates via IP protocols rather than through CLI or GUI.
The majority of Network Management Software is designed to use IP-based protocols (e.g. IPMI, SNMP, NETCONF, OpenConfig, Syslog, VPN) to reach network devices being managed over an always-on network infrastructure. If an edge location is offline, which is exactly when remediation action is needed, all network management tools are suddenly unable to access or to provide monitoring information. If you use a Log Management system for network health and security diagnostics, for example, it cannot continue to collect data if a remote site is disconnected.
To ensure a resilient network in these circumstances, the out-of-band network must now provide an alternate path with secure IP access to the remote site IP network, from a central location. LH Enterprise includes simple functionality to allow this remote IP access to occur through the platform.
2. High Availability
The new Multi-Instance Operation provides the ability to access nodes through multiple Lighthouse instances at the same time, allowing large enterprise users to maximize availability with redundant systems. It includes a rolling upgrade feature which ensures all instances are updated when the administrator upgrades the primary version; and allows up to 10 nodes to be configured.
We encourage you to reach out to your sales rep and ask to take these exciting new features for a test drive. We think you will love what you see.
