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Providing Out-of-Band Connectivity to Mission-Critical IT Resources

Home » Archives for May 2021

Out-of-Band Is a Lifesaver for Critical Edge Networking. Here’s Why …

by | May 18, 2021 | Out of Band Management, Remote Network Management

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The edge of the network is where local area networks make their connections to the edge of the Internet and to wide-area networks. Thus, edge networking serves edge computing, which brings computation and storage resources closer to the locations where it’s needed to help improve response times and reduce long-haul bandwidth consumption and associated costs.

In other words, the edge includes systems that are close to endpoint devices on your networks, and where third-party services may interact with them. This includes such things as typical end-user devices (PCs, tablets, smartphones, and so on), as well as Internet of Things (IoT) devices (sensors, cameras, and so forth), self-service kiosks, mobile apps, POS systems, and other systems and services active in the so-called “last mile” of a network.

Understanding Edge Networking and Computing

Devices at the edge are different from networks at the edge. Devices at the edge attach to the outermost reaches of your networks so they can connect to and use apps, services, storage, and data as their needs dictate. Edge networks, on the other hand, describe the connections and tunnels that connect branch and remote office locations to each other, to your data centers, and to distributed cloud-based applications and services. Edge computing involves providing resources and services normally found at the network core (especially in a data center) closer to the network edge so that users can consume compute, storage, data, load balancing, and more quickly and efficiently. A good general way to describe such processing and its location is to call it all “edge networking.”

Learn more about the challenges of Edge Networking and some real-world examples in this 14 minute podcast.

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How Out-of-Band Plays into Edge Networking

Various kinds of technologies can make critical remote infrastructure more reliable, resilient, and robust. This helps to keep that infrastructure running, and helps ensure a better experience to those who must rely upon it to be secure, available, and efficient. Such technologies include:

Analysts estimate that by 2023, over half of all data generated in enterprises will come from locations outside the data center or the cloud. That means from edge networking facilities of all kinds, close to the action. That’s where workers are working, devices are acquiring data, transactions get processed, and so forth and so on. How does out-of-band (usually abbreviated OOB) play into this situation and related management and control scenarios?

OOB provides a separate communications connection to the infrastructure that supports and controls edge networking. Historically, OOB connections have used slow, narrow-bandwidth connections via phone lines or similar technologies (X.25, ISDN, and so forth) to connect to devices, so they can be accessed, inspected, updated, repaired, restarted, and more. Nowadays, wireless links such as 4G and 5G, and wired long-haul networking technologies such as Metro and Carrier Ethernet offer higher bandwidth, more capability, and direct support for TCP/IP.

By design, OOB is separate and disjointed from production networks. It will often rely on separate interfaces and media (and even service providers) to provide a “way in” to key devices for management and control, even if (or when) production networks go down. OOB tools let IT professionals manage and troubleshoot edge networking devices even when they aren’t otherwise accessible. Then, they can be reset, repaired, updated, or simply restarted to put them (and the infrastructures they support, including compute, storage, and network resources) back to work quickly and easily.

Good OOB management tools and facilities also support automated monitoring and response, so that simple repairs and corrections may be applied without requiring human operators to get involved. This permits enterprises to monitor performance and respond quickly to slowdowns and outages that might otherwise affect user productivity, or impede key data flows. The same tools and capabilities also support improved security posture, with the ability to remediate or work around threats and vulnerabilities as they’re discovered.

In general, OOB management and control provide the tools and technologies needed to make the most out of edge networking and its compute, storage, and network capabilities. As more and more activity moves to edge networking environments, enterprises need to maximize their productivity and usability, provide the best performance and user experiences, and manage security and data protection. OOB offers the “right stuff” to do all these things both affordably and well.

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Ready for a deeper dive into edge networking? Read our free ebook:

Download the eBook: The Future of Edge Networking

Critical Remote Infrastructure and Why It Matters

by | May 17, 2021 | Out of Band Management, Remote Network Management

Companies are finding it challenging, and sometimes difficult, to adjust to remote work. But “work from anywhere” (WFA) isn’t just a passing fancy, nor is it likely to subside even when the world emerges from the other side of the pandemic. An untethered workforce, in and out of the office, is likely to be part of whatever normal working conditions means from now on. Thus, it’s essential to recognize that success depends on your network as a crucial business and access component, and as the lifeline through which work acts and moves.

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Keeping an enterprise connected—especially to remote workers, and to customers and partners—is necessary to keep the business running, productive, and profitable. Traditional networking solutions were built for heavy-duty use, but under controlled in-office situations and conditions. Today, operating and managing remote infrastructure is key to supporting WFA and normal business operations and success. There will be changes involved that involve new ideas and approaches, along with new habits and instincts to develop and call upon.

Understanding Critical Remote Infrastructure

Critical remote infrastructure includes edge computing facilities, remote and branch offices, and other locations away from data centers and headquarters where the company network must have access. In short, any infrastructure elements that deliver remote access—including WAN links, routers and switches, servers and storage, plus hyperconververged infrastructure components—must keep running for a modern company to keep working and conducting its business. If all such elements are visible and easily manageable, companies will be able to remain profitable and productive even when employees and customers are scattered around the globe.

How Technology Supports Critical Remote Infrastructure

Various kinds of technologies can make critical remote infrastructure more reliable, resilient, and robust. This helps to keep that infrastructure running, and helps ensure a better experience to those who must rely upon it to be secure, available, and efficient. Such technologies include:

  • Out-of-band management
  • Failover networks
  • Secure access tools

In the sections that follow, each of these technologies is explained, and its relevance to maintaining a working critical remote infrastructure explored.

Advanced Out-of-Band Management

Advanced out-of-band (OOB) management solutions can bring OOB networking into the 21st century. Where dial-up or ISDN is slow, old-fashioned, and insecure, modern, OOB technologies let companies perform management tasks from anywhere. This fits today’s WFA world nicely, because IT staff are as likely to be working from home as anyone and everyone else.

An advanced OOB solution uses a separate and secure management path that’s isolated from all other networks. In days of yore, OOB connections used slow, narrow-bandwidth connections to connect to devices, so they could be accessed, inspected, updated, repaired, and more. Modern OOB runs over wireless links such as 4G and 5G, or wired long-haul networking technologies such as Metro and Carrier Ethernet. Thus, modern OOB offers higher bandwidth, more capability, and direct support for conventional, well-known and -used protocols (e.g. the TCP/IP stack).

Modern OOB lets companies respond quickly and efficiently to incidents or outages, and get the job done expeditiously and securely for routine maintenance and upkeep. Not only is the OOB network protected from unwanted traffic and attack, it also provides rapid access to the management network via full-speed broadband connections. Because advanced OOB makes network management convenient and efficient to any location, it’s ideally suited to keep critical remote infrastructure running at its best and most secure.

See what we’re talking about (in less than 2 min.) in this intro video explaining data continuity with OOBM.

Cellular-Based Network Failover

If elements of critical remote infrastructure go down or become unavailable, a business will suffer from lost productivity as remote workers are idled or isolated from vital apps, data, and services. Worst case, restoring connections can take hours or days, as work simply ceases. Modern remote networks can employ cellular failover to prevent such downtime. If the main connection drops, a failover-equipped network switches to an always-ready cellular connection (3G, 4G, or even 5G) to maintain network continuity and accessibility.

Capable cellular links provide companies with freedom of choice. They can decide which wireless carriers to employ, and can even elect multiple backups. It’s reasonable to think of such capability as a kind of “connectivity insurance.” In fact, most cellular carriers deliver 99% reliability or better, so the odds are highly in favor that your failover will work.

Keep Workers Working Using Secure Access Service Edge

Remote workers need equipment, connections, identity and access authorization, and more to enjoy a successful work experience away from the office. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a transformative technology that bypasses traditional hassles involved in remote work setups. It moves networking and security into the cloud so users benefit from safe connectivity wherever they’re located, through SASE’s nearby points of presence.

Also, SASE uses an identity-driven security model. Employees need not rely on special hardware; instead, they can access the network using their own smartphones, tablets, desktop PCs, or other web-capable devices. In fact, SASE offers employees flexible, always-available network access. At the same time, it frees up your own enterprise links for business-critical traffic. If you deploy a modern SASE solution, you can keep your staff connected and your remote workers working.

Check out these blog posts for more tips on remote work: “6 IT Solutions to Implement Right Now for More Effective Remote Work” and “Managing a Remote Team.”