Improving Network Design for a Major Online Retailer
Out-of-band management is a critical component of network design. Instead of using one of your main networks for administrative tasks, out-of-band (OOB) gives you admin access via a completely separate path. In this blog, you’ll learn about how one of the world’s largest online retailers implemented OOB, and how Nodegrid brought a few major surprises to the table.
Why consider out-of-band in network design?
How you approach network design depends on your industry, business goals, customers, and many other factors. However, enterprises across the spectrum implement out-of-band because it’s crucial to keeping networks running.
Out-of-band (OOB) gives you an isolated access path to your network’s assets. When it’s time to make routine updates, implement configuration changes, or address network threats, OOB is your secure line for administration. You don’t have to put your main network at risk or interrupt service. And with modern OOB solutions like Nodegrid, you can give support staff convenient remote access. No more rolling a truck for issues like resetting a password or updating firmware — you can do it all even from half a world away.
Here’s a recap video explaining Out-of-Band Management:
Along with OOB, you should also think about automation and consolidation when considering network design. Together, these three solutions bring you significant benefits like time and cost savings:
- Out-of-band gives you remote access to your infrastructure. Think about no longer having to roll a truck every time a device needs to be rebooted, a patch installed, or a configuration rolled back. This can save you tremendously on support costs, boost response times, and help you maintain network & business continuity.
- Network automation lets you automate critical tasks. When it comes to deploying new locations, you can take advantage of zero touch provisioning and get a network that builds itself. This helps you allocate resources more efficiently (i.e. let staff provision remotely instead of having to coordinate expensive travel plans & on-site work). You can also automate ongoing tasks and even non-routine work, saving you even more time & money on support.
- Consolidation using all-in-one devices helps you save on CAPEX, rack space, and energy. Instead of having to deploy several devices to deliver failover, Wi-FI access, switching, routing, etc., you can use consolidated appliances. This can significantly reduce your stack, deployment costs, and support expenses.
How does Nodegrid improve network design?
ZPE Systems’ Nodegrid is pioneering network design capabilities that weren’t available until just a few years ago. And as you’ll see with this case study, we’re reinventing networking with possibilities that network engineers only dreamed of until recently.
Nodegrid’s advanced out-of-band gives you remote access without slow modems and phone lines. It takes advantage of fast broadband over WAN, and is even supported by cellular failover paths. So even if all your other network connections suffer an outage, Nodegrid’s out-of-band gives you continuous access to your infrastructure.
Nodegrid also supports custom automation via the most popular automation tools. Not only can you use zero touch provisioning and make configuration management a breeze, but you can also deploy your own in-house applications for seamless integration.
On top of all this, Nodegrid features all-in-one devices that let you wield the power of consolidation. In fact, you can replace up to six devices using the Nodegrid Services Router, which is a powerful appliance for converged infrastructure and features capabilities like switching, routing, cellular failover, and more.
But don’t just take our word for it.
Here’s how Nodegrid improved a major retailer’s network design
When a Fortune 500 business needed out-of-band at its distribution centers, they were faced with drawbacks. Traditional thinking meant they would install a network switch and an out-of-band device at each MDF. But Nodegrid came along and completely reimagined their network design.
Instead of wasting rack space, energy, and CAPEX & OPEX by implementing a traditional solution, the Nodegrid Services Router was deployed and helped save across the board. Without expanding their stack, the e-commerce giant got an all-in-one device with serial and networking capabilities that allowed them to gain full control of MDFs and IDF closets.
Out-of-band and consolidation were vital components of the implementation. But a major key would be seamless integration with the company’s automation-heavy environment. Nodegrid’s open, automation-friendly platform fit right into their network, and they deployed their proprietary kick-off application with ease.
Want to get the full story? You’ll get the details about how Nodegrid streamlined network design to deliver savings, convenient management, and customer satisfaction.
