Providing Out-of-Band Connectivity to Mission-Critical IT Resources
ZPE® Systems Network Solutions Architect Rene Neumann shows you how easy it is to enable agile networking. See Nodegrid and ZPE Cloud first hand with our collection of demo videos. You’ll learn how to:
Today, ZPE Systems has addressed these gaps with the release of a fully-integrated, open SD-Branch platform. This platform consists of a new edge gateway called the Hive Services Router (Hive SR) with integrated 5G/4G LTE; cloud-orchestrated SD-WAN application; and wireless access points.
By collaborating with industry tech giants, ZPE Systems is enabling large enterprises, managed service providers, and other organizations to achieve comprehensive automation, robust out-of-band management, Day Zero installation, and continuous operation, bringing NetDevOps to the edge. This eliminates weak links in the automation chain, allowing for automatic deployments and remediation that are critical to reliability and uptime.
ZPE Systems’ Co-founder and CEO Arnaldo Zimmermann explains: “People automate what they can, but not what is most critical to their infrastructure. This leaves dangerous gaps in processes that cannot be automated. For example, you can’t recover a stuck switch without being able to talk to a third party PDU. Using our vendor-neutral platform, you can bridge those gaps and remotely connect to all your third party infrastructure.”
The Hive SR delivers more than connectivity and security, with integrated out-of-band and cloud automation that allow companies to orchestrate their NetDevOps pipeline in its entirety. Its open architecture, powerful x86 CPU, and robust memory and storage enable companies to directly host 3rd party software, containers, and VMs such as those for NGFWs or user experience monitoring applications.
The Hive SR also features the latest generation Wi-Fi 6 access point built-in, which covers 3,000 sqft (300 sqm) of space. Additional coverage can be achieved using the new ceiling-mounted ZAP-5220 access point, which complements the SD-Branch solution by providing enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 5 throughout indoor locations at speeds up to 1.2 Gbps.
Additionally, the Hive SR accommodates Nodegrid’s environmental sensors and connects to ZPE Cloud. These integrations allow companies to increase uptime by having visibility into device tampering, physical conditions, user experiences, and hidden machine data. The ZPE Cloud platform finally enables organizations to automate across diverse, multi-vendor equipment at the branch, thanks to its vertical integration of hardware and orchestration stacks. Organizations can now prevent downtime, predictably configure and scale environments, and optimize user experiences at the edge.
Increasingly hybrid infrastructures force organizations to shift connectivity and security to the edge, which can lead to a ‘tromboning’ or ‘hairpinning’ effect as traffic is looped through the data center. The Hive SR with the new SD-WAN application eliminates this, serving as the on-ramp to what Gartner calls Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) — or cloud-delivered connectivity and security. This combination allows organizations to send traffic directly to public and private clouds, without congesting the data center or risking security. Features like Auto-VPN and QoS automatically create secure tunnels and give IT visibility into application performance, bandwidth, link status, and other critical metrics.
Bringing everything together is the company’s signature next-gen out-of-band with Zero Trust Security at large scale. Next-gen out-of-band enables management of the entire SD-Branch solution and adjacent equipment, without putting engineers on site. Servers, PDUs, IoT, and other devices present at the remote edge can be controlled via serial console, management port or USB connection. This robust out-of-band is reliably accessible via the latest generation 5G modem onboard the Hive SR, which enables the branch to be completely rebuilt from scratch via the cloud — a process ZPE calls ‘seed-of-life automation™.’ These capabilities reduce mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) and prevent downtime via instant remote access to edge locations.
Nodegrid OS v5.4 also releases, including notable features such as support for SD-WAN, gateway profiles, 5G cellular, and IPv6. These enable organizations to take full advantage of ZPE Systems’ next-generation SD-Branch solution.
VP of Marketing Koroush Saraf adds, “One customer reported that the all-in-one Nodegrid solution exceeded all requirements, slashed 50% of their workload, and helped achieve near 100% network uptime.”
Hive SR is shipping now in limited quantities. Visit the links below for details.
Explore the 5-in-1 SD-Branch gateway that enables full pipeline automation.
Whether on-prem or in the cloud, optimize your WAN with a free 90-day trial.
See how the compact ZAP-5520 enables your LAN with speed and security.
ZPE Systems is rethinking the way networks are built and managed by providing software-defined, vendor-neutral infrastructure management and networking solutions.
ZPE Systems’ Nodegrid® platform consolidates, organizes, and simplifies the need for a complete remote access and control solution; Nodegrid solutions address the OOB management needs of the data center and branch, unifies edge networking environments, manages converged infrastructure and provides intelligent automation. ZPE’s smart, consolidated IT management solutions reduce downtime, deliver OPEX savings, and extends the reach of IT workforces.
ZPE’s global headquarters is located in Fremont, California with offices throughout the US and globally in Ireland, India, Brazil and Japan.
ZPE Systems, the ZPE logo and Nodegrid are registered trademarks of ZPE Systems, Inc.
To learn more, visit www.zpesystems.com.
Branch networking comes with its own set of challenges that can get in the way of normal operations. As a network engineer, you’re tasked with preventing business disruptions while simultaneously scaling, troubleshooting, and managing network connections. This can be a daunting challenge that may lead to slow deployments, inevitable downtime, and unoptimized connectivity.
The good news is, Nodegrid was built from the ground up to address these major concerns with branch networking. Read on to see how our branch-in-a-box solution helps you scale, troubleshoot, and manage with one innovative system.
Consider the common challenges of scaling and adding branch locations to your enterprise network. You’re typically left to ship preconfigured devices to each site, which not only adds more time and cost, but more risk as well. What if these preconfigured devices get lost or end up in the wrong hands? Because they contain user accounts, passwords, and other sensitive information, having these devices get lost or stolen puts your network at greater risk of attack.
Once your devices successfully reach their destination, the real work begins. You need to manually set up all appliances at the location, which involves logging into each individually and making appropriate configurations. This takes even more of your time and money, and leaves you open to potential setbacks that can occur due to human error. What if your compliance documentation contains a mistake, or your IT personnel unknowingly repeat an error while deploying 10, 20, or even 50 new sites?
Nodegrid was made to address these concerns of security and scalability. Nodegrid appliances consolidate network functions, sport Linux OS for third-party application hosting, and feature ZPE Cloud connectivity.
When adding a new branch location, you don’t need to ship anything preconfigured. Ship bare-metal Nodegrid devices, which eliminates the threat of having your data lost or stolen, and simply plug them in. Zero touch provisioning means all configuration data can be automatically downloaded from ZPE Cloud, only when your devices are safely at their destination. This capability is even extended to devices that you connect to Nodegrid appliances.
Suddenly, backdoor security threats are no longer an issue, and neither is costly human error, since all your branch locations can be deployed consistently via the cloud.
Face it — troubleshooting issues could be a much more intuitive undertaking. But it’s difficult, mostly because of the sheer number of devices you deploy at each location. When something goes wrong, you probably refer to your spreadsheet that shows specific device information for each branch. From there, you might run through troubleshooting protocols to narrow the list of potentially problematic devices and what the issue might be, and then you can finally work toward a solution.
Nodegrid does away with all the hassle, because it uses consolidated devices and Nodegrid Manager software that pinpoints problems for you.
Nodegrid devices are powerful, featuring x86 64-bit architecture that accommodates third-party application hosting for cyber security, SD-WAN, firewalls, and more. For switching, routing, and computing, you need only a single Nodegrid device. This reduces potential points of failure so you can solve issues easier. On top of this, Nodegrid Manager is software that gives you a complete view of all your network-connected devices. It features alerts and notifications that let you know of problems before they occur. Together, Nodegrid’s hardware and software make it simple to pinpoint issues and prevent downtime.
With many devices at each branch location, it’s likely that your hardware stack includes multiple vendors. This is part of achieving a right-fit solution for your enterprise, which can serve you well when looking at the bigger business picture.
But when you get down to the details of managing branch networking, this mishmash of vendors can be a nightmare. Each device has its own OS and interface, which can exhaust your staff. You need to spend time and money training them to become proficient with each. Still, even your best experts can become quickly fatigued when they’re forced to transition from device to device, interface to interface, protocol to protocol, and so on.
One of the best parts about Nodegrid is that it answers the question, “What if it could all be done using one tool?” That tool is Nodegrid Manager.
Nodegrid Manager shows you every device connected to your Nodegrid appliances, and features Guest OS that gives you total out-of-band control regardless of vendor. With one intuitive interface, you can control your entire infrastructure, get deeper visibility and insight into your network, and even extend features to bridge gaps between devices. It can all be done remotely as well, so you can manage and optimize your branch networking no matter where you are.
Avocent’s litigation included allegations that ZPE had infringed two patents. Prior to the settlement, ZPE obtained court orders that Avocent’s patents were invalid, and that ZPE could proceed with a number of counterclaims against Avocent, including counterclaims that Avocent was in violation of Federal antitrust laws because it filed the case knowing that its patents were invalid and unenforceable.
In January 2019, ZPE and Avocent settled their dispute. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
“We were pleased with the court’s rulings, which recognized that Avocent’s patents are invalid and cannot be used to prevent ZPE, or anyone else, from competing with Avocent,” said ZPE CEO and co-founder, Arnaldo Zimmermann. “We are also very pleased with the settlement. ZPE can now better focus its efforts on the market.”
ZPE was represented in the litigation by Robert Whitman of Mishcon de Reya New York, LLP.
The cases were Avocent Huntsville, LLC v. ZPE Systems, Inc., case number 3:17-cv-04319, and Avocent Corporation v. ZPE Systems, Inc., case number 3:18-cv-06556, both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Link to previous Article: ZPE Systems, Inc. Announces Significant Litigation Victories
Team ZPE will be at Interop ITX on May 15-19, 2017 – Stop by booth #532 to meet the team, grab a some prizes, and sign up for your chance to win a Google Home!
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