Remote Access to Education?
More and more students, year after year are attending and
graduating from Universities. This ever-increasing accessibility
to a University education brings with it a requirement for a multitude
of new Courses and Facilities. Universities are expected to keep
at the forefront of technological developments offering for example
Wireless Hot Spots in dormitories as well as libraries, in cafes
and lecture theatres, internet access everywhere on the campus etc.
IT applications throughout the University campuses are more and more
in demand. A large University with a mixed Unix, SUN and Windows environment,
consisting of over 70 servers, switches, and other network equipment
and applications, spread over 4 campus locations was finding the pressure
of maintaining a 24/7 service challenging.
The Network Administrator explains, “In order to perform any
server related activity, our IT staff had to travel to site and physically
be in front of the server, switch or application that required attention.
The everyday management of the server network was a complicated and
time consuming task.”
"We were aware of the existence of remote access network
management solutions, but had never seriously researched these, due
to budgetary constraints – we were under the preconceived impression
this type of technology was out of our financial reach."
With the constantly increasing number of applications and therefore
number of server requirements, the existing way of managing our networked
applications was becoming all consuming and no longer viable. “The
team was working flat out trying to maintain a scalable infrastructure,
whilst implementing new services and applications on a regular basis” says
the Network Administrator.
It was time to research a remote management solution. After testing
numerous products, the University decided that the Perle IOLAN Secure
Console Server (SCS) was the product that best met and exceeded their
requirements. Console Servers provide secure remote access to Unix,
Linux, Windows Servers and any device on the network with a console
port. Network Administrators are able to perform secure remote system
management and out-of-band management of their IT Systems from anywhere
in the world. The team would be able to remotely control, monitor,
diagnose and troubleshoot equipment over the network or the Internet.
Up to 48 applications were connected to each Perle IOLAN SCS Console
Server, enabling Administrators to have access to a Systems Console
from anywhere on the local network, or via dialup connections, as if
they were locally connected through a direct serial console port connection.
"The Console
Server solution was easy to install, set-up
and use – we have never experienced any problems with the devices.
Integration into the network was seamless – the ongoing day
to day infrastructure was not disrupted at all," says
the Network Administrator.
Given the flexibility of Perle’s IOLAN SCS range, with the growth
of the Universities IT System, additional Console Servers can be added
and integrated.
The Network Administrator adds, “We have been able to increase
efficiency by saving time – which ultimately saves us money”.
A secondary requirement in our increasingly security-focussed culture,
was to ensure that the remote access to the Universities IT applications
was secure. The Perle IOLAN
SCS Console Server, ensures that data mangement
information is protected through standard encryption tools such as
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Secure Shell (SSH). Access by authorised
users is assured via authentication schemes such as RADIUS, TACACS+,
LDAP, Kerberos, NIS and RSA Security’s Secure ID tokens. Network
administrators are able to encrypt all information and rest assured
their network is safe and accessible only to authorised personnel – by
creating personalised user accounts via the IOLAN SCS.
"All in all, " concludes the University Network Administrator,
"Perle was able to deliver the access, security and management
functionality we were looking for."
Perle IOLAN Console Servers additionally offer the following
features and benefits, important to the management of University
network infrastructure:
- Available in 8, 16, 32 and 48 RS-232 port models
- Next Generation IP support ( IPv6 ) for investment protection
and network compatibility
- AES, 3DES encryption over SSH or SSL sessions
- Hardware encryption processor for optimal performance
- Dual Ethernet with Redundant Path technology for network redundancy
- Secure clustering with one IP address
- Powerful authentication schemes prevent unauthorised access
- Port buffering for data capture and analysis – local, NFS
or encrypted NFS
- Multi-session capability gives secure port access rights for multiple
users
- Access Serial ports via web browser
- Event notification via email / Syslog / SNMP
- Optional integrated modem card / PC card adapter (GSM, ISDN)
- RoHS and WEEE compliant
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