Gateway Fiber relies on IOLAN Console Servers for remote point-of-presence (PoP) site access.

For a business that serves hundreds of thousands of customers across several U.S. states, a disruption to its high-speed internet service can have serious financial and reputational consequences. Remote access to diagnose issues quickly is critical.

Gateway Fiber is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that provides reliable, high-speed internet to homes and small businesses in the rural and urban centers of Missouri, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and North Dakota. As they expand high-speed internet into a new area, a PoP site, also known as a micro data center, is built. Each PoP site consists of a field cabinet that contains the switches, rectifiers, and other active electronics necessary to service up to 10,000 customers in the area.

But sometimes, things go wrong. In cases of disruption, sending a field technician to far-away locations to diagnose an issue can be very time-consuming and costly. With micro data centers spread across multiple towns and cities in four states, Gateway Fiber requires a dependable means to remotely access the equipment in the cabinets.

Initially, Jeff Shilt, Senior Network Engineer at Gateway Fiber, considered pairing a Cisco terminal server with a small LTE router at each location. However, this proved to be very expensive. A Perle IOLAN Console Server with integrated cellular connectivity could do everything he needed for half the price, and all in one device.

The IOLAN Console Server gives the ultimate back door connectivity, says Shilt. When we’ve had a fiber cut or we lose access, we come in via the LTE and use the serial console ports to get into our equipment.

Shilt also explains how the IOLANs change the game when it comes to maintenance. When we must go in and do firmware updates on the equipment, we can be outside of the network, coming in via an LTE interface, and get directly onto the console port of the equipment, as if we were physically there in the cabinet. The IOLAN makes it easier and safer because, as the equipment reboots, we can see a lot more of what's happening inside and ensure it goes right.

The IOLAN Console Servers are also proving beneficial during on-site hardware upgrades. When we're doing a hardware update, we generally have a field technician out there. But, once connected to the IOLAN, an engineer can use LTE to console into the equipment and direct the field tech on what to do from there. This significantly reduces how much time the field technician has to spend at a given location.

Shilt concludes, Any new cabinet we build is going to have an IOLAN in it for out-of-band access, and they’re awesome for that. I mean, they’re just perfect.

About Gateway Fiber

Gateway Fiber is helping communities thrive through a fairer, friendlier, faster internet experience. As data requirements for residences and businesses continue to expand, Gateway is creating a leading, national fiber-to-the-home platform to serve this critical unmet need. Gateway provides faster, more reliable internet with a simple pricing model and industry-leading customer service.