The Consolidated Management Solution for the "Distributed IT" Environment
The SecureLinx™ Branch Office Manager (SLB) enables administrators to securely manage remote servers and IT infrastructure equipment over the Internet. This innovative device combines the capabilities of the award-winning SecureLinx SLC Secure Console Manager along with remote power management and an Ethernet switch into a compact, 1U rack-mountable appliance. Designed to meet the specific needs of satellite facilities, SLB conserves rack space and reduces cost by enabling system administrators at headquarters to simply and cost-effectively manage the IT equipment distributed among branch offices.
Personnel in offices apart from corporate headquarters often face unique challenges when it comes to managing IT equipment such as servers, routers, switches, firewalls, VPNs, PBX and UPS systems. Often, there is no dedicated, or on-site system administrator. Therefore, when issues with networked equipment arise, they require a consultant or excessive phone time with corporate technical support – both adding cost and potentially extending downtime. And rack space, as well as dedicated air conditioning and sufficient power resources for data center grade equipment, is usually limited.
IT Management Built Specifically for the Branch Office
SecureLinx SLB is ideal for locations with a handful of servers and/or networked devices and where there is little or no on-site IT staff, such as branch offices or campus environments in a variety of industries including banking, finance, insurance, healthcare, retail sales, hospitality and education. It delivers secure remote management for up to eight serial devices, and power management (on/off/reboot) for up to four devices. It also includes an 8-port Ethernet switch with 10/100Base-T unmanaged Ethernet ports and Auto MDI/MDIx functionality.
A total out-of-band solution, the SLB enables administrators to centrally monitor, manage and troubleshoot IT equipment even if the network or Internet is down.
Because it integrates console management, power management and an Ethernet switch into a single unit, satellite facilities are not forced to purchase separate solutions that are designed for the enterprise data center (and excessive for the remote branch office). By consolidating three essential functions it saves space, simplifies deployment and lowers the cost of managing a “distributed IT” environment.
Enterprise IT Security for the Branch
Because protecting IT assets is a top priority, SecureLinx SLB provides SSH/SSL data encryption and features NIST-certified AES encryption. It also supports remote authentication for integration with other systems already in place. For added protection, it includes a firewall that filters connection attempts to a specified IP address, port, or protocol based on a defined rule set.
Easy to Deploy and Use
The Branch Office Manager is very simple to set up. After connecting the unit and assigning an IP address locally, administrators back at corporate can do the complete configuration remotely. A front panel LCD with keypad, “quick setup” Web interface and a command line interface (CLI) setup script are all available. The comprehensive online help system includes context-sensitive information during configuration and operation.
The Flexible, Scalable and Complete Distributed IT Management Solution
SecureLinx SLB can be coupled with a SecureLinx Spider distributed KVM over IP switch to add BIOS-level server management. Together they are a flexible, scaleable and affordable solution for managing distributed IT assets. Spider delivers secure, non-blocked access to servers without the need for any additional client software. With a server-powered, zero-U design, it takes no rack space and does not require an external power supply.
