Simplify Data Center Management with Centralized
Control of Service Processors
by 42U
Preventing Data Center downtime is a top
priority for Data Center managers, and for good
reason. Across every industry, lost hourly revenue
due to downtime is very expensive. Recent studies
estimate that downtime costs as much as $2.8M
per hour in lost revenue for firms in the energy
industry, more than $2M per hour for firms in
telecommunications, and $1M -$1.6M per hour
for companies in other sectors, including manufacturing,
finance, and information technology.(1)
Even on good days, Data Center infrastructure
management is a challenge, as administrators
often have to control computer systems, serial
devices, and power from multiple individual
interfaces. Centralized server management platforms
simplify access to IT assets by aggregating
access and providing a single management portal,
thus eliminating the need to manage devices
individually.
When downtime occurs, centralized server
management platforms provide a unified point
of entry that allows administrators to access,
troubleshoot, power cycle, and bring servers
and appliances back online quickly. In addition,
on a day-to-day basis, centralized management
allows administrators to more easily and efficiently
do their jobs.
Integrated Onboard Technologies
Integrated onboard technologies, or service
processors, are microcontrollers embedded in
a motherboard of a server, a PCI card, or on
the chassis of a server. They are independent
from the main CPU and the system OS and are
accessible through an Ethernet interface; dedicated
(Out-of-Band) or shared with the data Ethernet
(Sideband).(2) Service processor
features vary by manufacturer and include remote
power-cycling of devices, monitoring of a server's
on-board instrumentation (temperature, CPU status,
fan speed, and voltage), remote console access
via Serial over LAN (SoL), and the ability to
set event traps and perform OS-level shutdown.
Some service processors also allow for data
logging, KVM control, and virtual media. There
are several different types of integrated onboard
technologies made by various manufacturers.
Details about specific service processors can
be found in Table 1 at
the end of this article.
Centralized Management
There are currently two centralized management
platforms on the market, Avocent's
DSView and Raritan's
Command Center, which can be used to manage
devices made by multiple vendors. Avocent also
makes two service processor aggregation appliances
that can be used to manage devices with integrated
onboard technologies: the
Cyclades OnBoard Service Processor Manager
and the
MergePoint 5200 Management Gateway Appliance.
Both integrate with the DSView software and
can also be managed by CLI. The Cyclades OnBoard
provides out-of-band physical consolidation,
power control, and monitoring, and requires
only one external IP address for all connected
devices. The MergePoint provides service processor
"auto discovery"; hardware monitoring, group
execution of commands; integrated support for
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Virtual Network
Computing (VNC), and Serial over LAN (SoL) power
control. Raritan, whose embedded solutions include
PCI cards, industry-standard "daughter" cards,
and a single-chip solution, currently supports
generic devices through its Command Center Secure
Gateway appliance and is expected to further
expand this support to include IPMI in Q1.
Minicom,
whose
KVM.net product currently provides out-of-band
KVM over IP management for mixed server environments,
is expected to add support for integrated onboard
technologies in Q2.
Bringing Together A Total Solution
Both
Avocent
and
Raritan provide complete integrated management
solutions that allow administrators to manage
devices with embedded onboard technologies such
as IPMI, iLO, and DRAC, as well as allowing
them to manage equipment currently controlled
through secure console servers or
KVM over IP. In addition, some devices can
integrate support for Remote Desktop Protocol
(RDP) and Virtual Network Computing (VNC), so
that full server management coverage (in-band
and out-of-band) can take place from one user
interface. 42U's knowledgeable sales engineers
can provide you with a customized business-specific
solution that will help you accomplish your
goals.
Table
1: Integrated Onboard Technologies/Service Processors
|
Hewlett-Packard
|
iLO (integrated
Lights-Out)
|
An intelligent management processor
integrated on most ProLiant servers.
Available in iLO Standard and iLO Advanced.
iLO Standard provides basic system board
management functions, diagnostics and
essential "Lights-Out" functionality.
iLO Advanced provides enhanced remote
administration functionality with a
license, including graphic remote console
and virtual media. It also has increased
security features such as integration
with Microsoft Active Directory and
Novell eDirectory and two-factor authentication.
(3)
|
|
RILOE
(Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition)
|
PCI cards that provide front-of-the-server
remote management for ProLiant servers
that do not have embedded Integrated
Lights-Out technology.
(4)
|
|
Dell
|
DRAC (Dell
Remote Access Card)
|
A systems management solution designed
to provide remote management capabilities
for Dell PowerEdge systems.
(5)
|
|
IBM
|
RSA (Remote
Supervisor Adapter)
|
Service processor on a PCI card that
manages the Baseboard Management Controller
(BMC). The SlimLine, a version of the
RSA II, is an internal card that includes
the BMC and uses a dedicated Ethernet
connector on the server for communication.
It also allows web-based management.
(6)
|
|
Sun
Microsystems
|
ALOM (Advanced
Lights-Out Manager)
|
The standard system controller for remote
out-of-band management for many current
Sun servers. ALOM allows for monitoring,
logging, alerting, and basic system
control. It replaces the Remote System
Control (RSC) used on VSP servers and
Lights Out Management used on Sun Netra
servers.(7)
|
|
ILOM (Integrated
Lights-Out Manager)
|
A built-in system management tool that
enables monitoring and management of
the components installed in the Sun
Blade 8000 Modular System Chassis. It
is accessible through both web browser
and command-line interfaces and supports
the SNMP and IPMI management protocols.
(8)
|
|
RSC (Remote
System Control)
|
Remote management and administration
software for Sun Fire V480, Sun Fire
V490, Sun Fire V880, and Sun Fire V890
servers that provides a graphical user
interface (GUI) and command-line interface
(CLI). (9)
|
|
Multi-Vendor
|
IPMI (Intelligent
Platform Management Interface)
|
An open standard service processor technology
that provides a single service processor
protocol for servers manufactured by
different vendors. IPMI has been adopted
by every major server platform vendor.
(10)
|
|
