In an earlier column we discussed the many networks overlaying a data center - one was the management network, which we defined mainly in terms of “out-of-band” (OOB) access. This is an area where there has been continued progress.

OOB management comprises both serial management networks - providing console access and KVM sharing - and Ethernet management networks, especially those connecting to servers through lights-out management cards. If the data network is the clear air through which services and data fly among servers, OOB access provides ground-level entry to the servers, through the brush.

Of course, there is plenty of management that goes on in-band, via the server connections to the data network, and typically using products from vendors such as HP, Tivoli, or BMC. Data center managers look to products like that to provide the highest degree of automation, with the expectation of being able to monitor - and to a lesser extent, manage - groups of devices and to do so with helpful, detail-abstracting GUIs.

On the other hand, they tend to look at their out-of-band networks as retail, rather than wholesale, management tools. Mired in the origins of such tools as console sharing devices, many data center managers still see them mainly as sophisticated, shared consoles.

The new functions that have generated the most excitement among users are implicit in that perspective. Replacing bulky, special-purpose cables with Cat-5 twisted pair (plus specialized dongles), for example, was greeted with enormous enthusiasm; providing remote console access by connecting the console manager to the data network was seen as revolutionary. But at the base, it was still about having the equivalent of a console on a box.

Nevertheless, OOB vendors have forged ahead. They have added features (and planned for more) intended to take advantage of the fact that direct-attached out-of-band management platforms offer a solid base from which to perform many tasks that are usually handled with in-band tools. They also exploit the fact that they can do things in-band tools can’t, since those require cycling power or switching network parameters.

Adding OOB access to the management network itself via modem or other low-cost, low-bandwidth alternate data connectivity to the appliance makes the solution even more attractive, especially for that 30% or so of enterprises that still host IT resources in branch and regional offices.

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