A security manager named John is out to dinner with his wife celebrating their anniversary. A text message from his boss informs him one of their critical DVRs has locked up at a remote location two hours away. Someone has to go out and physically reboot the DVR, and since his boss is out of town, there’s no one left but John. He informs his wife that their dinner has to be cut short so he can drive to the remote location. Wouldn’t it have been nice if John could have taken out his cell phone and in 15 seconds re-booted the DVR from his seat at the restaurant?
Remote Power Managers, also called IP-addressable smart PDU’s, could have come to John’s rescue. An RPM provides administrators with the ability to manage remote devices more efficiently and reduce equipment downtime by giving them direct access to power control. Remote power management solutions are also used by many businesses and organizations to manage systems at offices and branch locations where there are no security or IT staff members.
Today’s Information technology systems are far more complex and far more widely distributed than in the past. Because of this, the challenge of managing these systems has become a more arduous task, demanding that security managers, IT managers, and telecom managers be constantly informed about the status of all devices in their systems.
Minuteman’s RPM products are the ideal solutions for technology administrators who manage one or more remote locations. Once connected to a web browser, the user can easily control power to attached devices from virtually anywhere utilizing a user name and password. With a simple click, users can perform a power up, power down or reboot for devices connected to an RPM. Ample security protections can be enabled, including HTTPS support, SSL and SSH encryption, group permissions, SYSLOG, and IP address filtering using MAC or RADIUS.
Administrators can also program the RPM to notify personnel when a device locks up with a built-in automatic ping function, and even allow the RPM to reboot the locked device without any human intervention. Each receptacle can be individually addressed, and other features include scheduling re-starts, SNMP support, power re-start sequencing, and event log file generation.
Regardless of what causes downtime and/or lock-ups, it is essential to keep vital applications and equipment up and running. Things happen unexpectedly and preparedness for these events is vital. It pays to invest in solutions such as Minuteman’s Remote Power Management products to aid in the support of mission critical devices. When equipment fails, it costs businesses money.
For more information on Remote Power Managers, click here.
