REMOTE MONITORING

From the March 2007 
issue of Communications News

Virtual media creates benefits

Servers can access other media anywhere across the enterprise–more efficiently and more securely.

by Mark Nicolas


With remote virtual media, the storage media can be attached to any virtual media-enabled desktop anywhere on the network.

To ensure continuous delivery of essential business services to users across and beyond the enterprise, IT data centers require constant, diligent management. Security ranks as one of the highest concerns among data center managers, in addition to having an “always on” system.

Having technicians constantly going in and out of the data center to perform management tasks generally should be avoided for two reasons. First, over-reliance on the physical presence of technicians in the data center is slow and inefficient. Every time someone has to travel to the data center to install a patch or run diagnostics, valuable time is lost. Second, foot traffic through the data center is never a good practice, because when too many people spend too much time around critical systems, exposure to both malicious and inadvertent security risks is increased.

Virtual media, also referred to as remote media, addresses these issues of operational efficiency and security by allowing servers to access CD-ROMs and other storage media anywhere across the enterprise just as if they were directly attached via the server’s USB port. This allows technicians to quickly and easily move and copy data between the storage media and the server, empowering technicians to do their jobs more quickly and efficiently, without compromising the physical security of the data center.

Imagine that you are a technician and need to reload a server’s operating system, which is on a CD. Simply insert the CD into your desktop’s drive, push the OS out across the network and reload it directly onto the server. Now imagine the time saved by performing this task remotely.

Technicians can install application and OS patches, download files and perform diagnostic tests on multiple servers without physically entering the data center or leaving their desks. Nearly everything they would be able to do on-site, they can do securely from a remote location.

Virtual media also can be provisioned locally or remotely. With local virtual media, the server and the storage media are attached to the same keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch, so data transfers happen out of band through the switch. Technicians who have to be inside a server room or data center can do this easily at the rack.

With remote virtual media, the storage media can be attached to any virtual media-enabled desktop anywhere on the network. In these cases, data moves over the network from the enabled desktop to the KVM switch, and then via the USB port from the switch to the server.

Unlike conventional network-attached storage, virtual media allows technicians to take advantage of the convenience of removable media to work wherever and whenever necessary. As long as they have a CD or USB drive with whatever files they need on hand–whether diagnostic tools, a clean system image or a set of current patches–they can manage any server with a USB connection to a KVM switch.

By allowing servers to access storage media anywhere on the network as if it were directly connected to their USB ports, virtual media can:

  • improve business continuity and enhance service levels, because technicians can immediately solve problems wherever they are;
  • leverage IT skills and expertise across the entire enterprise;
  • reduce operational costs, improve administrator-to-server ratios and free technicians to spend their time on higher value tasks by streamlining remote management; and
  • eliminate “truck rolls,” reducing the costs and lost productivity associated with travel.

In addition, virtual media:

  • reduces traffic in the server room, lowering the risk of intentional and accidental damage to servers;
  • helps protect critical servers from unsafe and/or infected programs, while also reducing exposure to data theft by eliminating the need to bring removable media into the server room; and
  • facilitates compliance with security best practices mandated by regulatory requirements by providing tighter control over physical access to the server room.

For the IT staff, virtual media also offers a benefit that is important, but hard to measure–an improved working environment. Virtual media allows technicians to:

  • take care of routine maintenance and address server problems without getting up from their desks, so they can stay focused on strategic projects; and
  • easily work from home or the road, enabling them to avoid inconveniences such as late hours in the office or an extra commute on the weekends.

Many of the remote systems-management tools on the market require technicians to physically access servers when they need to load CDs, patch the OS and run specialized diagnostics. A virtual media solution helps avoid this process.

Before deciding to invest in a virtual media solution, however, make sure it works across all platforms and operating systems. Potential users will also want to make sure it includes several USB ports, allowing technicians to use different drives to support multiple sets of tasks. This flexibility enables IT departments to more efficiently and securely manage all their servers across the enterprise.

Mark Nicolas is a product manager with Avocent Corp.

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