COMMENT
How the cloud simplifies remote management Remotely controlling the cloud By Rick Stevenson, CEO, Opengear
Cloud technology may be something of a hot topic, but underpinning the elasticised, virtualised resources is a real physical infrastructure in remote data centres and co-location facilities. Thanks to the ubiquitous presence
of IP networks, organisations can now spread themselves as far across the globe as they like - but if they don’t keep close control over the remote outposts they operate, those outposts will not do them much good – and could, in fact, do them substantial harm. In the event of an issue with a remote
Rick Stevenson discusses the steady rise of cloud computing
system, the call-a-repairman approach – for so long the go-to solution for IT managers - can be problematic. The delays occasioned by a physical
inspection, meanwhile, are often crippling, as managers can wait for hours or even days for an IT service worker to arrive, identify the problem and find a fix. And that’s all beside the fact that an IT administrator based in London might not happen to have a relationship with trustworthy local service technician to quickly put out a fire (figuratively, hopefully) in a data centre in Singapore.
Critical infrastructures When it comes to critical infrastructures, companies often do not have the luxury of waiting days for service. Network interconnectivity makes the cloud possible, but interconnectivity comes with the price of ultimate dependence, as everything in an organisation might rely on that functioning data centre to stay afloat. If - and when - a critical part of
networked infrastructure goes down, an enterprise may face a situation where all their operations are inconvenienced or, possibly, worse. Reducing response time is even
more vital when it comes to addressing security threats. Hours or even minutes- long delays are unacceptable. The stereotype of a cyber-security
threat conjures up an image of a lone wolf operating out of his bedroom, but in actuality, 29 per cent of breaches involve some sort of physical component, according to a 2011 study by Verizon. The isolated nature of remote
facilities make them particularly attractive to cyber criminals, as is the
fact that these facilities can often serve as points of entry to the wider network. What’s the best way to monitor
and respond to issues that crop up at these remote facilities, whether be they overheating mainframes or security break-ins? Increasingly, industry professionals
are finding answers in the same types of high-tech advances that enabled organisations to spread their networks so widely in the first place. Remote site management systems,
as they’re known in the trade, let organisations integrate sophisticated maintenance and security programmes into their facilities, allowing them to watch from afar and reducing their reliance on technicians on-site. Remote site management systems can
monitor the physical environment— conveying information about temperature regulation, the presence of moisture and the state of power systems, among other things. They can also immediately detect
security breaches, monitoring access to the site, providing an audit trail and alerting managers within seconds to
Make 16 NETCOMMS europe Volume IV Issue 3 2014
easy.
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