Minimising Downtime: Harnessing Out-of-Band Management for Enhanced Network Resilience
Network outages, big or small happen every day
Category: Insights
14th July 2023
2022 was a year with significant network downtimes experienced by global organisations including British Airways, Google, WhatsApp and Twitter – causing poor user experience, crippling business operations and ultimately affecting the bottom line.
Luckily, there’s a powerful tool that can help mitigate these challenges: Out-of-Band Management (OOBM). In this blog post, we’ll delve into how leveraging OOBM can significantly reduce downtime and bolster your network’s resilience.
Understanding Out-of-Band Management:
Before we dive in, let’s get acquainted with Out-of-Band Management. It revolves around maintaining a separate management channel for network devices, operating independently from the primary network. This dedicated channel enables network administrators to securely access, manage, and troubleshoot devices even when the primary network is inaccessible.
Swift Access and Efficient Troubleshooting:
One of the key advantages of OOBM is its ability to provide immediate access to network devices during network outages. With an OOBM solution in place, administrators can establish a secure connection to the devices through a dedicated management channel, circumventing any issues affecting the primary network. This empowers them to swiftly diagnose problems, implement necessary fixes, and minimise downtime effectively.
Failover to Cellular:
Global cellular modules and centralised management software ensures access to your critical devices to fix the issue when the primary network goes down.
Streamlined Remote Management:
Managing geographically dispersed network infrastructure can pose a significant challenge, particularly when on-site visits are impractical. OOBM simplifies remote management by enabling administrators to access and control devices remotely, regardless of their physical location. This capability streamlines troubleshooting processes, reduces response times, and ensures efficient network management across distributed networks.
Proactive Monitoring and Timely Alerts:
OOBM solutions often incorporate robust monitoring capabilities, allowing administrators to proactively monitor the health and performance of network devices. Real-time alerts and notifications can be configured to promptly notify administrators of critical issues, such as device failures or unusual network behaviour. With proactive monitoring, potential problems can be identified and addressed before they escalate into major disruptions, minimizing downtime and maximising network resilience.
Cost Reduction:
In the event of an outage you no longer have to travel hours to remote locations to troubleshoot issues which saves time and travel costs for IT management and engineers.
By reducing downtime and fortifying network resilience are paramount objectives for any organisation. By leveraging Out-of-Band Management solutions, businesses can establish a separate management channel, ensuring uninterrupted access to network devices and enabling efficient troubleshooting during network outages. With the ability to isolate compromised devices, streamline remote management, and proactively monitor network health without having to go to site, OOBM empowers organisations to build a resilient and robust network infrastructure.
