Avocent Cyclades TS1000 User manual

OVERVIEW
Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile telecommunications company,
provides an extensive range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice
and data communications with a significant presence in Continental Europe, the
United Kingdom, the United States and the Far East. Germany represents the largest
mobile communications market in Europe in terms of customers, and Vodafone D2
currently serves 24.7 million.
As it adds subscribers to its wireless network, Vodafone D2 continues to look for
ways to upgrade and better manage its network. When it replaced the console
servers at the core of its out-of-band infrastructure, Vodafone D2 chose Cyclades®TS
terminal servers. Its primary business requirement was for centralized server
management that integrated with its network architecture of mostly Sun™ servers.
CHALLENGE
For total network management coverage, Vodafone D2 uses systems management
tools to address IT application failures using the network along with out-of-band
management tools to access, monitor, provision and maintain mission-critical IT
assets, including more than 400 Sun servers at its data center near Düsseldorf and
eight branch offices located throughout Germany. Any new out-of-band
management solutions, such as Cyclades TS terminal servers, had to enable network
managers to remotely access and manage IT hardware and operating systems
independent of the network. Yet they had to be compatible with the existing network
architecture and systems, providing seamless in-network and out-of-band access to
equipment.
Vodafone D2 also needed a remote server management solution with enough
flexibility to make quick configuration changes, as unobtrusively as possible. The
company also required offline data buffering, which stores all data that comes from a
server, to analyze server performance as well as Sun hardware incidents.
Security features, specifically SSHv2 encryption with strong authentication and
auditing control, were critical to enable network managers to selectively grant
access to the appropriate IT personnel. Auditing and logging were needed to track
'who does what' with the network infrastructure.
PROFILE
Company
Vodafone D2 GmbH
Type of business
Mobile communications
Corporate headquarters
Düsseldorf, Germany
Web site
www.vodafone.de
Application
Remote access and management of servers
"Since first deploying Cyclades TS
terminal server more than two years ago,
we have not experienced any out-of-band
infrastructure problems that have resulted
in network failures and unplanned
downtime."
Patrick Maes
IT Coordinator
Vodafone D2 GmbH
CASE STUDY – Telecommunications
Securely Monitor, Provision and Maintain IT Assets
with Out-of-Band Management Tools by Avocent

SOLUTION
Vodafone D2 purchased Cyclades TS3000 and TS1000 terminal servers, recognizing
out-of-band management tools as fundamental to reducing by hours the event
duration for a given failure, and to increasing the effectiveness of the entire IT
organization. Technicians can quickly take control and log in to a server from a
single location without having to travel to remote sites to address problems, saving
the company time and money while increasing network availability. Cyclades TS
terminal servers also allow them to view, access, and control multiple devices from a
single system, helping to reduce the need for redundant equipment installations and
risks from multiple points of failure.
To enable the remote management of Sun servers, Cyclades TS terminal servers are
Sun break-safe certified. "Break" is a specific signal sent over the console connection
for the server to suspend operations. Unfortunately, some terminal servers may
unintentionally send a break signal when turned on or off, or due to an internal
software malfunction. Cyclades TS terminal servers are designed to never send an
unintentional break over the console connections. This provides Vodafone D2
network administrators with the peace of mind to install Cyclades terminal servers
in remote locations.
ABOUT AVOCENT
Avocent delivers IT operations and infrastructure management solutions for
enterprises worldwide, helping customers to reduce costs and simplify complex IT
environments via integrated, centralized in-band and out-of-band hardware and
software. Through LANDesk, Avocent also is a leading provider of systems, security,
and process management solutions. Additional information is available at:
www.avocent.com.
RESULTS
• Reduced IT infrastructure incidents
• Centralized server management
• Integration with in-band systems for complete
network management coverage
“Using terminal servers to access and
diagnose information, change low-level
system configuration and perform other
administrative tasks is one of the
easiest and most effective ways to
reduce human intervention and
operational costs while minimizing
unplanned downtime."
Patrick Maes
IT Coordinator
Vodafone D2 GmbH
Corporate Headquarters
4991 Corporate Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805
TEL [phone] FAX [phone]
www.avocent.com
Avocent, the Avocent logo, The Power of Being There and Cyclades are
registered trademarks of Avocent Corporation or its affiliates. All other marks
are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2006. Avocent Corporation. All rights reserved.
1006-VDF-CS