Raritan Improves Blade Server Management with New Software for Dominion KX II KVM-over-IP...

Raritan Improves Blade Server Management with New Software for Dominion KX II
KVM-over-IP Switch

-Dominion KX II simplifies data center management with remote and at-the-rack
access support for leading blade servers from IBM, HP and Dell-

SOMERSET, N.J., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Raritan today expanded its
capabilities for managing blade servers, including leading blade servers from
IBM, HP and Dell, so that data center blade and rack-mounted servers can be
managed efficiently through a single easy-to-use interface.

The new software release for the Dominion(R) KX II -- Raritan's award-winning
KVM-over-IP switch -- presents a more complete view of the data center by
including all types of servers in a hierarchical display, and provides
extensive server access options and a rich suite of management features.

Unlike competing offerings, Dominion KX II provides blade access and
management without requiring the use, and expense, of a separate management
system. The KX II automatically discovers blades and provides server access at
the rack or remotely from the office, home or on-the-road using secure in-band
and/or out-of-band access methods. The KX II's easy-to-use, browser-based user
interface provides a consistent user experience for both remote and
at-the-rack server management.

By identifying blade servers with name and/or slot number, the KX II enables
one-click user access -- eliminating the need to use complex and sometimes
non-intuitive hot-key switching sequences provided by blade manufacturers. The
KX II's Universal Virtual Media feature enables remote installation of
software, file transfers, data backup and diagnostics. When used with
Raritan's power management products, the Dominion KX II can remotely control a
server's power.

"The high market adoption of the Dominion KX is a testament to its unique and
powerful server management capabilities, and its ability to support the
evolving data center," said Peter Suriani, Director of Product Management at
Raritan. "It addresses today's data center management issues arising from
higher-density, virtualized, and lights-out operations. It also supports
Green IT trends. The Dominion KX II helps IT teams manage more - servers,
locations, technology platforms, applications -- with fewer resources."

Overcoming the complexity of managing multiple blade architectures, the
Dominion KX II leverages the inherent strengths and capabilities of a blade
server. For example, Raritan security features -- including 128-bit Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES) of keyboard, video and mouse data, strong password
support, and built-in authentication capabilities -- are maintained, while
several blade-specific security features are leveraged, including per-blade
access permissions to give fine, granular user access control and hot-key
blocking to avoid unauthorized access.

By accessing a blade's management module, the server's advanced management and
administration capabilities are leveraged by the Dominion KX II. This includes
automated blade discovery, dynamic blade server status, and secure blade
switching.

Dominion KX II and CommandCenter Secure Gateway for Enterprises
For enterprise customers, the CommandCenter(R) Secure Gateway (CC-SG)
management system expands the capabilities of the Dominion KX II solution.
CC-SG integrates multiple Dominion KX II switches and connected servers to
provide consolidated discovery, access and control, power management and
auditing of all elements of an IT infrastructure -- including virtual servers,
physical servers (blade and rack servers), networking equipment, and power
devices. Accessed by logging onto a single IP address, CC-SG eliminates
time-consuming multiple logins and the need to open multiple interfaces in
order to reach a specific server or group of servers.

CC-SG provides multiple views of blade servers, including a device view that
shows blade servers organized by chassis. Custom views enable customers to
view and organize blade servers by a variety of dimensions, such as site,
rack, application or organization. Customers can also choose the type of
access most useful to them for the task at hand by leveraging CC-SG's powerful
in-band access to individual blade servers, as well as embedded KVM access
(via iLo, DRAC or RSA).

CC-SG is an especially helpful tool for managing dynamic virtualized
environments. To deliver accurate, real-time IT infrastructure views, CC-SG
keeps tabs on the migration of data between virtual and physical machines.

Dominion KX II Availability
Dominion KX II 2.1 is available worldwide through Raritan's distribution
channels.

Winner of the '2008 InfoWorld Technology of the Year Award,' the Dominion KX
II is self-contained and comes with all key features, including authentication
and Web-access, built into the appliance. Visit
www.raritan.com/Blade-Management for more information on the Dominion Series.

About Raritan (Raritan.com)
Raritan provides secure IT infrastructure management solutions that increase
data center efficiency and productivity by delivering integrated in-band and
out-of-band energy management, server access and control. Raritan's power
management software, intelligent PDU, environmental sensors, KVM, serial
console and centralized management products are in use in more than 50,000
locations worldwide. Raritan's OEM division provides embedded hardware and
firmware for server and client management, including intelligent energy
management, KVM over IP, IPMI and other industry standards-based management
applications. Based in Somerset, N.J., Raritan has offices worldwide serving
76 countries. For more information, please visit Raritan.com

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SOURCE Raritan

The Harbor Group for Raritan, +1-978-526-1601, Raritan@theHarborGroup.com