LM-Series Console Server: Out-of-Band Baseboard Management

Adding Out-of-Band Resilience to Baseboard Management

Whether your goal is true lights-out management or you just need to manage a server that’s not conveniently accessible, the Lantronix LM-Series brings the power of out-of-band to baseboard management. With increasing deployments of SD-WAN architectures, more and more network infrastructure relies on servers for network function virtualization (NFV). 

Direct Connection Over Ethernet and/or Serial Cables

Lantronix gives you the option of connecting to servers over Ethernet, Serial console or both. These different connections provide unique functionality for baseboard management of the server locally.

Ethernet Connection to Remotely Monitor, Manage, Diagnose and Recover Servers

The LM-Series can connect over both serial console connections as well as over Ethernet to a server’s management port. In this case, a VM server is deployed for network function virtualization with the LM-Series increasing network resilience with out-of-band monitoring and secure remote access to the server.

The LM-Series can connect over both serial console connections as well as over Ethernet to a server’s management port. In this case, a VM server is deployed for network function virtualization with the LM-Series increasing network resilience with out-of-band monitoring and secure remote access to the server.

Connecting to the server over Ethernet allows the LM-Series console server to monitor through the service processor. This gives the LM the ability to remotely monitor, manage, diagnose and recover servers, even if the operating system has hung or the server is powered down.

Connecting to the baseboard management controller over IPMI, the LM-Series has a range of server management capabilities:

  • Monitoring of logs, events, and baseboard statistics (e.g., environmental data for temperature and humidity to be used for trending and root cause analysis)
  • Taking actions such as power on/off, and power cycle

The LM-Series’ connection to the server management port also provides the opportunity to forward the Web-based GUI of the server (both in- and out-of-band) using the port forwarding feature. In the software defined networking situation below, a physical LM console server provides resilience to all the functions running on the VM server.

In the Lantronix Control Center, an admin can click the SSH button for the VM server for a secure connection to the baseboard management port. Using a protocol forward, the LM-Series console server will broker a secure connection directly to the server Web interface.

Serial Connection for Additional Functionality

Using a serial port to connect to a server gives additional functionality for an LM-Series console server using Linux console or Windows EMS including:

  • Monitoring | Kernel logs, chassis performance statistics (such as memory and CPU usage)
  • Active management | The LM-Series can take actions such as alert, power cycle, one-line commands and session management operations such as logging out idle sessions
  • Raw buffer | Activity is collected locally in a 2 MB buffer
  • Audit and Compliance | The LM-Series logs all changes made by users and the results of these changes. This information is saved locally and then transmitted to a central location for analysis and long-term storage. Logging, recording and reporting are unaffected by the state of the network. The LM-Series continues to satisfy compliance requirements even during any network downtime.
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