A Unique Approach To Networking

Internet communication now pervades modern life.  It is a necessity for both personal and business use.  This even includes networking, which is the process of connecting a group of machines.  Average people usually associate networking with PCs, but it can also apply to industrial equipment or even robots.  Either way, if the Internet is part of this connection, IT personnel can initiate out of band management.  With out of band management, a person can work on a network without actually being in the same location.

Before out of band management existed, networking was limited to wires and a central computer.  The central computer was responsible for communicating with the other devices on the network.  However, the downside to such a setup is obvious; if you are not in the same area as the network, you cannot initiate communication.   This is why IT researchers worked hard at trying to find a better solution.

Colleges and the military were the first entities to experiment with different networking technologies.   Then during the 80s, Corporate America became interested in what was going on.  Their interest would translate into dollars and cents, which made researchers work even faster.   Within just a few years, the console server was born.  It was the first device that created out of band management.  Unfortunately, the Internet could not be used as the technology was primitive at that time.  But with the console server, IT professionals could control different parts of the network with a centralized hub.  The device did not have to necessarily be in the same area.

Console servers had also created another advantage.  If an element within the network was not working, IT personnel did not have to shut down the whole system.  They could use the console server to isolate the problem, shutting down just that device.  With this ability, employees can continue their tasks as the rest of the computers would still be functioning.   Before, this was not possible.  Everything had to be shut down to fix the network.

As time passed, out of band management improved even more as the Internet became more widespread.   Now, such a network would not only have a console server, but also access to an Internet account.   The technology might use Telnet or something more sophisticated.  Either way, once the person logs on, they will be able to view the status of each device.   And, if a problem is software-related, changes can be made over the Internet.  If there is a hardware problem, the technician would still have to go to the network’s location.  But in the meantime, they can shut off the offending device through their online account.  The rest of the network would continue running like normal, with no further intervention on the part of the technician.