Raritan 'reinvents' the serial console server for IT and network administrators

"By managing equipment from wherever IT experts are located, whether at the rack or miles away, companies can dramatically reduce IT support costs, staff travel time , and improve business uptime," says Richard Dominach, Director of Product Management at Raritan. "Our SX II has a new powerful hardware platform providing better performance and new productivity features to manage IT environments, where security, high availability and costs are top concerns."

The Dominion SX II builds on the success of its predecessor – the Dominion SX, one of the most widely deployed serial console servers. SX is used daily by IT and network administrators to manage more than a half million serial devices, including network switches, routers, firewalls, servers; power distribution units (PDUs) and telecommunications gear.

Because the Dominion SX II controls IT devices through their serial ports, IT specialists can use the secure console server to monitor and manage any connected serial device, even when the network is down. Should a device hang, administrators can cycle the power on individual devices using the SX II and Raritan’s PX intelligent rack PDUs.

SX II: Performance, Reliability, Security, Manageability and Productivity

All thirteen SX II models come with dual-power supplies (AC or DC), dual gigabit LAN connections with automatic failover and multiple methods of at-the-rack access. Models with internal modem are also available. Here are some of the Dominion SX II highlights:
More powerful hardware platform in a 1U rack-mountable appliance.
A 1GHz CPU engine, an eight-fold increase in RAM, and up to 8 GB of flash storage.
Supports up to 10 sessions per port, up to 200 total serial sessions.
Port configuration is 15 to 23 times faster, with order of magnitude improvements in simultaneous connections, connection speed and serial processing.
Full CLI access and auto configuration for fast installation and configuration changes.
The SX II offers complete CLI access and management via SSH, Telnet and web-browser, with convenient direct-port access methods. Also automatic installation & configuration via USB stick or TFTP server.
Autosensing DTE/DCE ports.
For fast installations, the SX II supports straight Cat5 connections to Cisco (and other compatible RJ-45 devices), without rollover cables.
Government- and Military-grade security features.
SX II supports 256-bit AES and FIPS 140-2 certified encryption, LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS, Active Directory authentication, and IPv6 networking.
Provides multiple forms of local at-the-rack access:
Traditional RJ45 serial port, Mini-USB port for laptop connection, and a DVI- and USB-based KVM console for connection to a rackmount keyboard tray, or even a KVM switch.
3G/4G cellular modem support;
optional connection to an external modem for emergency access.