Most networking equipment of course has in-band IP management
(SSH/Telnet/HTTP to loopback or other interface), some have out of band
IP access on dedicated IP MGMT Ethernet port, and all have serial
console RS-232 (most are RJ11 now) access.
We find less value in setting up OOB IP/Ethernet MGMT access because you
usually either have access directly in-band IP (even remotely if you
have access to one device you have access to all - assuming they are all
operating normally and the PoP was just isolated), or you require serial
console access especially when things really go sideways.
If a device doesn't respond at the IP layer (in or out of band) your
only choice is the console port and getting a field tech hours away with
a laptop, proper cables, cellphone hotspot to the laptop with remote
access software so the NOC can reach that console is simply not
workable, at least in our case.
Even with fully accessible in-band access to equipment, it's nice to
have console access when issuing in-band software/firmware/bootstrap
upgrades or making extensive changes that may cause you to lose
connectivity (you hope the change you made works and not all devices
have rollback in x minutes feature), or it may be the only way to grab
coredumps/crashlogs or other status in the event of device failure.
So for us and many other operators, serial console access is a
requirement for cellular OOB access.
And while the Raspberry Pi + LTE USB modem + Startech is cost effective
combination and works fairly well with an occasional need to replace
microSD, making sure you only use the cellular network (for tunnels or
direct access) when needed is key in keeping cellular costs down.
On 11/3/2024 3:39 PM, Forrest Christian (List Account) wrote:
Sorry to hijack the thread.
I've been considering developing a few different products to broaden my
product line so it isn't so WISP focused. One of the things I've
looked at is a terminal server device since the existing ones seem so
rediculous for the price.
BUT.. to meet the price target I'd want to hit, cellular connectivity
would be out of the question, due to the excessive cost of the testing
that the cellular networks require to permit connection to their
network. This is probably why the existing products which have cellular
connectivity cost so much.
I was sort of under the impression that it was pretty typical for out of
band cellular access to use one of the off the shelf wireless routers/
hotspots to provide management-only ip connectivity. That way, you can
connect to the management interface on every device. Is this not the case?
On Sun, Nov 3, 2024, 6:55 AM dbernardi <dberna...@zitomedia.net
<mailto:dberna...@zitomedia.net>> wrote:
Not that device in particular but the number of locations and RS-232
ports per device may drive you in a certain direction.
I've been looking for a new solution as well. With 100's of
locations I
find you need some sort of dashboard to track and manage devices,
whether home-grown or from a provider.
We originally used Opengear 3G console servers but had to replace them
as Verizon phased out 3G service so we put together our own RPi with a
Verizon 4G USB cellular modem and a Startech USB/RS-232 adapter with
appropriate number of ports. That <$200 solution worked pretty well
but
if you don't pay attention to tunnel management (make sure it switches
back to on-net link) it's easy to rack up a 5 figure Verizon bill even
with a M2M type service.
So if you have a lot of devices to manage having visibility into them
and/or cellular is key. Tunnels become less important if you are
willing to pay for static IPv4 or stable IPv6 addresses from the
carrier
but you still have to monitor them.
I looked at some ~$1500+ devices but at scale it becomes a pretty
significant capital project and I consider tunnel/cellular management
more important anyhow.
I tested the Digi Connect IT-4 with Hologram and it worked well but
they
didn't have Verizon as a carrier at the time (they do now for
additional
fee). We provide cellular backhaul to many T-Mobile and AT&T sites so
in the event our PoP/cabinet becomes isolated the concern is that same
towers we provide backhaul to would be how we would gain out-of-band
access to our equipment said outage. Point being in our case having
primary access to Verizon is important.
I'm currently looking to test Symetry (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T)+
Peplink
router. Peplink has a what looks like a very nice tunnel service
dashboard (InTouch @ ~$40/year/device) but their hardware is lacking
console ports so you still need some type console/RS-232 server if you
need more than 1 port. I'm considering leaving the RPi and Startech in
place as a terminal server (works well) but using the Peplink+Intouch
for cellular access/tunnel management (where we struggled).
There's also consideration of what you are planning to do with RS-232
access. Are you just doing occasional "show interface" commands when
you lose in-band access, uploading firmware/bootloaders, or collecting
telemetry.
Anyhow, based on what I looked at so far, I think most of the
integrated
rack mount console servers are pretty similar in features, cost and
reliability but your cellular related requirements may matter (eSIM or
multiple carrier support for example). Some also seemed to differ in
tunnel options as well if that's a consideration.
So if the cellular console server meets your needs and cost (scale) is
not as important, I think you'll find they all pretty much the same.
On 11/1/2024 3:14 PM, Adam Moffett wrote:
>
> Has anyone used this product? Does it suck?
> https://www.wti.com/products/dsm-8dcnm-e-gige-console-server-8-
port- <https://www.wti.com/products/dsm-8dcnm-e-gige-console-
server-8-port->
> rj45-dual-ethernet <https://www.wti.com/products/dsm-8dcnm-e-
gige- <https://www.wti.com/products/dsm-8dcnm-e-gige->
> console-server-8-port-rj45-dual-ethernet>
>
> I got spam from this company recently, and purely by chance I was
> researching a cellular OOB management option so I got the manual
and dug
> into it a bit. It has exactly the features I'm looking for. I'm
> wondering if by chance anyone here has already bought from this
company
> and maybe you can save me the trouble of finding out the hard way
that
> they're terrible.
>
>
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