Uplogix 43O

In today's distributed network environments, support staff can be faced with some difficult decisions. Although remote access is supposed to free them up from lengthy on-site visits, it brings with it a host of new problems. Access security for critical devices such as switches and routers is a big concern and in most cases it is subject to a raft of regulatory compliance demands. Furthermore, if the network is down, then support staff can no longer access the devices that they need to support.

Uplogix offers a smart solution as its SRM (secure remote management) appliances control access to the Command Line Interface (CLI) for any network device with a console port. Supported devices range from Cisco routers and switches, to Juniper network devices and ComTech satellite modems used by VSAT systems.

Essentially, Uplogix is providing an SSO (single sign-on) solution where support personnel present one set of credentials and the appliance gives them access only to those devices that they have permissions for.

The appliances monitor managed devices and provide alerting services for specified events, such as a switch port going down, or router hanging. Uplogix goes much further as the appliances protect device configurations with local backups, and in the event of a failure they can run automated scripts that carry out maintenance and recovery Uplogix 43O tasks.

On review is the Uplogix 430 model, which supports four managed devices that are connected directly to the appliance's RJ-45 ports. Only direct connections are supported as this offers far greater security, and access to the managed devices will not be lost even if the network goes down. Power also comes into the equation as the appliance's control port connects to standard smart power distribution boards, allowing users to switch devices on and off to power cycle devices.

Remote access to the appliance is facilitated by a pair of Fast Ethernet network ports that can be placed in a failover team for greater link redundancy. The USB port is used for upgrading the unit but also supports RSA tokens for two-factor authentication. A serial port is provided for connecting standard satellite, GPRS or V.92 modems for out of-band access. The appliance has its own internal hard disk which is used to store its own OS and provide a backup facility for all device configurations and firmware. It's also used to store session logs, allowing the appliance to provide a regulatory compliant auditing service.

We used a Cisco Catalyst 2940 switch and 1700 router and had no problems connecting them to the 430. To access the devices you can use any SSH client and we called up the popular PuTTY utility. The 430 provides a tidy CLI with a quick start wizard for each device port

where you run through defining the device make and model, and provide its management IP address, along with administrative user names and passwords.

A key feature is that users don't have direct access to the devices they are configuring - access is only permitted to the appliance. Every time a user accesses a device the appliance automatically backs up its configuration before letting the user loose. As a last line of defence, the appliance shows all modifications and the differences between this and the running configuration and will ask the user to review them before committing them.

Configurations can also be backed up manually and pushed from the appliance to selected devices. Uplogix offers a simple solution to securing remote access to critical network devices and is ideal for networks with geographically distributed sites where on-site support is difficult. It offers strict access controls, can automate maintenance and recovery tasks based on device alerts, and it also provides valuable backup facilities for device configurations. NC

Product: Uplogix 430
Supplier: Uplogix Inc.
Tel: 0207 193 2798 (UK); +1 877 857 7077 (US)
Email: info@uplogix.com
Web site:www.uplogix.com
Price: From £1,595 excluding VAT