Description
Advanced Console Server, 4-Port
Quick Facts
An economical, secure, and flexible way to manage serial console ports.
Provides secure in-band and out-of-band network management and supports modular interfaces.
Further Details
Can also be used as SLA concentrators, for disaster recovery, WAN backup, or server management.
Includes two PCMCIA slots—just slide in the interface card you need.
Use to manage console ports or as terminal servers.
Great for industrial automation or remote access applications.
Supports Secure Shell, Telnet™, and Web browser access.
Rackmountable.
For an economical, secure, and flexible way to manage serial console ports in your server farms, choose the Advanced Console Server from Black Box. It’s a terminal server, console server, and remote access server rolled into one unit.
Ideal for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and network managers, the Advanced Console Server connects to the console ports of servers and network equipment, giving you a secure way to manage your network servers both in-band and out-of-band via independent dedicated channels. The console server provides an alternate route to your network even when the data network is down!
It’s also great for industrial applications where you need to ensure access to automated serial devices, such as sensors or alarms. And telcos can use an Advanced Console Server as an SNA concentrator to archive server data.
Customize it for your connections.
Dual PCMCIA slots enable you to install internal GSM modems, ISDN cards, Ethernet interface cards, and even wireless LAN cards, so establishing an alternate link or adding a console server to your network is easy.
You can also scale the Advanced Console Server for additional port connections as the hardware in your server rack grows. You can even cluster and configure multiple units to appear as one logical unit for wide-area management.
As an option, you can order the Advanced Console Server with dual power supplies to ensure its operation during critical times. If one power circuit fails, the unit switches to the other power supply. (For details on this option, contact our FREE Tech Support.)
Place the Advanced Console Server on a desktop or shelf. You can rackmount the multiport models with the included rackmount hardware.
Secure access.
The Advanced Console Server supports Secure Shell, Version 2 (SSHv2), which encrypts data sent through the terminal connection, and authenticates dialup connections with RADIUS and PAP/CHAP. This way, it enables you to establish access from the network or by dialup while keeping intruders out.
Use the console server’s filtering function to establish access policies based on source and destination addresses and protocol types.
The Advanced Console Server also features a set of security profiles, including predefined parameters for controlling access to it and its serial ports. These give you more control over the services that are active at any one time. You can even custom configure individual protocols and services for your specific application.
As an additional security measure, all serial ports on the unit are disabled by default. It’s up to the administrator to enable and assign individual ports to users.
The Advanced Console Server also supports a number of authentication methods that you can perform locally or with a remote server, such as RADIUS, TACACS+, LDAP, or Kerberos.
Plus, it supports VPN connections, so you can set up an encrypted communications tunnel between the console server and a single remote host. Or you can create a secure link to a gateway at a remote location, so every device on the remote location’s subnet has a secure connection with the Advanced Console Server.
Easy serial port management.
The console server also has console management capabilities that make the job of troubleshooting your console ports easier. It not only offers local or remote off-line data buffering, it also provides direct access to its serial ports (whether by TCP port, IP address, or server name) and event notification via e-mail, a pager, or an SNMP trap.
The configuration wizard makes first-time setup of the Advanced Console Server simple. In addition to command line interface management, the console server supports HTTP/HTPS and SNMP. Plus, it’s flash-upgradable.
Use the onboard GUI interface to perform most administrative tasks for the server. This browser-based application can be accessed locally or remotely for a real-time view of all equipment connected to the Advanced Console Server. Configure users and ports, perform maintenance, recycle power, and reboot devices through the GUI interface. You can also set up logging, notifications, and alarms to alert you to any problems.
To connect the Advanced Console Server to your network, simply run the included CAT5 patch cable from its 10/100 port to an Ethernet hub or a switch.
You also use CAT5 patch cables, along with one of the supplied console adapters, to connect a server or a device with a console port to the Advanced Console Server’s serial port. We even include a crossover adapter for connecting the console port to a Sun® Netra server or other devices with the same pinout configuration.
Access devices locally or remotely!
Access the Advance Console Server and connected devices locally or remotely using any of the following routes:
Via a LAN or WAN IP network.
Through GSM modems, ISDN cards, Ethernet interface cards, or wireless LAN cards that you install in its dual PCMCIA slots.
By using a console session, such as Telnet or SSH, to connect to the console of devices that are linked to the Advanced Console Server’s serial ports.
Through a PC running a terminal emulation program.
What’s included:
Console server
CAT5 cable
(5) console adapters (DB25 male, DB25 female, DB9 male, DB9 female, Cisco/Sun Netra)
DB25 loopback adapter
DB25 male to RJ-45 cable for remote modem management
Set of rackmounting brackets
Wallmount power supply
NOTE: 48-VDC and dual, fault-tolerant AC power supplies are also available. For details, contact our FREE Tech Support.
NOTE: For information on ordering compatible PCMCIA cards, contact our FREE Tech Support.
NOTE: If you have questions about using adapters to convert the RJ-45 connector to another connector type, contact our FREE Tech Support.
This product works with:
CAT5e 350-MHz patch cables
Questions? Contact our FREE Tech Support.