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KVM switch solves server expansion: insurance services company chooses remote access over more IT personnel - Remote Access

Communications News, July, 2003

Cameron Gocke, systems engineer for the Aon Services Group in Chicago, needed a solution to provide local and remote access to his 125 servers and other network devices that run the company's critical operations. Gocke's single most important criterion for the solution was reliability. In addition, scalability and flexibility were key decision elements because of the company's plan to double its number of servers to 250.

"We have a geographically spread out population of end-users and our choices were to hire trained engineers to be on call 24/7, or select a solution that provides remote access to our servers. We opted for the latter," says Gocke. "We also needed a scalable solution that could grow with us as our server environment expands."

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Aon is a world leader in risk management, retail, reinsurance and wholesale brokerage, claims management, specialty services, and human capital consulting services. The Aon Services Group is the outsourcing and alternative distribution arm of Aon Corp., providing services to various segments of the insurance industry through a number of specialized subsidiaries. The subsidiaries provide services to a host of clients, including independent insurance agents and brokers, professional and third-party affinity groups, insurance carriers, and individual consumers, companies and organizations.

Aon chose Raritan Computer's Paragon KVM solution for BIOS-level troubleshooting and rebooting. For remote access, Aon installed Raritan's IP-Reach solution, which is designed to work with the Paragon or any other KVM switch and supports multiple users.

IP-Reach provides secure BIOS-level access to servers from anywhere using a Web browser and adapts to different network bandwidth constraints. According to Gocke, the solution offered all the benefits he wanted, without any compromises.

He says the KVM switch does not require that a server's operating system be running in order to perform maintenance tasks. Instead of being connected to a network port, he says, which uses in-band connection, the Aon KVM switch plugs into a serial port, which provides an out-of-band connection enabling BIOS-level access to the server.

To help in the final selection, Gocke considered several factors. First was whether the KVM tool would introduce a time lag between the server operator's actions and the visual feedback the operator perceives on his or her monitor. He also wanted to ensure that usability in different conditions over the company's WAN would be maintained.

Network independence and security issues also were important. The solution transmits all data fully encrypted with 128-bit keys. Furthermore, the IP-Reach protocol and decompression algorithm itself is protected. The KVM switch employs only one, customizable TCP port, thereby minimizing Aon's firewall exposure, and a hardened kernel renders IP-Reach unsusceptible to viruses.

Gocke also wanted maximum video resolution, investment protection and ease of installation. "The Raritan product does not require a software component because complete access to the appliance can be initiated via a Web browser," he says.

"With our database clusters, we need a stable environment for our KVM switches, and any in-band remote management tool--whether software- or management card-based--lends itself to instability," he adds. "We solved that problem. Since our remote-management solution is server independent, no drivers or software needs to be loaded onto the server."

Aon Services Group has been live with the Paragon solution for more than a year and has experienced 100% uptime. Gocke says Aon has realized significant savings with the solution, including a reduced need for IT personnel, and increased capability for anytime access to the KVM switches.

Technology Industry

KVM switch solves server expansion: insurance services company chooses remote access over more IT personnel - Remote Access

Communications News, July, 2003

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