PRESS RELEASE


April 2008

Avocent Corporation announced that its unique service processor management technology will be available as part of the new IBM iDataPlex system introduced by IBM. iDataPlex will enable more cost-effective and energy efficient management of servers for Web 2.0 companies facing massive scale-out challenges in data centers used to run the Internet. The new system supports the Avocent MergePoint® 5300 Service Processor Manager.

Designed to help IT administrators reduce costs by streamlining and consolidating remote power control and hardware health monitoring of servers, the Avocent MergePoint 5300 leverages embedded service processors built-in to most servers today. IBM iDataPlex is a customizable rack system that is interoperable and affordable. It supports industry management standards in addition to using open source software to keep costs low and also features design innovations in cooling and efficiency.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with IBM by providing Avocent technology for this new solution. Our MergePoint solution is proven to help customers reduce costs and address the challenges of managing servers in very large and complex data centers,” said Dave Perry, executive vice president and general manager of Avocent. “We are very focused on enhancing remote access solutions for our data center customers and this new project furthers our commitment to identify and develop ways to ease IT infrastructure complexities.”

The Avocent MergePoint 5300
The Avocent MergePoint 5300 supports multiple industry management standards that provide a common method for hardware-level server management. Those industry standards include:

Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) that offers a standardized method ‘inside the server’ to perform tasks such as real-time hardware monitoring and power control;

Systems Management Architecture for Server Hardware / Command Line Protocol (SMASH/CLP) that offers a standard command line interface;

Web Services for Management (WS-MAN) that allows a common method for systems to remotely access devices and to exchange management information; and the

Common Information Model (CIM) object manager that uses an information model with standardized management information to abstract, organize and communicate details about the managed device consistently between systems.

SMASH, WS-Management and CIM are standards developed by the Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. Avocent is a DMTF Leadership-level member and active contributor. Avocent is also the leading supplier of IPMI server firmware.

The Avocent MergePoint 5300 automatically discovers embedded service processors and configures them based on administrator set policies. This allows more efficient access and use of available service processor resources including remote power management, and proactive server health monitoring such as measuring temperature, fan speed, power consumption (where supported by the vendor) and voltage in real time. It also provides a SMASH interface – allowing administrators to take advantage of a consistent CLI regardless of the server manufacturer. SMASH usage can reduce ongoing training, education and support costs of management scripts as the CLI does not change.

“A recent Avocent survey shows over 90 percent of respondents have servers that include service processors. The Avocent MergePoint 5300 helps system administrators overcome the challenges of managing thousands or hundreds of thousands of service processors across complex, high performance environments by discovering and consolidating management access to a single, secure point in the rack,” said Perry.

The Avocent MergePoint 5300 Service Processor Manager will be available later this quarter.

Avocent became the first company to introduce vendor-neutral service processor management technology in 2004 by incorporating IPMI into server platforms. Today, an Avocent-driven IPMI server ships every 15 seconds worldwide. Avocent extended its service processor management with the introduction of the MergePoint family in 2005 for managing both IPMI and proprietary technologies, as well as offering a SMASH gateway capability. When used with Avocent’s DSView® 3 Management Software, the MergePoint consolidates server access and control into one secure, out-of-band platform for simpler management of disparate and dispersed IT equipment in data centers and remote offices.

“iDataPlex brings IBM innovation to bear on Web 2.0-style computing, helping clients scale back and simplify rapidly growing datacenters. Avocent complements this goal as its MergePoint solutions help bring simplicity to the datacenter,” said Jim Gargan, VP of Modular Systems, IBM Systems and Technology Group. “IBM is looking to technology leaders like Avocent to build an ecosystem of ready-to-use technologies for iDataPlex that will add value for our clients.”




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