While working on an IT Service Desk, I would always say that anything can be fixed remotely -- with the exceptions of Internet connection failure and hardware failure. If the Internet is down, I am unable to log in remotely to fix the problem. If there is a hardware issue, I am also unable to open the machine up and replace a part remotely. When either of these two situations occur, a technician is generally required to go onsite to repair the problem.The above-mentioned problems can cause lengthy outages as there needs to be an opening in a technician's schedule plus travel times to the actual location that needs a fix.But what if there was a way to support remote systems even during an Internet or hardware issue? Lantronix, a provider of secure data access and management solutions, is attempting to fulfill that need. The company develops ConsoleFlow, a centralized IT infrastructure management and monitoring software platform. The offering, expected to reach general availability in Q3 2018, is optimized for out-of-band management.According to the company, Lantronix ConsoleFlow integrates with Lantronix console management products. From there, it enables IT administrators and network engineers to remotely monitor, manage and fix their IT equipment over broadband and cellular networks from anywhere, anytime. This would mean that even if the Internet is down at a company, technicians should be able to log in remotely to attempt to repair the issue. Lantronix is hoping to accomplish this through an LTE Connectivity Kit in its IT Infrastructure Management product lineup, which enables integrated 4G LTE cellular access to the Lantronix SLB and SLC 8000 products. The company stated that "with automatic failover capability, this new accessory offers an alternative to the backup dial-up connection. It ensures seamless access and management of remote IT infrastructure equipment when the primary network connection is not available or compromised, further enhancing resiliency when things go wrong with any IT network."The new ConsoleFlow also includes:The technology sounds promising. Network-related downtime can trigger significant losses for any business. Most MSPs, naturally, are striving to minimize time to resolution when issues pop up. When you are able to solve a problem faster than the competition, you will win business.
- Centralized directory for console managers and attached IT equipment with integrated search and browser-based terminal access – giving network administrators visibility and access to IT equipment.
- IP-SLA compatible automated network performance monitoring – allowing IT personnel to identify network issues before they become an incident.
- REST APIs with role-based access controls for building custom tools, scripts and integration with existing management applications and IT workflows.
- Customizable rules for a variety of statistics and the ability to be proactively alerted via email, SMS and push notifications.
- New native ConsoleFlow iOS and Android mobile applications for anywhere, anytime access to directory, search, status, and notifications.
- Flexible deployment options with an on-premise virtual appliance or a Lantronix-hosted cloud-based SaaS offering.