Avocent DSView 4 Management Software

I've been using DSView 3 for about seven years now. I started using it in a support capacity for Avocent where I mastered the software and now as an administrator for Loblaw where hundreds of IT users use it daily to monitor and access their servers.
I love this software because of it's simple point and click, access and control UI make it an excellent data centre tool for managing multiple servers on multiple platforms in a centralised environment.
Also, what makes this solution better than your average remote controlled software is that because of the hardware components (KVM,Serial, Service processors switches), DSView becomes an out-of-band management solution. What this means is that your no longer bound by network or software OS limitations. You can manage your server outside the network and at the BIOS level.

Avocent/Emerson recently upgraded the software to version 4 which I am currently beta testing for my company to roll out in the fall. The migration from ver 3 to 4 was fairly painless and so far the software maintains a similar UI and functionality as ver 3 which means my user base should have no problems making the transition once I launch it.

Below is more detailed information about DSView for review, however if u have any questions about this software, please feel free to drop me line...

RM

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The Avocent DSView™ 4 management software provides data centers with a secure, centralized management solution for all IT assets, including virtual and blade servers, VMware and service processors. DSView 4 lets administrators access, diagnose and modify any managed device from any point on the globe, regardless of the health or status of the operating system or network connection to those devices. DSView 4 software makes data center management accessible, manageable, secure, and extensible.

Accessible

The DSView 4 software “hub and spoke” architecture allows for high availability and distributed, consolidated access across locations. The out-of-band features of the DSView 4 software allow administrators to diagnose and repair problems even when gateways, routers or other IP connectivity is down.

Manageable

DSView 4 provides a single, secure, browser-based interface to manage an entire data center, including the following:

• Blade servers, enclosures
• VMWare® Virtual Infrastructure, ESX Servers and Virtual machines
• Citrix® XENServer™
• Rack mounted servers
• Microsoft Hyper-V
• Avocent KVM over IP switches
• Avocent Advanced Console Servers (ACS 5000/6000)
• Power Management Power Distribution Units (PM PDUs)
• Service Processor Managers (SPM)
• Embedded server management technologies
• Third party PDUs and KVM over IP appliances

DSView 4 software provides custom views for each user, graphical report building and task automation tools, along with a holistic view of your network assets no other system can equal. Administrators can design custom reports to fit the needs of individual data centers.

Secure

DSView 4 easily integrates with existing security infrastructure, authenticating against internal or external standards-based services. All traffic is encrypted and the detailed activity logs provide a critical audit trail for issue resolution and regulatory compliance. With the inclusion of FIPS 140-2 appliance compliance and 2048 bit SSL certificates, DSView 4 upgrades security features for a variety of markets. By minimizing the need for local access in the data center, these remote management capabilities allow sensitive machines to be physically locked down for greater peace of mind.

Extensible

Data centers evolve. Whether migrating to blades, experimenting with SANs or simply deploying new routers, DSView 4 software helps maintain control by integrating with new technologies and by providing a consistent management interface, regardless of your underlying infrastructure. DSView 4 software offers integration with NetClarity, Uptime Devices, VMWare and others. It also provides an API to integrate third-party applications, tools and systems.