The Top 3 Features of Enterprise KVM-Over-IP

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Gento

Companies with hundreds, if not thousands of severs need an effective and secure way to manage them all remotely. Despite the popularity of software based remote access tools and embedded services over the past decade, neither provides the same level of performance and security as a KVM switch. It’s one of the reasons top government agencies and leading financial institutions still rely on KVM-over-IP.  These are the top three features of enterprise KVM-over-IP that make it the superior remote access tool.

1.  They Feature BIOS-Level Remote Access

In a perfect world, your servers would never get hung up or crash. But alas this all too common reality is enough to frustrate both business users and the IT staff that must hustle to restore critical services! While software based tools require a running OS, and embedded services require an additional port, only KVM provides true out-of-band remote access that allows you to reboot remotely.

2. They Provide At-the-Rack Performance

A true enterprise KVM switch can provide blazing fast video and audio that’s just as good as working on the rack directly.  This allows IT staff to perform server maintenance and troubleshooting in less time and helps to avoid a great deal of frustration that may arise when working with a slower KVM that only provides access with a great deal of lag!

3. They Do Not Compromise on Security

Software based remote server management systems have well documented security flaws; some studies assert that poorly configured software access tools are responsible for 62% of breaches. Embedded service processors were recently revealed to have shocking vulnerabilities such as the ability to login without authentication and the use of cleartext to store passwords. Enterprise KVM on the other hand features government mandated protocols like: AES & FIPS 140-2 encryption, Common Access Card (CAC) authentication, and IPv6 networking.

When you take these three features into account with the fact that many enterprise KVM switches can accommodate up to 8 users working on up to 64 servers, support BIOS-level access over mobile devices, and even virtual media over IP for remote installation, booting, and diagnostics – it becomes clear that choosing an enterprise KVM for remote access isn’t one of several options, it’s the only one.

Test drive the Dominion® KX III Enterprise KVM-over-IP switch from your computer right now to see how you can improve your remote server management capabilities!