From Digi: Introducing Digi Connect IT for Remote Serial Device Administration
About Symmetry Electronics Team
Established in 1998, Symmetry Electronics is a focused global distributor of wireless connectivity solutions, sensors, and audio-video technologies. Offering comprehensive design support and available-to-ship inventory, Symmetry is committed to helping engineers accelerate time to market, reduce costs, and offer modern solutions for their IoT designs. Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway company, TTI, Inc. in 2017, Symmetry Electronics is part of the Exponential Technology Group (XTG) – a supergroup of electronic component distributors and engineering services firms working together to advance the electronics industry. For more information, visit www.symmetryelectronics.com.
Information Technology (IT) infrastructure needs to be configured, managed, and monitored. IT assets are everywhere. They are deployed in office buildings, data centers, customer sites, branch offices and remote or difficult to reach locations. It is important to have a secure and reliable method of managing these resources from a central operations center, whether you are managing one remote device or many. When installed equipment has problems, you need your network and system administrators to be able to access that equipment and provide rapid support, including troubleshooting, patches and fixes.
When a piece of equipment such as a router, switch, or server is not operating correctly, the system console is the means to reach the device to resolve the problem. The simplest, most reliable and universal method to do this is through a serial console. The Digi Connect® IT product family is a set of advanced remote console access servers with integrated security and logging capabilities to ensure compliance with industry best practices and with applicable regulations.
The Importance of Out of Band Access
Out-of-band connectivity provides access to the device without relying on the production network. When a device is offline, or when a network is down, an administrator must be able to reach remote equipment to restore normal operation. Connect IT provides out-of-band connectivity to remote IT assets.
The new Digi Connect IT product line from Digi is designed to support Out-of-Band device access for troubleshooting and administration in an easy, cost-effective, reliable and secure way. The Digi Connect IT remote console servers have LTE cellular capability to provide remote connectivity, and Digi Remote Manager® to provide centralized access to remote equipment. This enables IT administrators to manage equipment anywhere in the world from one network operations center.
When a device or network is offline, an admin must be able to reach equipment to restore normal operations. Digi Connect IT provides secure, out-of-band connectivity to those IT assets outside of the production network. https://ctt.ec/50kl6+ #ConnectWithConfidence
Meet the Digi Connect IT Family
The Digi Connect IT family includes four devices to meet a wide range of IT infrastructure management needs:
- Digi Connect IT Mini, with one serial console for single-device management
- Digi Connect IT 4, with four serial consoles for management of 2-4 devices
- Digi Connect IT 16, for managing up to 16 devices
- Digi Connect IT 48, for 17 to 48 devices
All devices in the family come with access to Digi Foundations™, a comprehensive hardware, software, services and support subscription package designed to speed IoT projects and support full lifecycle management. Digi Foundations provides expert technical support for scaled deployment of Digi Connect IT.
Digi Foundations includes Digi Remote Manager (DRM), a sophisticated and secure device monitoring and management application. DRM provides comprehensive remote management including insights into device performance and uptime, the ability to push files and firmware out to all devices simultaneously, automated security and configuration compliance, and available APIs for customization. Additionally, all devices
The following comparison table provides an overview of the device features by product.
| Feature | Digi Connect IT Mini | Digi Connect IT 4 | Digi Connect IT 16/48 |
| Power | 5 V | 18 V external | Dual internal replaceable (PSEK/PSIK |
| Ethernet | 10/100 | Dual 10/100 | Dual Gigabit and dual SFP+ |
| Cellular | CAT M/NB-IoT | CORE Module | CORE Module |
| Serial consoles | 1 | 4 | 16/48 reversible pinout |
The Digi Connect IT family offers a range of connectivity options and capabilities. This allows users to select hardware with the proper number of ports for their use case and the right connectivity module – from CAT M to CAT 6 – to match their bandwidth and regional requirements, all while making future connectivity protocol changes as simple as plugging in a new modem.
Differentiating Features of the Digi Connect IT Mini
The Digi Connect IT Mini (available soon) is designed for a single serial port use case, with Cat M/NB-IoT connectivity. This is because a vast number of installations require management of just one device. Digi supports these users with a secure, managed solution at the cost of a commercial grade modem but with more features and security.
- CAT M/NB-IoT module for optimized connectivity for single devices
- 10/100 Ethernet
- 1 RJ45 RS232 Serial port
- 1 USB connection
- VPN, Firewall, Routing Support
- Access device via SSH, Web, Digi Remote Manager
Differentiating Features of Digi Connect IT 4
This 4-port remote access server is designed for CPE/distributed site applications and includes the following:
- (4) RJ45 Serial ports to Connect to IT devices
- Supports Cellular CORE Modules: CAT 1-6 for optimized connectivity per location/region
- Remote Site Continuity/WAN Backup Capable
- Dual 10/100 Ethernet: WAN/LAN
- VPN, Firewall, Routing Support
- Per Port Access via SSH, Web, Digi Remote Manager
Differentiating Features of Digi Connect IT 16 and Digi Connect IT 48
The Digi Connect IT 16 and Digi Connect IT 48 provide connectivity for sites with more equipment or multiple racks, and have additional advanced features and capabilities:
- CORE modules can be inserted, where needed, to enable 4G LTE connectivity with dual SIM support for optimal network access via all major carriers.
- These console servers provide dual Gigabit Ethernet for redundancy and dual SFP+ for optional fiber optic network connections, along with USB ports for connecting to USB peripherals or storage media.
- Additionally, they offer field serviceable dual power for redundancy.
In larger data centers it is common for the racks to be arranged in rows where the cold air comes in the front of the rack and hot air exhausts out of the back of the rack. Usually the console access server is placed in the front of the rack facing the main walkway in the cold aisle, but sometimes the equipment needs to be placed in the back of the rack. Connect IT provides the option to be mounted in either manner, via two power supply kit options.
System-Agnostic Access
IT professionals have their work cut out for them in their roles as system and network administrators. Infrastructure tends to become increasingly complex over time, and administrators have to contend with different generations of hardware from multiple vendors and a wide range of operating systems. For this reason, they need console access that can help to manage that complexity.
The range of equipment that can be remotely managed through the Digi Connect IT serial console includes servers and devices based on Unix, Linux and Windows Server OS, network equipment such as routers and switches and also most PBX systems, as well as storage and power distribution units.
Whether you have a single device that you need to manage remotely or hundreds of fully populated racks located in a large data center, Digi Connect IT provides a comprehensive, consistent and scalable approach for enterprise IT asset management to ensure business continuity.
Flexible, Cost Efficient, Remote Console Access
In developing the Digi Connect IT product line, Digi International set out to make cellular-based access to remote serial devices simply and affordable. At the most affordable end is the Digi Connect IT Mini. Low-end devices for this purpose have traditionally been expensive products designed to large installations. For a small enterprise this expenditure can be difficult to justify, particularly when there are only a few deployed remote devices. The Digi Connect IT line aims to address this critical infrastructure management need for enterprises of every size.
For enterprises that require remote serial access and monitoring of equipment, the Digi Connect IT family provides the most complete and cost-effective cellular-based solution in the industry, with scalable solutions to support the largest data centers, while at the simplest locations, with the Connect IT Mini, we can provide a fully managed, highly secure solution for less than the cost of an enterprise modem. Digi Connect IT and Digi Foundations with Digi Remote Manager offer a robust, flexible solution for critical IT assets at locations of any size, with central management and priority technical support.
Looking to integrate Digi products with your design? Our Applications Engineers offer free design and technical help for your latest designs. Contact us today!
About Symmetry Electronics Team
Established in 1998, Symmetry Electronics is a focused global distributor of wireless connectivity solutions, sensors, and audio-video technologies. Offering comprehensive design support and available-to-ship inventory, Symmetry is committed to helping engineers accelerate time to market, reduce costs, and offer modern solutions for their IoT designs. Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway company, TTI, Inc. in 2017, Symmetry Electronics is part of the Exponential Technology Group (XTG) – a supergroup of electronic component distributors and engineering services firms working together to advance the electronics industry. For more information, visit www.symmetryelectronics.com.