The Lantronix® Spider™ Remote KVM-over-IP Solution

Case Study

The customer

A leading provider of On-Demand IT Infrastructure solutions, hosting more than 22,000 small and medium-sized businesses and 3.1 million web sites worldwide. By offering the best choice of servers, software tools and world-class support, all backed by state-of-the-art facilities and unmatched network connectivity, this company helps turn information technology into a powerful competitive advantage that enables its customers to successfully grow their businesses.

The Need

Upon reviewing results from one of the company's regularly scheduled customer feedback polls – an ongoing practice for continuous improvement – They found one of the top requests from its customers was the ability to add remote KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) management capabilities to their servers.

Recognizing this important customer request, the company's technology team began to investigate ways to quickly and affordably add this capability to the company's product catalogue. They were soon presented with a major issue: in a hosting center environment loaded with different servers, it is difficult to separate individual customer ports to diagnose a problem over the network with regard to BIOS or other operating system issues. The team realized they needed a single-port solution that allowed them to buy "per port." However, typical KVM solutions on the market were high-port count and too costly for customers. Could Lantronix® provide a more cost-effective, reliable remote server management?

Key Requirements

• Solution must be scalable and cost-effective to handle the growing amount of equipment that requires monitoring
• Ease-of-implementation was critical   
• Remote access and control for distributed server equipment from a central point of access
• Flexibility of KVM providing non-blocked, single-port access to servers over IP

The Solution

Lantronix Spider™ - Flexible and Scalable KVM-over-IP Solution    

After reviewing traditional KVM solutions that did not meet their specific needs, the company discovered Lantronix Spider™. In addition to providing the secure, KVM-over-IP access they needed, the Lantronix Spider offered a flexible, scalable and affordable CAT5-based remote access solution in a cable-friendly, compact, "zero-foot print" package.    

A single-port device, the Lantronix Spider allowed the company to add remote IP users one server port at a time, which provided the company with the most cost-effective and scalable solution for its customers. This one feature alone made the Lantronix Spider a stand-out winner for meeting the company's challenges. Additionally, the KVM solution provided hands-on access to remotely diagnose attached servers and perform a number of administrative tasks such as software installations from one central location. 

Results:

• Improved customer responsiveness and service to increase customer base
• New revenue stream for the company 
• Capability for system administrators to remotely install additional software and virtually manage everything from the operating system up 
• Ability of adding one port per server makes their service cost effective and flexible for their wide variety of customers 
• The company now uses Spiders as an extension of its internal technical support staff, adding additional value to the company's resources
• Ensures both the company and its customers' IT assets are constantly up and running

About the Lantronix Spider

Lantronix Spider Distributed KVM – a whole new concept of KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) access and control. Lantronix Spider provides secure, non-blocked BIOS-level access over IP to servers that's guaranteed ... no matter how many administrators need access. With built-in SwitchPort+ Ethernet switching technology, Spider eliminates the barriers of analog CAT5 KVM switches. Equipment can be distributed remotely and managed over an IP network or the Internet! This makes the Lantronix Spider perfect for branch offices, campus or multi-floor environments and small/medium sized businesses – basically anywhere servers are spread out in different locations.

Lantronix Spider Key Benefits:

• Incredibly low "cost-per-remote-user" server management solution
• Secure, full BIOS-level control of servers over an IP network
• Full KVM switch in a "Zero U" form factor-takes up no rack space
• Compact server-powered design – no external power supply required 
• Cost-effective, "add-as-you-grow" scalability by daisy-chaining multiple units