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Why Gen 3 Out-of-Band Is Your Strategic Weapon in 2025

by | May 23, 2025 | Application Hosting, Consolidation, Data Center Management, Data Center Resilience, DevOps, Edge Computing, Failover Connectivity, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Modernize Legacy Environments, Monitoring & Reporting, Network Automation, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Scripting, Serial Consoles, Simplify Branch Infrastructure, Streamline Deployments, Vendor Neutral Platform, Virtualization, Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Zero Trust Security

Mike Sale – Why Gen 3 Out-of-Band is Your Strategic Weapon

I think it’s time to revisit the old school way of thinking about managing and securing IT infrastructure. The legacy use case for OOB is outdated. For the past decade, most IT teams have viewed out-of-band (OOB) as a last resort; an insurance policy for when something goes wrong. That mindset made sense when OOB technology was focused on connecting you to a switch or router.

Technology and the role of IT have changed so much in the last few years. There’s a lot more pressure on IT folks these days! But we get it, and that’s why ZPE’s OOB platform has changed to help you.

At a minimum, you have to ensure system endpoints are hardened against attacks, patch and update regularly, back up and restore critical systems, and be prepared to isolate compromised networks. In other words, you have to make sure those complicated hybrid environments don’t go off the rails and cost your company money. OOB for the “just-in-case” scenario doesn’t cut it anymore, and treating it that way is a huge missed opportunity.

Don’t Be Reactive. Be Resilient By Design.

Some OOB vendors claim they have the solution to get you through installation day, doomsday, and everyday ops. But if I’m candid, ZPE is the only vendor who can live up to this standard.   We do what no one else can do! Our work with the world’s largest, most well-known hyperscale and tech companies proves our architecture and design principles.

This Gen 3 out-of-band (aka Isolated Management Infrastructure) is about staying in control no matter what gets thrown at you.

OOB Has A New Job Description

Out-of-band is evolving because of today’s radically different network demands:

  • Edge computing is pushing infrastructure into hard-to-reach (sometimes hostile) environments.
  • Remote and hybrid ops teams need 24/7 secure access without relying on fragile VPNs.
  • Ransomware and insider threats are rising, requiring an isolated recovery path that can’t be hijacked by attackers.
  • Patching delays leave systems vulnerable for weeks or months, and faulty updates can cause crashes that are difficult to recover from.
  • Automation and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) are no longer nice-to-haves – they’re essential for things like initial provisioning, config management, and everyday ops.

It’s a lot to add to the old “break/fix” job description. That’s why traditional OOB solutions fall short and we succeed. ZPE is designed to help teams enforce security policies, manage infrastructure proactively, drive automation, and do all the things that keep the bad stuff from happening in the first place. ZPE’s founders knew this evolution was coming, and that’s why they built Gen 3 out-of-band.

Gen 3 Out-of-Band Is Your Strategic Weapon

Unlike normal OOB setups that are bolted onto the production network, Gen 3 out-of-band is physically and logically separated via Isolated Management Infrastructure (IMI) approach. That separation is key – it gives teams persistent, secure access to infrastructure without touching the production network.

This means you stay in control no matter what.

Gen 3 out-of-band management uses IMI

Image: Gen 3 out-of-band management takes advantage of an approach called Isolated Management Infrastructure, a fully separate network that guarantees admin access when the main network is down.

Imagine your OOB system helping you:

  • Push golden configurations across 100 remote sites without relying on a VPN.
  • Automatically detect config drift and restore known-good states.
  • Trigger remediation workflows when a security policy is violated.
  • Run automation playbooks at remote locations using integrated tools like Ansible, Terraform, or GitOps pipelines.
  • Maintain operations when production links are compromised or hijacked.
  • Deploy the Gartner-recommended Secure Isolated Recovery Environment to stop an active cyberattack in hours (not weeks).

 

Gen 3 out-of-band is the dedicated management plane that enables all these things, which is a huge strategic advantage. Here are some real-world examples:

  • Vapor IO shrunk edge data center deployment times to one hour and achieved full lights-out operations. No more late-night wakeup calls or expensive on-site visits.
  • IAA refreshed their nationwide infrastructure while keeping 100% uptime and saving $17,500 per month in management costs.
  • Living Spaces quadrupled business while saving $300,000 per year. They actually shrunk their workload and didn’t need to add any headcount.

OOB is no longer just for the worst day. Gen 3 out-of-band gives you the architecture and platform to build resilience into your business strategy and minimize what the worst day could be.

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Out-of-Band vs. Isolated Management Infrastructure: What’s the Difference?

by | May 9, 2025 | Data Center Management, Data Center Resilience, DevOps, Edge Computing, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Monitoring & Reporting, Network Automation, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Scripting, Serial Consoles, Streamline Deployments, Vendor Neutral Platform, Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Zero Trust Security

Out-of-band vs IMI
To stay ahead of network outages, cyberattacks, and unexpected infrastructure failures, IT teams rely on remote access tools. Out-of-band (OOB) management is traditionally used for quick access to troubleshoot and resolve issues when the main network goes down. But in the past decade, hyperscalers and leading enterprises have developed a more advanced approach called Isolated Management Infrastructure (IMI). Although IMI incorporates OOB, it’s important to understand the distinction between the two, especially when designing infrastructure to be resilient and scalable.

What is Out-of-Band Management?

Out-of-Band Management has been around for decades. It gives IT administrators remote access to network equipment through an independent channel, serving as a lifeline when the primary network is down.

Traditional out-of-band provides a secondary path to production equipment

Image: Traditional out-of-band solutions provide a secondary path to production infrastructure, but still rely in part on production equipment.

Most OOB solutions are like a backup entrance: if the main network is compromised, locked, or unavailable, OOB provides a way to “go around the front door” and fix the problem from the outside.

Key Characteristics:

  • Separate Path: Usually uses dedicated serial ports, USB consoles, or cellular links.
  • Primary Use Cases: Though OOB can be used for regular maintenance and updates, it’s typically used for emergency access, remote rebooting, BIOS/firmware-level diagnostics, and sometimes initial provisioning.
  • Tools Involved: Console servers, terminal servers, or devices with embedded OOB ports (e.g., BMC/IPMI for servers).

Business Impact:

From a business standpoint, traditional OOB solutions offer reactive resilience that helps resolve outages faster and without costly site visits. It also reduces Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and enhances the ability to manage remote or unmanned locations.

However, solutions like ZPE Systems’ Nodegrid provide robust capability that evolves out-of-band to a new level. This comprehensive, next-gen OOB is called Isolated Management Infrastructure.

What is Isolated Management Infrastructure?

Isolated Management Infrastructure furthers the concept of resilience and is a natural evolution of out-of-band. IMI does two things:

  1. Rather than just providing a secondary path into production devices, IMI creates a completely separate management plane that does not rely on any production device.
  2. IMI incorporates its own switches, routers, servers, and jumpboxes to support additional critical IT functions like networking, computing, security, and automation.

Isolated management infrastructure provides a fully separate management path

Image: Isolated Management Infrastructure creates a completely separate management plane and full-stack platform for maintaining critical services even during disruptions, and is strongly encouraged by CISA BOD 23-02.

IMI doesn’t just provide access during a crisis – it creates a separate layer of control and serves as a resilience system that keeps core services running no matter what. This gives organizations proactive resilience from simple upgrade errors and misconfigurations, to ransomware attacks and global disruptions like 2024’s CrowdStrike outage.

Key Characteristics:

  • Fully Isolated Design: The management plane is physically and logically isolated from the production network, with console access to all production devices via a variety of interfaces including RS-232, Ethernet, USB, and IPMI.
  • Backup Links: Uses two or more backup links for reliable access, such as 5G, Starlink, and others.
  • Multi-Functionality: Hosts network monitoring, DNS, DHCP, automation engines, virtual firewalls, and all tools and functions to support critical services during disruptions.
  • Automation: Provides a safe environment for teams to build, test, and integrate automation workflows, with the ability to automatically revert back to a golden image in case of errors.
  • Ransomware Recovery: Hosts all tools, apps, and services to deploy the Gartner-recommended Secure Isolated Recovery Environments (SIRE).
  • Zero Trust and Compliance Ready: Built to minimize blast radius and support regulated environments, with segmentation and zero trust security features such as MFA and Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC).

Business Impact:

IMI enables operational continuity in the face of cyberattacks, misconfigurations, or outages. It aligns with zero-trust principles and regulatory frameworks like NIST 800-207, making it ideal for government, finance, and healthcare. It also provides a foundation for modern DevSecOps and AI-driven automation strategies.

Comparing Reactive vs. Proactive Resilience


Purpose
Deployment
Services Hosted
Typical Vendors
Best For
Out-of-Band
Recover access when production is down
Console servers or cellular-based devices
None (access only)
Opengear, Lantronix
Legacy networks, branch recovery
IMI
Maintain operations even when production is down
Full-stack platform (compute, network, storage)
Firewalls, monitoring, DNS, etc.
ZPE Systems (Nodegrid), custom-built IMI
Modern, zero-trust, AI-driven environments

Why Businesses Should Care

For CIOs and CTOs

IMI is more than a management tool – it’s a strategic shift in infrastructure design. It minimizes dependency on the production network for critical IT functions and gives teams a layered defense. For organizations using AI, hybrid-cloud architectures, or edge computing, IMI is strongly encouraged and should be incorporated into the initial design.

For Network Architects and Engineers

IMI significantly reduces manual intervention during incidents. Instead of scrambling to access firewalls or core switches when something breaks, teams can rely on an isolated environment that remains fully operational. It also enables advanced automation workflows (e.g., self-healing, dynamic traffic rerouting) that just aren’t possible in traditional OOB environments.

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Set up a 15-minute demo to see IMI in action. Our experts will show you how to automatically provision devices, recover failed equipment, and combat ransomware. Use the button to set up your demo now.

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Watch How IMI Improves Security

Rene Neumann (Director of Solution Engineering) gives a 10-minute presentation on IMI and how it enhances security.

Cisco Live 2024 – Securing the Network Backbone
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Discover More OOB and IMI Resources

 

Why AI System Reliability Depends On Secure Remote Network Management

by | May 7, 2025 | Actionable Data, Consolidation, Data Center Management, Data Center Resilience, DevOps, Edge Computing, Failover Connectivity, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Modernize Legacy Environments, Monitoring & Reporting, Network Automation, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Scripting, Streamline Deployments, Vendor Neutral Platform, Virtualization, Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Zero Trust Security

Thumbnail – AI System Reliability

AI is quickly becoming core to business-critical ops. It’s making manufacturing safer and more efficient, optimizing retail inventory management, and improving healthcare patient outcomes. But there’s a big question for those operating AI infrastructure: How can you make sure your systems stay online even when things go wrong?

AI system reliability is critical because it’s not just about building or using AI – it’s about making sure it’s available through outages, cyberattacks, and any other disruptions. To achieve this, organizations need to support their AI systems with a robust underlying infrastructure that enables secure remote network management.

The High Cost of Unreliable AI

When AI systems go down, customers and business users immediately feel the impact. Whether it’s a failed inference service, a frozen GPU node, or a misconfigured update that crashes an edge device, downtime results in:

  • Missed business opportunities
  • Poor customer experiences
  • Safety and compliance risks
  • Unrecoverable data losses

So why can’t admins just remote-in to fix the problem? Because traditional network infrastructure setups use a shared management plane. This means that management access depends on the same network as production AI workloads. When your management tools rely on the production network, you lose access exactly when you need it most – during outages, misconfigurations, or cyber incidents. It’s like if you were free-falling and your reserve parachute relied on your main parachute.

Direct remote access is risky

Image: Traditional network infrastructures are built so that remote admin access depends at least partially on the production network. If a production device fails, admin access is cut off.

This is why hyperscalers developed a specific best practice that is now catching on with large enterprises, Fortune companies, and even government agencies. This best practice is called Isolated Management Infrastructure, or IMI.

What is Isolated Management Infrastructure?

Isolated Management Infrastructure (IMI) separates management access from the production network. It’s a physically and logically distinct environment used exclusively for managing your infrastructure – servers, network switches, storage devices, and more. Remember the parachute analogy? It’s just like that: the reserve chute is a completely separate system designed to save you when the main system is compromised.

IMI separates management access from the production network

Image: Isolated Management Infrastructure fully separates management access from the production network, which gives admins a dependable path to ensure AI system reliability.

This isolation provides a reliable pathway to access and control AI infrastructure, regardless of what’s happening in the production environment.

How IMI Enhances AI System Reliability:

  1. Always-On Access to Infrastructure
    Even if your production network is compromised or offline, IMI remains reachable for diagnostics, patching, or reboots.
  2. Separation of Duties
    Keeping management traffic separate limits the blast radius of failures or breaches, and helps you confidently apply or roll back config changes through a chain of command.
  3. Rapid Problem Resolution
    Admins can immediately act on alerts or failures without waiting for primary systems to recover, and instantly launch a Secure Isolated Recovery Environment (SIRE) to combat active cyberattacks.
  4. Secure Automation
    Admins are often reluctant to apply firmware/software updates or automation workflows out of fear that they’ll cause an outage. IMI gives them a safe environment to test these changes before rolling out to production, and also allows them to safely roll back using a golden image.

IMI vs. Out-of-Band: What’s the Difference?

While out-of-band (OOB) management is a component of many reliable infrastructures, it’s not sufficient on its own. OOB typically refers to a single device’s backup access path, like a serial console or IPMI port.

IMI is broader and architectural: it builds an entire parallel management ecosystem that’s secure, scalable, and independent from your AI workloads. Think of IMI as the full management backbone, not just a side street or second entrance, but a dedicated freeway. Check out this full breakdown comparing OOB vs IMI.

Use Case: Finance

Consider a financial services firm using AI for fraud detection. During a network misconfiguration incident, their LLMs stop receiving real-time data. Without IMI, engineers would be locked out of the systems they need to fix, similar to the CrowdStrike outage of 2024. But with IMI in place, they can restore routing in minutes, which helps them keep compliance systems online while avoiding regulatory fines, reputation damage, and other potential fallout.

Use Case: Manufacturing

Consider a manufacturing company using AI-driven computer vision on the factory floor to spot defects in real time. When a firmware update triggers a failure across several edge inference nodes, the primary network goes dark. Production stops, and on-site technicians no longer have access to the affected devices. With IMI, the IT team can remote-into the management plane, roll back the update, and bring the system back online within minutes, keeping downtime to a minimum while avoiding expensive delays in order fulfillment.

How To Architect for AI System Reliability

Achieving AI system reliability starts well before the first model is trained and even before GPU racks come online. It begins at the infrastructure layer. Here are important things to consider when architecting your IMI:

  • Build a dedicated management network that’s isolated from production.
  • Make sure to support functions such as Ethernet switching, serial switching, jumpbox/crash-cart, 5G, and automation.
  • Use zero-trust access controls and role-based permissions for administrative actions.
  • Design your IMI to scale across data centers, colocation sites, and edge locations.

How the Nodegrid Net SR isolates and protects the management network.

Image: Architecting AI system reliability using IMI means deploying Ethernet switches, serial switches, WAN routers, 5G, and up to nine total functions. ZPE Systems’ Nodegrid eliminates the need for separate devices, as these edge routers can host all the functions necessary to deploy a complete IMI.

By treating management access as mission-critical, you ensure that AI system reliability is built-in rather than reactive.

Download the AI Best Practices Guide

AI-driven infrastructure is quickly becoming the industry standard. Organizations that integrate an Isolated Management Infrastructure will gain a competitive edge in AI system reliability, while ensuring resilience, security, and operational control.

To help you implement IMI, ZPE Systems has developed a comprehensive Best Practices Guide for Deploying Nvidia DGX and Other AI Pods. This guide outlines the technical success criteria and key steps required to build a secure, AI-operated network.

Download the guide and take the next step in AI-driven network resilience.

Best Practices Guide for AI thumbnail
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Cloud Repatriation: Why Companies Are Moving Back to On-Prem

by | Apr 11, 2025 | Actionable Data, Application Hosting, Consolidation, Data Center Management, Data Center Resilience, DevOps, Edge Computing, Failover Connectivity, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Modernize Legacy Environments, Monitoring & Reporting, Network Automation, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Scripting, Simplify Branch Infrastructure, Streamline Deployments, Vendor Neutral Platform, Virtualization, Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Zero Trust Security

Cloud Repatriation

The Shift from Cloud to On-Premises

Cloud computing has been the go-to solution for businesses seeking scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. But according to a 2024 IDC survey, 80% of IT decision-makers expect to repatriate some workloads from the cloud within the next 12 months. As businesses mature in their digital journeys, they’re realizing that the cloud isn’t always the most effective – or economical – solution for every application.

This trend, known as cloud repatriation, is gaining momentum.

Key Takeaways From This Article:

  • Cloud repatriation is a strategic move toward cost control, improved performance, and enhanced compliance.
  • Performance-sensitive and highly regulated workloads benefit most from on-prem or edge deployments.
  • Hybrid and multi-cloud strategies offer flexibility without sacrificing control.
  • ZPE Systems enables enterprises to build and manage cloud-like infrastructure outside the public cloud.

What is Cloud Repatriation?

Cloud repatriation refers to the process of moving data, applications, or workloads from public cloud services back to on-premises infrastructure or private data centers. Whether driven by cost, performance, or compliance concerns, cloud repatriation helps organizations regain control over their IT environments.

Why Are Companies Moving Back to On-Prem?

Here are the top six reasons why companies are moving away from the cloud and toward a strategy more suited for optimizing business operations.

1. Managing Unpredictable Cloud Costs

While cloud computing offers pay-as-you-go pricing, many businesses find that costs can spiral out of control. Factors such as unpredictable data transfer fees, underutilized resources, and long-term storage expenses contribute to higher-than-expected bills.

Key Cost Factors Leading to Cloud Repatriation:

  • High data egress and transfer fees
  • Underutilized cloud resources
  • Long-term costs that outweigh on-prem investments

By bringing workloads back in-house or pushed out to the edge, organizations can better control IT spending and optimize resource allocation.

2. Enhancing Security and Compliance

Security and compliance remain critical concerns for businesses, particularly in highly regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and government.

Why cloud repatriation boosts security:

  • Data sovereignty and jurisdictional control
  • Minimized risk of third-party breaches
  • Greater control over configurations and policy enforcement

Repatriating sensitive workloads enables better compliance with laws like GDPR, CCPA, and other industry-specific regulations.

3. Boosting Performance and Reducing Latency

Some workloads – especially AI, real-time analytics, and IoT – require ultra-low latency and consistent performance that cloud environments can’t always deliver.

Performance benefits of repatriation:

  • Reduced latency for edge computing
  • Greater control over bandwidth and hardware
  • Predictable and optimized infrastructure performance

Moving compute closer to where data is created ensures faster decision-making and better user experiences.

4. Avoiding Vendor Lock-In

Public cloud platforms often use proprietary tools and APIs that make it difficult (and expensive) to migrate.

Repatriation helps businesses:

  • Escape restrictive vendor ecosystems
  • Avoid escalating costs due to over-dependence
  • Embrace open standards and multi-vendor flexibility

Bringing workloads back on-premises or adopting a multi-cloud or hybrid strategy allows businesses to diversify their IT infrastructure, reducing dependency on any one provider.

5. Meeting Data Sovereignty Requirements

Many organizations operate across multiple geographies, making data sovereignty a major consideration. Laws governing data storage and privacy can vary by region, leading to compliance risks for companies storing data in public cloud environments.

Cloud repatriation addresses this by:

  • Storing data in-region for legal compliance
  • Reducing exposure to cross-border data risks
  • Strengthening data governance practices

Repatriating workloads enables businesses to align with local regulations and maintain compliance more effectively.

6. Embracing a Hybrid or Multi-Cloud Strategy

Rather than choosing between cloud or on-prem, forward-thinking companies are designing hybrid and multi-cloud architectures that combine the best of both worlds.

Benefits of a Hybrid or Multi-Cloud Strategy:

  • Leverages the best of both public and private cloud environments
  • Optimizes workload placement based on cost, performance, and compliance
  • Enhances disaster recovery and business continuity

By strategically repatriating specific workloads while maintaining cloud-based services where they make sense, businesses achieve greater resilience and efficiency.

The Challenge: Retaining Cloud-Like Flexibility On-Prem

Many IT teams hesitate to repatriate due to fears of losing cloud-like convenience. Cloud platforms offer centralized management, on-demand scaling, and rapid provisioning that traditional infrastructure lacks – until now.

That’s where ZPE Systems comes in.

ZPE Systems Accelerates Cloud Repatriation

For over a decade, ZPE Systems has been behind the scenes, helping build the very cloud infrastructures enterprises rely on. Now, ZPE empowers businesses to reclaim that control with:

  • The Nodegrid Services Router platform: Bringing cloud-like orchestration and automation to on-prem and edge environments
  • ZPE Cloud: A unified management layer that simplifies remote operations, provisioning, and scaling

With ZPE, enterprises can repatriate cloud workloads while maintaining the agility and visibility they’ve come to expect from public cloud environments.

How the Nodegrid Net SR isolates and protects the management network.

The Nodegrid platform combines powerful hardware with intelligent, centralized orchestration, serving as the backbone of hybrid infrastructures. Nodegrid devices are designed to handle a wide variety of functions, from secure out-of-band management and automation to networking, workload hosting, and even AI computer vision. ZPE Cloud serves as the cloud-based management and orchestration platform, which gives organizations full visibility and control over their repatriated environments..

  • Multi-functional infrastructure: Nodegrid devices consolidate networking, security, and workload hosting into a single, powerful platform capable of adapting to diverse enterprise needs.
  • Automation-ready: Supports custom scripts, APIs, and orchestration tools to automate provisioning, failover, and maintenance across remote sites.
  • Cloud-based management: ZPE Cloud provides centralized visibility and control, allowing teams to manage and orchestrate edge and on-prem systems with the ease of a public cloud.

Ready to Explore Cloud Repatriation?

Discover how your organization can take back control of its IT environment without sacrificing agility. Schedule a demo with ZPE Systems today and see how easy it is to build a modern, flexible, and secure on-prem or edge infrastructure.

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Additional Resources

Why Out-of-Band Management Is Critical to AI Infrastructure

by | Jan 31, 2025 | Actionable Data, Data Center Management, Data Center Resilience, Data Logging, Edge Computing, Failover Connectivity, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Monitoring & Reporting, Network Automation, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Streamline Deployments, Vendor Neutral Platform, Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), Zero Trust Security

Out-of-Band Management for AI

Artificial intelligence is transforming every corner of industry. Machine learning algorithms are optimizing global logistics, while generative AI tools like ChatGPT are reshaping everyday work and communications. Organizations are rapidly adopting AI, with the global AI market expected to reach $826 billion by 2030, according to Statista. While this growth is reshaping operations and outcomes for organizations in every industry, it brings significant challenges for managing the infrastructure that supports AI workloads.

The Rapid Growth of AI Adoption

AI is no longer a technology that lives only in science fiction. It’s real, and it has quickly become crucial to business strategy and the overall direction of many industries. Gartner reports that 70% of enterprise executives are actively exploring generative AI for their organizations, and McKinsey highlights that 72% of companies have already adopted AI in at least one business function.

It’s easy to understand why organizations are rapidly adopting AI. Here are a few examples of how AI is transforming industries:

  • Healthcare: AI-driven diagnostic tools have improved disease detection rates by up to 30x, while drug discovery timelines are being slashed from years to months.
  • Retail: E-commerce platforms use AI to power personalized recommendations, leading to a revenue increase of 5-25%.
  • Manufacturing: AI in predictive maintenance can help increase productivity by 25%, lower maintenance costs by 25%, and reduce machine downtime by 70%.

AI is a powerful tool that can bring profound outcomes wherever it’s used. But it requires a sophisticated infrastructure of power distribution, cooling systems, computing, GPUs, servers, and networking gear, and the challenge lies in managing this infrastructure.

Infrastructure Challenges Unique to AI

AI environments are complex, with workloads that are both resource-intensive and latency-sensitive. This means organizations face several challenges that are unique to AI:

 

  1. Skyrocketing Energy Demands: AI racks consume between 40kW and 200kW of power, which is 10x more than traditional IT equipment. Energy efficiency in the AI data center is a top priority, especially as data centers account for 1% of global electricity consumption.
  2. Cost of Downtime: AI systems are especially vulnerable to interruptions, which can cause a ripple effect and lead to high costs. A single server failure can disrupt entire model training processes, costing enterprises $9,000 per minute in downtime, as estimated by Uptime Institute.
  3. Cybersecurity Risks: AI processes sensitive data, making AI data centers prime targets for attack. Sophos reports that in 2024, 59% of organizations suffered a ransomware attack, and the average cost to recover (excluding ransom payment) was $2.73 million.
  4. Operational Complexity: AI environments rely on a diverse set of hardware and software systems. Monitoring and managing these components effectively requires real-time visibility into thermal conditions, humidity, particulates, and other environmental and device-related factors.

The Role of Out-of-Band Management in AI

Out-of-band (OOB) management is a must-have for organizations scaling their AI capabilities. Unlike traditional in-band systems that rely on the production network, OOB operates independently to give teams uninterrupted access and control. They can remotely perform monitoring and maintenance tasks to AI infrastructure, troubleshooting, and complete system recovery even if the production network goes offline.

 

How OOB Management Solves Key Challenges:

  • Minimized Downtime: With OOB, IT teams can drastically reduce downtime by troubleshooting issues remotely rather than dispatching teams on-site.
  • Energy Efficiency: Real-time monitoring and optimization of power distribution enable organizations to eliminate zombie servers and other inefficiencies.
  • Enhanced Security: OOB systems isolate management traffic from production networks per CISA’s best practice recommendations, which reduces the attack surface and mitigates cybersecurity risks.
  • Operational Efficiency: Remote monitoring via OOB offers a complete view of environmental conditions and device health, so teams can operate proactively and prevent issues before failures happen.

Use Cases: Out-of-Band Management for AI

There’s no shortage of use cases for AI, but organizations often overlook implementing out-of-band in their environment. Aside from using OOB in AI data centers, here are some real-world use cases of out-of-band management for AI.

1. Autonomous Vehicle R&D

Developers of self-driving technology find it difficult to manage their high-density AI clusters, especially because outages delay testing and development. By implementing OOB management, these developers can reduce recovery times from hours to minutes and shorten development timelines.

2. Financial Services Firms

Banks deploy AI to detect and combat fraud, but these power-hungry systems often lead to inefficient energy usage in the data center. With OOB management, they can gain transparency into GPU and CPU utilization. Not only can they eliminate energy waste, but they can optimize resources to improve model processing speeds.

3. University AI Labs

Universities run AI research on supercomputers, but this strains the underlying infrastructure with high temperatures that can cause failures. OOB management can provide real-time visibility into air temperature, device fan speed, and cooling systems to prevent infrastructure failures.

Download Our Guide, Solving AI Infrastructure Challenges with Out-of-Band Management

Out-of-band management is the key to having reliable, high-performing AI infrastructure. But what does it look like? What devices does it work with? How do you implement it?

Download our whitepaper Solving AI Infrastructure Challenges with Out-of-Band Management for answers. You’ll also get Nvidia’s SuperPOD reference design along with a list of devices that integrate with out-of-band. Click the button for your instant download.

SolutionGuide-OOBforAI
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Resources for Out-of-Band Management and AI

What is FIPS 140-3, and Why Does it Matter?

by | Nov 14, 2024 | Data Center Management, Data Logging, Edge Computing, Improve Network Security, Increase Productivity, Micro-segmentation, Minimize Impact of Disruptions, Monitoring & Reporting, Out of Band Management, Power Management, Remote Network Management, Zero Trust Security

A lock representing cybersecurity, with the title What is FIPS 140-3 and why does it matter?

Handling sensitive information is a responsibility shared by so many organizations. Ensuring the security of data, whether in transit or at rest, is not only critical for maintaining the trust of end users and customers, but is often a regulatory requirement. One of the most reliable ways to secure data within network infrastructure is by implementing FIPS 140-3-certified cryptographic solutions. This certification, which was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), serves as a benchmark for robust encryption practices, enabling organizations to meet high security standards and ensure regulatory compliance.

Let’s explore what it means to have FIPS 140-3 certification, why it matters, and its key applications in network infrastructure.

What is FIPS 140-3 Certification?

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-3 certification is a stringent, government-endorsed security standard that sets guidelines for cryptographic modules used to protect sensitive data. It includes requirements for securing cryptographic functions within hardware, software, and firmware. The certification process rigorously tests cryptographic solutions for security and reliability, ensuring that they meet specific criteria in data encryption, access control, and physical security.

There are four levels of FIPS 140-3 certification, each adding layers of protection to help secure information in various environments:

  • Level 1: Ensures basic encryption standards.
  • Level 2: Adds tamper-evident protection and role-based authentication.
  • Level 3: Provides advanced tamper-resistance and strong user authentication.
  • Level 4: Offers the highest level of security, including physical defenses against tampering.

FIPS 140-3 certification ensures that an organization’s network infrastructure meets high standards for cryptographic security. This is important for protecting sensitive information against cyber threats as well as fulfilling regulatory requirements.

Why FIPS 140-3 Certification Matters

1. Meeting Regulatory Compliance Requirements

FIPS 140-3 certification is often required by regulatory bodies, especially in sectors like government/defense, healthcare, and finance, where sensitive data must be protected by law. Here are a few industry-specific regulations that FIPS 140-3-certified modules help with:

  • Defense: DFARS, NIST SP 800-171
  • Healthcare: HIPAA
  • Finance: PCI-DSS
  • Energy: NERC CIP
  • Education: FERPA

Compliance with FIPS 140-3 also makes it easier for organizations to meet audit requirements, reducing the risk of fines or penalties for security lapses.

2. Strengthening Customer Trust

End users and customers expect that their data is handled with care and protected against breaches. By using FIPS 140-3-certified solutions, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to securing customer data with recognized, government-endorsed security standards. FIPS certification is a valuable trust signal, showing customers that their information is being managed with the highest level of protection available.

3. Protecting Against Emerging Cyber Threats

Relying on uncertified or outdated cryptographic solutions increases the risk of data breaches. FIPS 140-3-certified solutions are tested to withstand advanced attacks and tampering, which is an important safeguard against threats that continue to evolve in complexity. Certified modules help prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data, whether through intercepted communications, phishing, or other cyber threats.

FIPS 140-3 certification gives assurance, especially for organizations that handle high volumes of data, that they have adequate encryption to protect against sophisticated attacks.

4. Ensuring Business Continuity and Operational Resilience

According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, data breaches now cost $4.88 million (global average), with healthcare being the most costly at $9.8 million per breach. The financial impact is staggering, but the ongoing operational disruption and recovery efforts determine whether an organization can fully bounce back from a breach. With FIPS 140-3 certification, there’s an added layer of resilience to an organization’s infrastructure, which reduces the likelihood of breaches and ensures a secure base for maintaining continuity (such as through an Isolated Recovery Environment). By implementing FIPS-certified encryption, businesses can minimize downtime, maintain access to encrypted systems, and recover more smoothly from potential incidents.

5. Gaining a Competitive Advantage in Security-Conscious Markets

Organizations that follow rigorous data security standards are more likely to gain the trust of clients, stakeholders, and customers, especially in industries where security is non-negotiable. Organizations that adopt FIPS 140-3-certified infrastructure can differentiate themselves as having a reputation for security, which can be a competitive advantage that attracts customers and partners who value data protection.

Key Applications of FIPS 140-3 in Network Infrastructure

For organizations managing large amounts of customer data, FIPS 140-3-certified solutions can be applied to several critical areas within network infrastructure:

  • Network Firewalls and VPNs: FIPS-certified encryption ensures that data moving across networks remains private, protecting it from interception by unauthorized users.
  • Access Control Systems: Identity-based access controls with FIPS-certified modules add another layer of security to protect against unauthorized access to sensitive data.
  • Out-of-Band Management: Using FIPS 140-3-certified encryption in OOB management ensures the same stringent security level for OOB traffic as for in-band network traffic.
  • Data Storage and Backup: FIPS-certified encryption secures data at rest, protecting stored customer information from unauthorized access or tampering.
  • Cloud and Hybrid Environments: For companies using cloud or hybrid environments, FIPS-certified encryption helps protect data across multiple infrastructure layers, ensuring consistent security whether data resides on-premises or in the cloud.

Discuss FIPS 140-3 With Our Network Infrastructure Experts

FIPS 140-3 certification gives organizations the ability to reassure customers, meet compliance requirements, and protect critical data across every layer of the network. Get in touch with our network infrastructure experts to discuss FIPS 140-3, isolated management infrastructure, and other resilience best practices.

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