I’ve recently been involved in conversations where users of traditional USR and MultiTech modems are scrambling for new solutions for #Out of Band. With the two companies making recent announcements about plans to sunset analog dial equipment, some users have been searching for newer solutions. What are the viable options? What are the potential benefits for changing? How about the challenges?
Telecom companies have been talking for years about 2020 as the year when analog infrastructure will be sunset, but in reality, this hasn’t fully occurred in some areas. Worldwide there are still an estimated +/- 900,000,000 analog circuits in operation, and although wireless has eclipsed the traditional landline, there’s still a lot of copper infrastructure in operation today.
As network infrastructure continues to grow along a more, “SD-x” trajectory, there remains a strong need for remote access to edge network elements. If you are looking for alternatives to analog dial technology for network management, what are your options?
You can of course pivot towards an LTE or 5G replacement for your EOL analog OOB, however, will you be able to get adequate coverage at all site locations? If the answer is, “maybe”, what controls do you put into place to guarantee access? Do you need to send personnel to a site location in anticipation of an upgrade to ensure Cell coverage? What’s plan “B” if you can’t use LTE?
An alternative arrangement to cell wireless, is to leverage the growth of SIP-based options. VoIP can provide a very cost-effective replacement for traditional analog circuits; however VoIP can sometimes lack physical redundancy to the (managed) equipment. Are you willing to sacrifice true “Out of Band” network duplicity for ease of operation?
CDI offers several options for analog upgrades for Out of Band Management. On both our Federal “FIPS” devices and our commercially deployed units, you will have a range of connectivity option, all on a single 1u chassis. In addition, a lot of operators are looking to add in management of devices, and remote power-cycling, both fully achievable with CDI options. Visit https://www.commdevices.com/products/ for more information.