Why an Out-of-Band Management Network is Your IT Lifeline

Jose Chapa • Feb 15 2024

In today’s perpetually interconnected world, where companies depend on their IT infrastructure, network outages can be catastrophic. They could come from a variety of sources such as software bugs, hardware failures, and cyberattacks. But any disruption to network services can result in operational, reputational, or productivity losses. To minimize the risk and provide the most resilience, businesses must invest in robust network management solutions, including an out-of-band management network.

Consider the following: your network goes down, disrupting your entire business. Your best engineers are typing away desperately trying to regain control, but their efforts are futile. Why? Because the issue lies at the core, where your traditional in-band management tools are inaccessible. This is where an out-of-band management network shines, offering crucial access to restore order and save the day.

What is an Out-of-Band Management Network?

An out-of-band (OOB) management network is a management/console network that is independent from the network it is managing. In a small campus or office, this may comprise of a console server with a cellular modem. In a large data center, this may comprise of a network of console servers with their own ISP circuit and demarcation separate from the main network. Out-of-band management networks allow network engineers to remotely monitor, manage, and troubleshoot core network devices such as firewalls and routers, even when the primary network is unavailable. This is in contrast to in-band management, which relies on the very network infrastructure it is managing.

What are the Key Benefits?

Uninterrupted Access: In the event of a primary network outage, such as a gateway failure or a cyberattack, engineers can still access, troubleshoot, and manage network devices. This enables immediate action to be taken under many types of dire situations.

Security: By segmenting this part of the network, we can better ensure access is only provided to authorized users via secure means. It also compartmentalizes the network and allows the scope of certain attack vectors to be narrowed.

Recovery Time: By allowing faster response times, the disaster recovery time can be shortened, and the impact will be lessened. Being able to reboot devices remotely and even booting into special modes via console allows improved control while performing configuration changes and firmware updates.

Are there any Drawbacks?

Cellular service and additional circuits can be expensive, especially when your environment consists of a large number of remote sites. As important as it is to have an OOB management network with an independent backbone, it is also important to consider connecting the console servers to the main network backbone. This can save on bandwidth and costs for typical day-to-day console management. The result would be a management network with both in-band and out-of-band connections.

Complexity is also a concern since this adds an entirely new network to deploy and manage. The equipment in this network will still need bug fixes, RMAs, code upgrades, and all the other types of maintenance done to the main network.

Although OOB management can help with certain security vectors, it can also be a security concern when it is not implemented properly. How will you implement authentication in a situation where the authentication server is in a network that is down? Will you still implement some form of two-factor authentication? It is perhaps even more important to have proper authentication, authorization, and accounting in an OOB management network.

Conclusion

Although the infrastructure and service required for an out-of-band management network can be expensive, it can save a lot of time and money in the event of an outage. It allows you to have the most proficient network engineers effectively investigating and troubleshooting instead of playing a game of telephone with the technician closest to the device. This infrastructure is essential to any business that strives for 24/7 operations and wants a resilient IT backbone.