Opengear Introduces Technology Industry's First Secure Desktop Tunneling, Console Access and Remote Device Management Solution
Device Toughens Remote Desktop Access, Management and Troubleshooting; Fills Void Left by pcAnywhere, NetOp Remote Control and LapLink Products
WEST JORDAN, Utah, Nov. 15 / -- Opengear Inc., a quality supplier of console server and remote management solutions, today announced the availability of Opengear's Secure Desktop Tunneling solution -- the first device to incorporate secure graphical desktop tunneling, console management and secure device remote control all in one package.
Opengear Secure Desktop Tunneling is an easy-to-use remote management tool that enables both end users and administrators to securely access and control remotely any computer using Virtual Network Computing (VNC) or Microsoft's Remote Desktop. This new solution brings Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and the popular VNC together with the trusted Secure Shell (SSH) secure login and tunneling protocol. This combination significantly improves productivity and security for companies with remote offices. Using Opengear Secure Desktop Tunneling, users and administrators can securely access Windows, Linux, Solaris, Macintosh and UNIX computers.
With Opengear Secure Desktop Tunneling, the administrator can remotely manage several computers, upgrade the server's operating system and reboot machines; while accessing and controlling a variety of other network devices. Furthermore, by connecting to a work computer, the remote user will gain access to all applications, files and network resources as if they were sitting in front of their computer in their home-office.
Opengear recognized a unique need not currently being filled by existing remote control software products including pcAnywhere from Symantec, NetOp Remote Control from CrossTec Corporation and LapLink. By bundling its Secure Desktop Tunneling feature with its CM4000 console server and secure device server hardware products, Opengear now provides secure remote VNC and Remote Desktop access, while providing administrators with the tools to remotely monitor and administer their networks and servers over the console port. Opengear's CM4000 also provides secure access to Windows EMS and the system BIOS, Out-of-band, enabling remote computers and network appliances to be repaired, reconfigured and power cycled, even when the main Internet data pathway is down.
Opengear's Secure Desktop Tunneling brings significant benefits and unique capabilities to the following communities:
o VARs and systems integrators now have the off-site administration solution to remotely control their servers, remote power facilities, network equipment, storage devices and even desktops at their small and mid-sized client's sites. Opengear's CM4000 with Secure Desktop Tunneling is proactive in its approach, with alerts and preventative maintenance capabilities. Through its rich out-of-band recovery capability, typically only found in large data centers, Opengear also provides disaster recovery at no extra cost. This eliminates the cost of sending engineers on-site and presents new revenue opportunity through providing clients with a high-quality and affordable service package. Secure Desktop Tunneling is very application-specific and enables remote management to be effective with minimum intrusion into the privacy of the client's network.
o Enterprises with large distributed networks and branch offices now have a secure and affordable solution for complete access to their remote locations. A single CM4000 device with Secure Desktop Tunneling enables systems and appliances to be remotely managed through their consoles or through their graphical desktops. As a result, administrators can now implement in-band and out-of-band remote management for all their servers and network devices without the complexity of installing an enterprise-wide Virtual Private Network (VPN). In addition, this can be done without the high costs that would have otherwise arisen when installing legacy KVM over IP solutions from vendors such as Avocent and Raritan.
o Small businesses with only a few locations now can afford, cost-effective, hardware-secured remote management and complete interconnection without being locked into limited function proprietary software tools like pcAnywhere.
How Opengear's Secure Desktop Tunneling Works
Secure Desktop Tunneling implements SSH tunneling or SSH port forwarding by forwarding selected TCP ports through authenticated and encrypted tunnels.
Secure Desktop Tunneling enables the remote user to securely tunnel their VNC or RDP sessions through to Opengear's CM4000 over any broadband (wireless, ADSL, cable) Internet connection, or even over a direct dial-up or ISDN modem connection.
The CM4000 then forwards these RDP and VNC sessions to the computer being accessed through the TCP/IP LAN or routes them through a CM4000 serial port to the target computer's serial COM port. This allows secure remote desktop access to systems on the network, while also allowing access to PC-based systems that are intentionally not connected to the local network (e.g. medical equipment, factory and plant automation).
"As companies continue to embrace Microsoft's Remote Desktop and quality open source VNC solutions, like UltraVNC and TightVNC, they appreciate the need to improve their remote access security. Our hardware-secured RDP and VNC are a much better alternative for small branch offices than more complex network-based VPNs," said Tony Merenda, President and Senior Vice President of Engineering for Opengear. "Both VNC and RDP are secure enough to use on the local network but not over public networks, therefore enterprises often regard distributed networks and branch offices as hostile environments and have subsequently allowed limited interconnection. With our Secure Desktop Tunneling we have removed this concern by fortifying these services with SSH tunneling through a secure hardware device while enabling further management, diagnosis and recovery features."
Merenda continued, "New software products like WiSSH's Remote Access Technology and SMARTCODE offer similar secure tunneling of VNC and RDP, but Opengear has taken secure tunneling to the next level. By integrating our Secure Desktop Tunneling within the secure CM4000 devices, we have introduced a safe, flexible and affordable plug-n-play solution for use within any remote site."
To learn more about Opengear's Secure Desktop Tunneling application, please visit opengear.com/sdt.html . To access a high resolution graphic of Opengear's Secure Remote Desktop and VNC Connections, please visit http://www.opengear.com/photos.html.
About Opengear
Opengear's mission is to be the leader in cost-effective, out-of-band remote control solutions by leveraging open source to make IT infrastructure management affordable at the enterprise data center and beyond. Headquartered in West Jordan, Utah, Opengear maintains its engineering facilities in Brisbane, Australia. For more information, please call (801) 282-1387 or visit http://www.opengear.com/.
CONTACT: Darren Horwitz, Public Relations, +1-801-253-1294, darren.horwitz@opengear.com, or Tony Merenda, President & SVP Engineering, +61 7 33279828, tony.merenda@opengear.com, both of Opengear Inc.
