Hey, check out these auctions:

Camera Key Tool for Re-cock Hasselblad Shutter Jam

US $18.99 End Date: Tuesday Apr-06-2010 4:43:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $18.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Management in the Acute Ward (Key M By Walton, Jane; Re

US $17.54 End Date: Tuesday Apr-06-2010 5:57:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $17.54 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Cool, arent they?

Acute, Jane, Management, Walton, Ward

Event management is a rewarding and difficult business. The challenges include event and exhibit design, budgeting, creation of props and decor, security and accounting. One of the key components is processing and managing secure entry of potentially thousands of people to special events such as conferences, trade-shows, concerts and sporting events. How to handle admission to events can be an enormous job. Passes and tickets using RFID have made the task just a little bit easier and much more secure.

Issues and Opportunities:

Ticketing for exhibitions, conferences, concerts, sporting events, leisure parks, and trade shows share some common challenges but not in all cases. Here is a list of common concerns:

1. Authenticate attendees

2. Streamline registration

3. Eliminate attendee flow bottlenecks

5. Manage restricted area access

6. Attendee identification

7. Eliminate counterfeit pass/ticket problems

8. Reduce operating costs with unmanned control

9. Capture data for analysis

What’s Available

There is a wide range of solutions available for event access management. Some organizers do not require a high level authentication or validation capability and use simple printed tickets and passes.

When additional tamper proofing is required there is a choice of:

1. Tamper Proof Design

2. Serial Numbers

3. UV/Black Light Ink

4. Coin Rub Ink

5. Bar Code Security

6. Hologram

7. Sequential Numbering

8. RFID

RFID-The Next Level

RFID takes event access management to the next level. To start with, RFID gives the organizer the ability to uniquely identify each attendee or paying customer. An RFID pass can be read from a distance. Line of sight is not required to read RFID passes. An RFID pass can hold information about the pass holder. RFID passes can be written to. RFID passes can be reused. RFID passes can not be forged or duplicated.

Everyone is Unique:

RFID tags can store information. The information can be written on the RFID tag using one of the RFID readers. The RFID tag can be manufactured into a pass and take on different forms. The pass can be a label, ticket, Smart Card or wrist band. Information about the pass holder can be stored on the RFID pass before an event begins and additional information can be placed on the pass during the event. This pass holder information can be useful to trade show exhibitors by identifying important prospects. Pass holder information can be used by organizers to screen entry to secure areas at different times of the day or event.

Secure and Private:

Organizers can be confident that RFID passes have not been duplicated. By using strict distribution control of the RFID passes an event can be made very secure. RFID offers the potential to assess how many people will be in a particular place, at a set time. This information can be channeled into your business strategy, enabling you to focus your service more accurately and reap significant benefits for your business. Privacy is of course always a consideration. Therefore, RFID systems can be customized based on the needs of the conference. Occasions that deal with topics where attendees may want to remain anonymous would obviously require a system that is less intrusive. This is exactly why the solution is set up to be highly and conveniently customizable.

RFID can help you implement automated (hands free) reading. That will facilitate much faster movement of people with shorter line-ups. Turnstiles equipped with readers can be used to reduce or eliminate staffing requirements at some entrances and exists. Accurate data can be captured such as real-time and date and movement information. By integrating readers to an intelligent backend system access can be controlled to different areas at different times of the day to different pass holders.

Other Benefits of RFID Passes

a) Passes, such as for ski lift operators or leisure parks, can be manufactured to be durable enough to be used for extended periods of time such as an entire season

b) RFID tags are very difficult to duplicate, reducing the chance of fraud

c) RFID offers greater data-collection capabilities than other ticketing systems

Access, Event, Management, RFID

The new data center requires systems that provide more control, flexibility and scalability than ever before. You need more than server management. You need a system that reduces your Mean-Time-To-Repair (MTTR) while leveraging the existing IT resources you already have.

If you need to manage data centers and branch offices anytime from anywhere, there is an answer. A centralized management approach with out-of-band capability can increase data center control, allow you to do more with less, and provide remote access from anywhere in the world.

Today?s support-minded network administrators need around the clock access to servers 365 days a year ? both at the rack and in remote locations. Fortunately, with centralized management (including both in-band and out-of-band connectivity), your data center has never been so close.

Innovative serial console server and KVM over IP switching solutions allow you to leverage the IP connectivity and security models in your network. Centralized management software lets you control an appliance that can be connected to servers, serial devices, even power distribution units and environmental monitoring. With centralized management, you can control multiple servers and network devices no matter where they are located. Virtual media is a more recent addition. It increases administrator efficiency by allowing you to conduct a large host of tasks remotely such as file transfers.

Whether you need access at the rack, in the Network Operating Center (NOC), or from your laptop at home, there are solutions available that will provide unprecedented, secure access and help you show a quick return on your investment.

To download the complete white paper, please visit: http://www.42u.com/central-datacenter-management.htm.

Achieve, Center, Centralized, Control, Data, Guidelines, Management

Preventing datacenter downtime is a top priority for datacenter managers, and for good reason. Across every industry, lost hourly revenue due to downtime is very expensive. Recent studies estimate that downtime costs as much as $2.8M per hour in lost revenue for firms in the energy industry, more than $2M per hour for firms in telecommunications, and $1M -$1.6M per hour for companies in other sectors, including manufacturing, finance, and information technology.(1) Even on good days, datacenter infrastructure management is a challenge, as administrators often have to control computer systems, serial devices, and power from multiple individual interfaces.

Centralized server management platforms simplify access to IT assets by aggregating access and providing a single management portal, thus eliminating the need to manage devices individually. When downtime occurs, centralized server management platforms provide a unified point of entry that allows administrators to access, troubleshoot, power cycle, and bring servers and appliances back online quickly. In addition, on a day-to-day basis, centralized management allows administrators to more easily and efficiently do their jobs.

Integrated Onboard Technologies

Integrated onboard technologies, or service processors, are microcontrollers embedded in a motherboard of a server, a PCI card, or on the chassis of a server. They are independent from the main CPU and the system OS and are accessible through an Ethernet interface; dedicated (Out-of-Band) or shared with the data Ethernet (Sideband).(2) Service processor features vary by manufacturer and include remote power-cycling of devices, monitoring of a server?s on-board instrumentation (temperature, CPU status, fan speed, and voltage), remote console access via Serial over LAN (SoL), and the ability to set event traps and perform OS-level shutdown.

Some service processors also allow for data logging, KVM control, and virtual media.

There are several different types of integrated onboard technologies made by various manufacturers.

Centralized Management

There are currently two centralized management platforms on the market, Avocent?s DSView and Raritan?s Command Center, which can be used to manage devices made by multiple vendors. Avocent also makes two service processor aggregation appliances that can be used to manage devices with integrated onboard technologies: the Cyclades OnBoard Service Processor Manager and the MergePoint 5200 Management Gateway Appliance. Both integrate with the DSView software and can also be managed by CLI. The Cyclades OnBoard provides out-of-band physical consolidation, power control, and monitoring, and requires only one external IP address for all connected devices. The MergePoint provides service processor ?auto discovery?; hardware monitoring, group execution of commands; integrated support for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Virtual Network Computing (VNC), and Serial over LAN (SoL) power control.

Raritan, whose embedded solutions include PCI cards, industry-standard ?daughter? cards, and a single-chip solution, currently supports generic devices through its Command Center Secure Gateway appliance and is expected to further expand this support to include IPMI in Q1. Minicom, whose KVM.net product currently provides out-of-band KVM over IP management for mixed server environments, is expected to add support for integrated onboard technologies in Q2.

Bringing Together A Total Solution

Both Avocent and Raritan provide complete integrated management solutions that allow administrators to manage devices with embedded onboard technologies such as IPMI, iLO, and DRAC, as well as allowing them to manage equipment currently controlled through secure console servers or KVM over IP. In addition, some devices can integrate support for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Virtual Network Computing (VNC), so that full server management coverage (in-band and out-of-band) can take place from one user interface. 42U?s knowledgeable sales engineers can provide you with a customized business-specific solution that will help you accomplish your goals.

42U provides turnkey datacenter solutions, including KVM over IP, intelligent power, environmental monitoring, rack cooling, and rackmount solutions. The team at 42U specializes in assessing needs, creating solutions, and supporting clients, to ensure that IT professionals maximize their use of current technologies to improve overall business performance.

References:

(1) IT Performance Engineering & Measurement Strategies: Quantifying Performance Loss, Meta Group, October 2000, cited in ?The Hidden Cost of Computer Downtime,” http://www.creativedata.net/index.cfm?webid=207

(2) Service Processor Management http://www.global.avocent.com/us/learnmore/serviceprocessor.asp and Centralized Management

http://www.avocent.com/web/en.nsf/Content/learnmoreDSV3

(3) HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) Standard http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/management/iloadv/index.html

(4) Remote Insight Lights-Out Edition II

http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/management/riloe2/index.html

(5) Dell PowerEdge Remote Access Controller (DRAC)

http://lists.us.dell.com/fom-serve/cache/75.html

(6) Service Processor Management

http://www.global.avocent.com/us/learnmore/serviceprocessor.asp

(7) Sun Advanced Lights Out Manager 1.6 (ALOM)

http://www.sun.com/servers/alom.html

(8) What Is ILOM?

http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/hardware/docs/html/819-5846-11/819-5846-11/c~config_ilom.html

(9) Sun Remote System Control (RSC) for Sun Fire V480, Sun Fire V490, Sun Fire V880, and Sun Fire V890 Servers

http://www.sun.com/servers/rsc.html

(10) Service Processor Management

http://www.global.avocent.com/us/learnmore/serviceprocessor.asp

Centralized, Control, Datacenter, Management, Processors, Service, Simplify