CUSTOMER
PSCU Financial Services
PSCU Financial Services is a
cooperative owned by more than 500
credit unions. Founded in 1977, the
organization provides its members
with a variety of technical and fi nancial
services, including processing for
more than eleven million credit and
debit cardholder accounts, online bill
payment, lending, collections, fraud
management and strategic consultation.
Headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL, the
company employs over 1,100 people to
support its operations.
THE CHALLENGE
Complying with heightened security
requirements and streamlining
response time
Prior to installing Avocent equipment,
administrators and engineers at PSCU
Financial Services relied on analog KVM
to gain access to their systems. In addition
to taking up a lot of space in the server
racks, the analog solution allowed for just
one monitor and keyboard per switch,
prohibiting multiple users from gaining
simultaneous access to equipment. As a
result, engineers were forced to wait for
console availability and were unable to
rapidly restore system health when
issues arose.
Also limiting their ability to quickly
respond was the lack of remote access
capability. Any network equipment
failure required the IT staff to physically
travel to the data center, and manually
identify the location of the downed
system to begin troubleshooting. As the
number of systems in their data centers
grew, and as system management needs
increased, PSCU Financial Services
required improved and remote access to
their systems.
In the fall of 2003, they chose a digital
KVM over IP switching system from
Avocent to give administrators remote
access to their systems as well as
enhanced management capabilities.
Allocation of IT resources improved,
response time was shortened and
network availability increased.
Although server management and
uptime improved, data center sprawl and
heightened requirements for security
and logging encouraged the company to
reassess their infrastructure and embark
on a recent network upgrade.
“One of the key challenges we face
internally is to ensure the network is
up and running as well as providing
an acceptable response time to
resolve issues,” said Bob Perini, data
center manager for PSCU Financial
Services. “In addition to managing
rapid expansion, we have additional
requirements for security. We wanted
to upgrade to the newest and best
network solutions to increase our
capabilities and extend the lifespan of
our technology investments.”
THE SOLUTION
Avocent KVM over IP switching
systems, Cyclades ACS advanced
console servers
PSCU Financial Services complemented
their initial deployment of Avocent
KVM switches with a combination of
DSR2020 and DSR4030 digital switches,
and Cyclades console servers. While
the initial installation in 2003 helped
clean up their data center and deliver
remote access, the newest round of
equipment has delivered a much faster
data rate, better scrolling and more
comprehensive views into their systems.
Along with upgrading their KVM
switches, they upgraded to DSView
3 software, gaining control of their
network from a single integrated
interface. When used in conjunction
with any DS Series KVM switch,
MergePoint® service processor
managers or Cyclades console
servers, DSView 3 software allows IT
administrators to remotely access,
monitor and control target devices on
multiple platforms no matter
their location.
“While we gain a lot of advantages
through the DSView 3 software, the
Cyclades console servers will deliver
even greater functionality,” said Anthony
Reggi, senior systems engineer for
PSCU Financial Services. “Our network
team has praised the Web interface and
additional security features. Bringing
Cyclades into the Avocent family has
paired the best KVM product with the best
serial product, delivering a fuller package
to meet our administration needs.”
Avocent DSR KVM over IP switches provide analog and
digital switching solutions for multiplatform, multilocation
and multidevice access and control.
HIGHLIGHTS
• PSCU Financial Services needed a solution that would offer secure, remote
access to their systems, enable compliance with audit requirements, and
increase network availability to ensure delivery of services to their member
organizations.
• The Avocent DSR® KVM switches deliver remote server management and
BIOS-level control of all connected servers and serial-based devices. DSView
3 management software provides comprehensive system management and
activity logging to ease compliance with audit requirements and ensure
optimal uptime. The Cyclades ACS advanced console server offers complete
and centralized secure console management.
• Through the solution, the company has improved remote management
capabilities with better organization and enhanced security. Staging of
equipment is managed remotely, automated inventory of rack and server
locations allows for faster troubleshooting and analysis of system availability,
and logging features within DSView 3 software provide an audit trail of all
access and events.
