Ascolta Labs Now Powered by Opengear

Cisco Learning Solutions Partner Selects Opengear for Remote Infrastructure Management


SANDY, UT--(Marketwire - Apr 16, 2012) - Ascolta, a leading provider in Cisco and IT training services, has partnered with Opengear, a leading provider of secure enterprise-grade console servers and remote infrastructure management (RIM) solutions. Ascolta has standardized on Opengear's solution for secure remote access, out-of-band management and the provisioning of new equipment.

As a learning service provider that connects thousands of students a year to remote lab access, it was imperative that Ascolta find a solution that would free up data center rack space, as well as provide remote provisioning capabilities to offer its customers a unique hands-on lab experience. With Opengear's console servers, Ascolta has reduced costs and has been able to use its workforce more efficiently now that they are able to manage lab infrastructure remotely.

"We have a unique scenario in which we support a high number of students spread out across the country. The CM4148 and the IM4216 provide the perfect solution for lab access to a high density of Cisco gear and give the ability for our instructors to shadow the students on the console, providing a much richer learning environment," said Brandon Carroll, CTO at Ascolta. "The IM4216 uses our TACACS server for authentication student access; and its Web interface is intuitive and easy-to-navigate as we build out our racks."

The IM4200 family of advanced console servers are built with security in mind, with features such as built-in enterprise class firewall, FIPS 140-2 module, SSHv2 and SSLv3 protocols, OpenVPN, IPSec, Radius SecureID, IP Filtering, and per port access list to give greater control over security to vital IT assets in the datacenter.

Ascolta customers are now able to experience an unparalleled classroom experience with hands-on remote lab access. The Ascolta and Opengear partnership offers students the highest quality classroom experience while maximizing the resources required to powering them.

"Opengear's open standards platforms for enterprises and data centers provide IT managers with flexible, extensible and secure remote infrastructure management solutions," said Todd Rychecky, vice president of sales, Opengear. "We are pleased to partner with Ascolta to provide a world-class learning and lab environment for technical education, and together we are raising the standard for online training with the efficient use of IT resources."

Case Study:
http://opengear.com/docs/Ascolta_Case_Study.pdf

About Ascolta
Founded in 1987, Ascolta is recognized as a leader in technical training, empowering network professionals through education, information and community. As a Cisco Learning Solutions Partner, Ascolta offers instructor-led, e-learning, and custom learning solutions. Prior to this year's award, Ascolta has been named Training Partner of the Year for two consecutive years. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Ascolta has several other locations throughout the US. For more information, call (800) 297-4294 or visit www.ascolta.com to find out more about Ascolta and its learning products and services.

About Opengear
Opengear (www.opengear.com) develops secure enterprise-grade remote infrastructure management solutions. It designs and manufactures next generation console servers and cellular routers for secure remote access and control of routers, switches, servers, firewalls, uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, telephony equipment, environmental monitoring devices and software applications. Opengear's open standards platforms give network managers and system integrators the most flexible, extensible and secure out-of-band, remote monitoring and management (RMM) and remote infrastructure management (RIM) solutions on the market today.