Raritan Expands Smart Card Solution Portfolio for Secure and Flexible Access to Data Center Servers

- Raritan's Smart Card-enabled KVM-over-IP solution supports U.S. Government CAC and PIV Cards -

WASHINGTON and SOMERSET, N.J., March 10 -- Raritan today announced that it is expanding its smart card solution portfolio to provide data centers with an added level of security for accessing and managing equipment over IP. In addition to providing smart card-authentication security, the new Dominion(R) KX II Smart Card Reader Solution enables card readers to be placed where they are most convenient to IT administrators -- including outside the data center.

The new solution is being unveiled at this week's FOSE 2009 conference event for government information technology professionals. The KX II solution works with smart card readers that support widely deployed smart cards, including the U.S. Government's Common Access Cards (CAC) and Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards.

Whether working from a remote location or in the data center, authorized users are authenticated by inserting cards into the Smart Card/CAC Reader connected to their remote workstation or the Dominion KX II switch in the data center. A single card reader can authenticate access to multiple target servers. Once authenticated, users are given BIOS-level access and keyboard, video and mouse control of servers from any Web browser. Remote IT administrators can securely manage and view servers as if they were sitting in front of the rack, enabling them to perform software uploads, assess equipment health, repair operating systems, power cycle servers, and other server management operations.

"Our smart card solutions are ideal for government, financial and other organizations that want to augment their security policies with smart card authentication technology," said Peter Suriani, Director of Product Management at Raritan. "Raritan's solutions can help organizations securely manage their data center equipment and track who is accessing what IT assets and data. We have worked with a number of customers -- including the Department of Defense -- to define the requirements for our smart card solutions. As a result, our solutions work with widely deployed smart cards, including special government smart cards, called Common Access Cards, used for complying with U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-12."

For additional security measures, the Dominion KX II solution does not store or cache smart card data, and requires re-authentication when switching between servers. Smart card sessions are in private mode, allowing only one user at a time to access a given server. In addition, all data traffic -- including keyboard, mouse, video, and Virtual Media -- are encrypted with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or 128-bit RC4 encryption.

Additional capabilities -- including both out-of-band and in-band access choices -- are provided when used with Raritan's CommandCenter(R) Secure Gateway solution that aggregates multiple KX II switches and connected servers using one IP address.

Raritan's Smart Card Solution Portfolio

The new Dominion KX II KVM-over-IP solution joins the Paragon(R) II Smart Card Solution -- the first and only enterprise analog KVM solution with an integrated smart-card reader. The Paragon II solution -- which is used today by the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as other government organizations and companies -- has achieved approval under FIPS 201 (the U.S. Federal Government's standard that specifies Personal Identity Verification requirements for Federal employees and contractors). The Paragon II solution is on the United States GSA schedule of approved FIPS 201 products.

KX II Smart Card/CAC Solution Availability

The Dominion KX II Smart Card/CAC Solution will be available in the second quarter. Designed to meet the needs of server rooms of all sizes, the Dominion KX II ranges from eight-port to 64-port models (the industry's highest port density KVM-over-IP switch).

Customers with existing Dominion KX II switches can add the smart-card security capability through a free firmware upgrade. (The Dominion KX II dual virtual media CIM (D2CIM-DVUSB) that supports BIOS-level Virtual Media and Absolute Mouse Synchronization is required.) More on the solution can be found at www.raritan.com/kvm-over-ip-smart-card.

About Raritan (Raritan.com)

Raritan provides secure IT infrastructure management solutions that increase data center efficiency and productivity by delivering integrated in-band and out-of-band energy management, server access and control. Raritan's power management software, intelligent PDU, environmental sensors, KVM, serial console and centralized management products are in use in more than 50,000 locations worldwide. Raritan's OEM division provides embedded hardware and firmware for server and client management, including intelligent energy management, KVM over IP, IPMI and other industry standards-based management applications. Based in Somerset, N.J., Raritan has offices worldwide serving 76 countries. For more information, please visit Raritan.com.

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Raritan's Booth at FOSE # 1723