Reach Out And Bounce Someone
The conventional telephone network in the United States is one of the most reliable options available for true OBM connectivity to remote systems. Aside from those who've experienced major disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, very few Americans can honestly admit to ever picking up the phone and not being able to make a call whenever they want, even when the power is out.
More important, POTS is available worldwide. There are still large areas of the United States that offer little or no reliable broadband accessibility, but POTS is almost always available, and for a fraction of the cost of other connectivity options. What makes POTS particularly useful for basic, power-level OBM is the limited amount of information that needs to move between the administrator and the managed device. Many systems use basic ASCII text or simple ANSI graphics for their serial interfaces, so very little bandwidth is required, and the remote experience is almost identical to that of a local connection.
In addition, basic remote power management has a relatively low cost--a managed PDU, phone line, modem and basic UPS could provide high-availability remote power control for 10 to 15 devices for less than $100 per device. Furthermore, data centers using more advanced power-management systems may also have inexpensive options that support modem-based remote power cycling. For example, American Power Conversion offers a simple OBM card that plugs into its high-end UPS devices to provide protected, terminal-based modem access to features in its power-management system.
Focus On What's Important
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