Internet of Things is about more than just Smart thermostats, and wearbale devices; the amount of data gathered by millions of industrial devices can seriously impact the network, and the networking industry has been actively evaluating possible implications. Truth is; there can be no Internet of Things (IoT) without secure and manageable network connectivity to support it. Having operated for over 25 years in the market, Irvine, California headquartered Lantronix is a global provider of secure data access and management solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) assets. Ever since its inception, Lantronix has maintained a focus on helping customers connect their machines & devices at the edge, and IT equipment in the data center or remote branch offices, securely to the network and manage the same. A public company listed on NASDAQ with R&D facilities in the United States and India, Lantronix has a range of products from tiny modules that get embedded into IoT devices to durable ruggedized network appliances that get deployed in data centers or branch offices to help manage Cisco and other networking infrastructures.

An End-to-End Approach
With connectivity demands reaching new heights every day, the network is becoming more critical. The contributing factors include mobile workforces, the rise of the internet of things, and the proliferation of cloud applications. Lantronix takes an endto-end approach to meeting these demands. Firstly, the company’s line up of embedded and external IoT gateways helps OEMs developing IoT solutions in various verticals to integrate secure connectivity into their solutions. This will enable their next generation products to have built-in secure connectivity (using embedded gateways/modules) for greenfield deployments, and their legacy devices can be securely connected and managed using Lantronix’ external IoT gateways for brownfield connectivity. Now, it’s given that these industrial IoT devices and mobile applications etc. generate exponential amount of data. This affects the uptime of the data center. At the core of the IoT network, Lantronix avails suite of IT management products such as the SLC8000 Advanced Console Manager allows for IT managers and system administrators to remotely manage their networking infrastructure using a dedicated out of band network. This method is much more reliable and secure than the traditional in-band management solutions used by many companies and is one of the recommended options by US-CERT to provide the highest level of network security. These IT management products like SLC8000 advanced console manager and SLB branch office manager provide out of band management capability which enhances the security of any network.

The SLC8000 is the industry’s first modular console server that provides secure remote access to IT equipment while reducing deployment costs and time. Lantronix products have a number of software (encryption algorithms etc) and hardware features (Secure root of trust, TPM etc) that ensure the devices that use Lantronix technology, are connected to any network securely. The SLC8000 is FIPS 140-2 compliant (US government computer security standard) allowing the customers to reliably use Lantronix products in government applications and for operation in physically unprotected environments. Lantronix also provides industry-specific certification for some of their products to help OEMs get to market faster. For example, the company’s EDS terminal server is backed by IEC 60601 medical certifications. Therefore, medical device companies and Integrators can safely use the offerings in hospitals and other care facilities without having to go through a certification process and bearing additional charges. “One of the key value proposition for Lantronix products is that we perform a variety of standards and industry-specific certifications so our products can be used in a variety to applications and use cases in a number of industries without the requirement for additional investment from our customers”, informs Shahram Mehraban, Vice President-Marketing, Lantronix.

Testimony to Experience in Deployments
Aging networks are also a concern. Out-of-band management is the most reliable and secure way to update any network infrastructure. Lantronix products allow updates, security patches and other enhancements to be deployed securely and reliably, despite the main (primary) network being down due to a variety of issues such as power failure or security attacks. When a global financial services firm required a console management solution that would provide robust and reliable out-of-band management for their IT infrastructure, Lantronix was approached for expertise. The solution was also required to comply with new data encryption standards and protect against unauthorized access to the data center infrastructure. The data center was resided by sensitive financial and customer data, including social security numbers and account information for the firm’s millions of customers.
Lantronix SLC 8000 advanced console manager was deployed with the necessary flash memory to support Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA 2), AES 256 encryption, as well as other secret sauce. This ensured that the company follows financial regulations and data security standards.

Additionally, the SLC 8000 console manager enabled secure out-of-band access over the administrator’s Ethernet channel to critical systems comprised of console managers, routers, and servers. Authorized IT personnel are now allowed to remotely manage essential IT equipment and deploy cost-effective upgrades upon availability. Another innovative solution from Lantronix is the MACH10 management software platform that has allowed Lantronix to provide an innovative VPN-free, cloud-based (as well as on-premise), centralized management solution for out of band networks. With such remarkable innovations on the technology front, Lantronix envisages becoming one of the leading suppliers of IoT solutions that enable companies to dramatically simplify the creation, deployment, and management of IoT projects while providing secure access to data for applications and people.