Always-on access, automation, and centralised management.
Opengear 101
Opengear's product range is organised into several families, each designed to address specific operational requirements—from secure console servers and operations managers to resilience gateways and centralised management software. The sections below explain the role of each product family and help identify the best solution for your deployment.
Why teams choose Opengear hardware:
Designed for critical environments
Built to operate continuously in data centers, remote sites, and edge locations.
Built-in failover and resilient connectivity
Integrated cellular and redundant access provide automatic failover when primary connections fail.
Monitoring and intelligence at the edge
Continuous monitoring of device health and local conditions enables early detection and response.
Local action without dependency
Hardware can execute predefined actions locally, without waiting on centralized systems.
Ready for modern operations
APIs, scripting, containers, and automation support fit naturally into NetOps and DevOps workflows.
Opengear Product Families
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Product Family
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Purpose
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Best For
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Console Manager (CM)
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A dedicated out-of-band (OOB) console server providing secure remote serial console access to network and server infrastructure. Designed for reliable access and recovery when the production network is unavailable.
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Organisations that need dependable remote console access for routers, switches, firewalls, servers and PDUs without advanced automation requirements.
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Operations Manager (OM)
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Combines all the capabilities of a Console Manager with built-in Ethernet switching and a powerful x86 platform capable of running Docker containers, Python scripts and automation workflows. It is designed for NetOps automation and intelligent edge management.
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Enterprises wanting to automate network operations, deploy edge applications, consolidate hardware, or run local monitoring and remediation at remote sites.
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Resilience Gateway (ACM7000)
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A compact, cost-effective Smart Out-of-Band appliance designed for smaller sites. It provides secure console access and optional integrated 4G/LTE cellular connectivity, ensuring access even during WAN outages.
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Small branch offices, retail stores, ATMs, remote industrial sites and edge locations where maintaining emergency access is the primary objective.
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Typical Use Cases
- Console Manager (CM)
- Enterprise data centres
- Campus networks
- Network closets
- Branch offices with multiple network devices
- Secure remote troubleshooting and power management
- Operations Manager (OM)
- Large, distributed enterprises
- SD-WAN deployments
- Edge computing environments
- Automated network provisioning and remediation
- Running local monitoring, scripts, APIs or Docker containers alongside out-of-band management
- Resilience Gateway (ACM7000)
- Small remote offices
- Retail chains
- Banking branches and ATMs
- Utility and industrial sites
- Providing "last resort" access via cellular when the primary network fails
In simple terms: the Resilience Gateway is the entry-level solution focused on resilient emergency access, the Console Manager is the dedicated enterprise-grade console server for scalable out-of-band management, and the Operations Manager adds switching, compute power and automation capabilities for organisations wanting to modernise and automate their network operations.
To learn about Opengear out-of-band management and accurately select the right hardware device for your infrastructure, you can use these resources.
Appliance Selection Tools
- Opengear Configurator & Product Selector Tool: This is the primary interactive web application for determining which appliance fits your deployment. It filters choices based on constraints like the number of required serial/Ethernet ports, form factor, and cellular backup capabilities.
- Opengear Hardware Hub: The core page to visually break down product families (e.g., comparing the data-center focused OM2200, the edge/remote office OM1300, or the high-density CM8100/CM8000 console managers).
Learning & Technical Training Resources
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Opengear Support & Knowledge Base Portal: The best resource for deep technical deep-dives. It hosts step-by-step documentation on essential out-of-band operations, such as utilizing the native API, writing automation playbooks with ogcli, and matching serial pin-outs.
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Technical Documentation & Datasheets: Provides data sheets, power consumption matrixes, and environmental specifications. Essential for verifying rack space and environmental limits before finalizing a purchase.
- Opengear YouTube Channel: Excellent for visual and practical learners. They offer crisp, practical walkthroughs on configuring serial default rates, setting up Docker containers on OM devices, and navigating the Lighthouse centralized management software.
Architecture & Strategy Resources
- Network Resilience Resource Hub: Provides high-level educational material including infographics, post-mortem industry outage deep dives, and white papers on how to design a management plane completely independent of production networks.