IPM – it’s not just for power management anymore

Aug 14, 2019

While Eaton Intelligent Power Manager (IPM) software has long been lauded for its ability to monitor and manage UPSs even in virtualized environments—not to mention gracefully shut down workloads during a loss of utility power or automatically migrate them to a different host—the solution is attracting new attention for an innovative alternative use. Thanks to IPM's proven success interfacing with virtual machines (VMs), organizations are now turning to the software to help automate and secure their backup/replication systems.

Stronger together

By combining IPM with either an Eaton uninterruptible power system (UPS) or power distribution unit (PDU), companies are able to automate and manage their backup systems while also preventing them from being compromised. IPM's ability to seamlessly interface with virtual environments makes it an ideal tool to help organizations simplify these critical tasks.

Integrating with all leading virtualization platforms, IPM can:

• Facilitate corrective actions to keep mission critical applications running
• Reduce the risk of downtime
• Program your entire backup system
• Simplify tasks through advanced alerts and automated resolution
• Isolate backup systems
• Ensure security in the midst of ever-growing cyber threats

And the danger is significant; not only did attacks against businesses nearly double in five years, according to the World Economic Forum 2018 Global Risks Report, but the global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach $2 trillion this year – representing a threefold increase from the 2015 estimate of $500 billion.

Grandeur Housing: More Control, Less Overhead

In fact, IPM has already proven to be an inexpensive, highly viable solution for Manitoba, Canada-based Grandeur Housing, which specializes in the sale of residential ready-to-move and manufactured homes. After suffering two separate ransomware attacks, the company now relies on the software to trigger a daily air gap to its disaster recovery server.

With its backup system replicating data to an ESXI host across a wireless link, Grandeur Housing wanted the server to remain offline except during replication. The company deployed IPM and an Eaton PDU, which trigger specific actions on a schedule determined by Grandeur Housing. By signaling that power is off to the receptacle that the replication server is plugged into, the server believes there is an outage, prompting IPM to initiate the startup and shutdown sequences. At the predetermined time, IPM then sends a turn-on signal to the PDU's receptacle to start up the server, restoring its ability to replicate to and from the company's main site. While there are multiple ways to execute an air gap, Grandeur Housing reports that the IPM solution is less costly and enables the organization to keep its servers physically close and maintain more control. In addition, the solution protects key infrastructure from being accessed, from both outside or inside the company.

Automated Cybersecurity

Many existing Eaton customers have the ability to take advantage of this model, as well – and may not even realize it. Using IPM as an air gap to protect against ransomware attacks is an extremely efficient additional use of the software, and a welcome advantage considering how imperative it is to focus on cybersecurity today. Furthermore, by automating their backup process, organizations don't have to manually protect data – enhancing security, easing recovery efforts, saving time and money, and affording peace of mind.

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