The NOCpulse satellite is a Red Hat Linux-based system in a 2U form factor. The chassis is built and configured such that two satellites can be racked back to back in a single 2U mount. If network connectivity between the satellite and the Command Center is interrupted, the satellite will fail over to a dial-up connection to submit statistics.
NOCpulse services are expensive.
NOCpulse suggests that a single satellite be used to manage 100 to 150 servers. The cost of service for a single month for a large installation could easily exceed the combined cost of subscribing to a hosted monitoring service and buying an internal monitoring system. The Command Center advantages are in maintenance and the ability to use a single system for monitoring rather than trying to integrate data from disparate sources. NOCpulse installed a satellite in my home office with relative ease. Because of security measures implemented by NOCpulse, the configuration of the satellite is performed by NOCpulse representatives in their offices before an installation.