Patent ID: 7466713

Claim:
An out-of-band management system for computer networks, the system comprising: one or more network nodes equipped with a service processor and a management port accessible externally through a dedicated management interface other than a data transmission interfaces wherein the dedicated management interface further comprises an Ethernet-type interface; a service processor gateway management appliance, directly connected to an Ethernet Switching System via a first Ethernet port and directly connected to the management ports of the network nodes via corresponding point-to-point Ethernet connections different from the first Ethernet port, that isolates the management ports of the network nodes from direct access by a data network; the service processor gateway management appliance being connected to a separate network management system via a direct out-of-band connection; and the service processor gateway further comprising a processor and a software application, executed by the processor, that provides one or more of a command line interface, a web interface and a protocol-based interface for access by one of a human operator and a network management system.