Out of band management (OOBM) is a way to provide a channel for secure alternate remote access to your devices in the event of a network outage or disruption.
If your primary method of access is unavailable, OOBM ensures you can always obtain the access you need (via a console server) to remediate or manage the issues at hand.
It’s all too common to leave OOBM
as an afterthought, but the
business costs of an unforeseen
outage without it far exceed the
cost (and peace of mind) of paying
for it as a managed service...