The subprime crisis of the big power has led to the global financial crisis. It seems that such an expression overstates the strength of the big power. But we cannot ignore the economic globalization which makes economic communities connect with and affect each other positively or negatively.In the financial tsunami hitting every corner of the world, what are the status quo and future trend of international trade?First of all, it is necessary for us to look at the trade chain:- raw materials
- finished product processing firms (manufacturers)
- (suppliers – trade companies)
- logistics companies
- importers
- wholesalers
- retailers
- end consumers, financial service providers such as banks, and Internet platforms for international trade led by Alibaba.On the chain, all the elements are interactional and can transmit to each other. Price transmission is a key element. Rate of exchange influences trading price. We can begin with importer, one of initiators of trade. With the global financial tsunami seeming to gradually calm down, a procurement manager working with a large company that was founded one hundred years ago talked about their current situation: we are now facing extremely high pressure in retail and need to reduce retail prices of our products in market.The manager urges suppliers to cut down price with three simple reasons:1. Against the background of current financial crisis, prices of raw materials have decreased;2. Significant reduction in prices of energy products such as petroleum means lower freight and storage cost; and3.With the decreasing and stable amplitude of the financial crisis wave, rate of exchange will tend to level off and rise.Then why do suppliers need to reduce their prices? Because the consumption end of commodities is facing much lower purchasing power of the country due to the financial crisis. The information from the consumption end is that the consumer confidence index goes down and end consumer groups (including corporate and individual procurement) reduce their costs, expenses and consumption. With such a weak market, merchants can only use price reduction as their sharp tool to stimulate consumption. Merchants promote psychologically by enabling consumers to buy the same goods as before with less money. Wholesalers and retailers in the middle of the chain deliver goods on the chain from one level to another. During this course, they gain profits and ensure normal circulation of goods. Their sensitivity to price and inventory leads to importer’s action mentioned above. As for wholesalers facing high retail pressure, lower purchasing power and weak sales, price is the only and effective solution to improve sales.As for consumables, those who are able to provide the market with inexpensive commodity with proper quality will have a large market share, no matter they are wholesalers or importers. This is low-price transmission resulting in larger trade volume. With increasingly stable financial community, trade will tend to be active and large in size when consumers have suitable savings and their purchasing power and consumption confidence index rise. Maybe experts and scholars then will conclude that the crisis has ended and economy begins a recovery journey. When it comes to the bulk commodity market, economists say that its bull market has ended since crude oil price peaked. Those people trading at the peak of the bull market have made a great loss due to substantially lower price. The time for them to recover from such a loss may be longer than that for the crisis to come to end. Therefore, goods at low price will be favorites of people in a certain period of time.Next, we will discuss the price transmission from the perspective of suppliers. With the global financial tsunami directly leading to significantly shrunken trade volume, it is truly a thorny problem to retain customers while continuing to make profit and reducing risks and losses in such an environment. To maintain its normal operation, supplier may adjust prices of its products or accept orders and deposit foreign exchange if rates of exchange fluctuate narrowly, waiting for further stabilization and rebounding of exchange rate. They look like those who are bundled to stocks purchased at high prices and wait for being unbundled and reducing loss. Prices of products from suppliers will be influenced by that of raw materials. It can not be ignored that the crisis directly makes many small-and-middle-sized enterprises (SMEs) go bankrupt, or stand on the verge of bankruptcy, or reduce their employees. As an Internet trade platform, Alibaba, which has a close relationship with those SMEs, said that the next few years will be a winter in its operation. A lot of SMEs get orders, generally small ones, through Alibaba. Due to the crisis, there are no longer any small orders from Alibaba for those SMEs. With the economic depression caused by the crisis ensuing the global inflation and big ups and downs of price, the lack of orders has directly led to huge loss of SMEs, especially for those who focus on export trade. As a result, there is a bankruptcy upsurge of SMEs that operate on a high-cost-and-low-price basis. The bankruptcy and shrinkage of SMEs have directly affected the proceeds of Alibaba that mainly provides services for SMEs. Considering this point, the financial crisis also leads to early coming of the winter of Internet Business-to-Business E-commerce. Internet E-commerce seeks for breakthroughs in a new operational mode while waiting for its spring.What about logistics companies between importers and suppliers? Suppliers or importers have a direct business relationship with those logistics companies. Significantly shrunken volume of freight causes the over-capacity of those shipping companies and forwarders. There is even zero trade freight for transporting goods to the countries near the ocean. In fact, freight is paid by importers. However, for now, transport cost is significantly lower than ever before. Similar to sea-borne and air-borne shipment, international express business has witnessed a big drop in delivery of samples and documents resulted from decrease in trade. It can be seen that most parts of the influenced trade chain will incur loss. What about banks? It is impractical to say that the destruction in trade will lead to weaken business of banks. At most, banks will have less volume of business in loans and export bill purchase. It is financial derivatives that are affecting banks, seemingly not in the same field as trade.Financial crisis is a situation where the capital chain of financial system breaks. Superficially, there is not enough currency in an economic system. Actually, the reason is that the circulation of currency is not good. Superficially, companies or merchants do not have funds or lack funds and cannot get loans from banks. Money can not flow freely. These have led to the fact that companies go bankrupt, or reduce their size of production, or even slow down their trade expansion. The shrinkage in production and manufacturing industry can be seen directly from less orders and substantially reduced procurement volume of importers. On the side of retailers, they sell their inventory as soon as possible, sell at discounted prices to recover cash, and control inventory or even keep zero inventory. As the financial turbulence hit normal trade circulation, it results in the big fluctuation of exchange rate and depreciation of currency. As a result, the procurement cost will be higher. Trade is hit severely by both increase of purchasing cost and decrease of purchasing power. At this time, merchants need inexpensive goods more than ever before to compensate the loss caused by the financial shock. If the sales volume of low-price goods soars in one country or region, trade friction between trading countries will come forth, without exception during the time of financial crisis. If there are too many imported goods in a country, this will directly lead to the rise of trade protectionism and more trade barriers that violate the principle of free and fair trade. In the previous crises, countries set trade barriers to hold back low-price goods from exporters, with the purpose to protect its local industries from being hit, to lower unemployment rate, and to avoid spread of crisis to a larger scope. Such measures based on individualism will conversely further the depression of global economy. The measures, aimed at protecting domestic or local companies, are not good for recovery from a crisis. It will take longer for the economy to recover when it falls to the bottom. In this financial crisis, headlines of newspaper report that governments have invested a huge amount of money to rescue the market and central banks have greatly lowered interest rate consecutively to stimulate economy, drive consumption, avoid long-time economic depression, abate financial fluctuation and reduce the huge damage brought about by the crisis. At this very moment, it is both a risk and an opportunity for international trade. Risk means that companies and banks may go bankrupt at any time while opportunity means that consumers of the world need more low-price goods. The bull commodity market of the world has ended. It seems to tell us that people need to have more inexpensive goods with good quality when facing lack of money.Under such an economic environment, how do companies on the trade chain face the situation? After each crisis, there are cheap shares and assets everywhere. It is perfect time for companies to reconstruct, merge and acquire. Those companies with abundant cash flow will expand and develop themselves at this time through the measures mentioned above. Exporters shall seize opportunities to cooperate with international brand companies. Strength of low cost will play a more important role in future trade.
Author Archives: admin
Console Management Solutions For Distributed Datacenters
What is Console Management?Console management is the set up, configuration, and maintenance of serial devices, including servers, switches, routers, and telecom gear. Most of these devices offer EIA 232 serial port(s) as a primary console port for management. IT administrators can manage serial devices locally or remotely through the device’s console port.Local and Remote Console ManagementLocal console management uses a physical connection to the device in order to perform set up, maintenance and repair tasks. Typically, an administrator would go to a failed device with a crash cart or a laptop and physically plug into the device to diagnose and fix the problem.Remote console management provides access to the console port of a device on the network via a TCP/IP Ethernet connection or by telephone via a modem-to-modem connection. A whole selection of console management tools and technologies has evolved to meet these needs. One of the most common devices used for remote console management is a console serial switch, also referred to as a console server. A serial console switch can provide access to multiple serial ports locally through its console port.Local and remote console management can be achieved via the regular network infrastructure (in-band management) or a dedicated management channel (out of-band) used for device maintenance.In-band Management: In-band management uses the same network that connects the devices being managed. Control and management data share the same network as the user data. Many in-band management tools are provided as integrated functions of the operating system and hardware platform. For example, managed devices can be accessed on the in-band network through common protocols, such as Telnet or SSH. SNMP polling allows an administrator to determine faulty behavior or connection problems.A significant limitation of in-band management is its vulnerability to problems such as an operating system crash or the loss of a network connection. The failure of a single device on the network could potentially prevent management connectivity throughout the network itself.Out-of-Band Management: Out-of-band management is the use of a dedicated management channel for device maintenance. It uses an interface that does not rely on the proper functioning of the operating system, applications, protocol stacks and the production network. Using out of band management, a network device can be accessed, reconfigured and recovered in the event of a failure of normal in-band management methods, such as an operating system crash or a network connection failure. Out-of-band management addresses the limitation of in-band communication by employing a management channel that is physically isolated from the data channel.The most common out-of-band management solution involves connecting each device’s serial port to a console switch. This allows the monitoring of Boot process and console access which may not be available using typical in-band management. Depending on BIOS support it also allows access to BIOS information through the console port.Console serial port switches can provide form factor and multiple port flexibility for up to 32 ports in a 1U form factor. Products that include flexible options to remotely access managed devices in an out-of-band management network are ideal products for data centers and high performance clusters.Another type of out-of-band management solution involves a computer with a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) that has its own processor, memory, battery, network connection, and access to the system bus. The BMC can monitor the computer for critical events, send alerts and log events, and perform management functions. Out-of-band management can also be done by connecting the managed devices to a separate Ethernet network. An administrator can access the devices remotely via SSH or a VPN tunnel to the out-of-band management network.Console Serial SwitchA console serial switch is a device that provides single point serial port access for multiple devices with serial console port(s), such as routers, switches, servers. The Console Serial Switch typically has one or more Ethernet ports and multiple serial ports. The console switch provides the capability of using a host on the network to connect simultaneously to the console ports of multiple devices. It also provides complete in-band and out-of-band management for switches, routers, and other devices using a Telnet session or a Web Interface (HTTP). The connected devices can also be accessed securely using a console switch that supports a secure shell (SSH) or through a secure web session (HTTPS).Secure Remote Access: Both Telnet and SSH protocols are supported by most of the hosts used to access the console switch. By launching a Telnet or SSH session directly to the console switch, the user would be presented with the command line interface of the console switch. Many console switches provide web-based management software that can be accessed through a browser using HTTPS. These interfaces allow the administrator to access attached devices or to control the console switch itself.Telnet communication is a plain text communication and is not encrypted leaving sensitive information vulnerable. SSH and HTTPS communications are encrypted and secure. After authentication a pair of public keys is exchanged between client and server. All communication is then encrypted using the received public keys. Only the corresponding private key holder can decrypt the messages. Using these industry standard protocols, an administrator can access the serial console port of an attached data center device as if using an actual crash cart.Secure SSH Console Serial Port Switches offer a broad set of secure access methods that meet the needs of different customers. Look for switches that support Secure Shell (SSH v2), individual port authentication, HTTPS for enhanced security, and dial-in access support, so that only known users at specific locations can access the switch.Remote, Centralized Management: The ability to monitor and control managed multiple remote servers makes the console switch a powerful tool. Through console redirection, administrators can access the BIOS and operating system processes of a managed server through the serial port. Console redirection sends a managed server’s system output to the serial console port and accepts inputs from the console port.In Windows, EMS console redirection starts as soon as Windows begins to load and is available until the Windows graphical interface becomes active. Once the Windows graphical interface is active, the special administrative console takes over. In other operating systems, such as Linux or FreeBSD, console redirection remains active after the OS has loaded. Redirection is accessed through a serial console login.Scalability and the switch’s control methods are important issues to consider when centrally managing larger deployments. Scalability varies with different console switches. Some switches support as few as four devices, while others support a larger number. Maintaining large deployments of servers can be simplified with a console switch. For control, a well-designed graphic interface and the ability to configure complex events (data capture, notificatin, and scripting) enhance an administrator’s ability to manage multiple devices and minimize down time.Administrator’s can securely manage up to 32 devices with a high end Secure SSH Console Serial Port Switch. Features like: easy-to-use web-based interfaces, menu-driven device selection and diagnostic and event management features will be very useful in allowing administrators to quickly locate the source of equipment failures and correct them.Environmental Monitoring: Another way that console switches can maximize uptime is by detecting external environmental threats that can cause managed devices to fail. Excessive heat and rapid temperature changes in a data center, server room, or network closet can damage equipment. Low humidity levels can produce electrostatic discharge, interfering with hardware and causing system damage. Some consoles switches include sensors that detect these environmental threats and sends alerts so the threat can be addressed.Secure SSH Console Serial Port Switches monitor multiple environmental conditions, including: temperature, humidity, and water detection. The switch also supports contact sensors. When a sensor goes out of a defined range, the system will notify you via email, LEDs, web page, or SNMP trap.SummaryLook for console serial switches that provide complete in-band and out-of-band management of local and remote devices, as well as remote environmental monitoring of server rooms. Features such as an easy-to-use graphic interface, powerful diagnostic tools for large deployments, secure access, and high port densities in a small form factor will enable administrators to effectively and securely manage multiple devices. A quality device will give IT managers many different control and interface options for managing: servers, switches, routers, and telecom gear in a cost effective way.