From owner-freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Apr 2 13:59:32 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E361816A4CE for ; Fri, 2 Apr 2004 13:59:32 -0800 (PST) Received: from users.757.org (users.757.org [216.54.62.141]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B3CE443D1D for ; Fri, 2 Apr 2004 13:59:32 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from telmnstr@757.org) Received: by users.757.org (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 268173F662; Fri, 2 Apr 2004 17:01:25 -0500 (EST) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by users.757.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 24E4C3F638 for ; Fri, 2 Apr 2004 17:01:25 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 17:01:25 -0500 (EST) From: Ethan In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.2.20040402142715.02a9cf70@error404.nls.net> Message-ID: References: <20040402131731.P91030@ganymede.hub.org> <6.0.3.0.2.20040402142715.02a9cf70@error404.nls.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII cc: hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Re: KVM over Ethernet Switches for FreeBSD hacks ?? X-BeenThere: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion of FreeBSD hardware List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 02 Apr 2004 21:59:33 -0000 > >Anyone have any recommendations on what works with FreeBSD? I've had > >fun/issues in the past with KVMs that just don't seem to work well, > >including BlackBox stuff ... > >I'm interested in being able to power-cycle a box remotely, as well as be > >able to get into the DEBUGGER remotely if I need to ... I don't care if > >the interface has to be run under Windows, as we have one in our office > >for the bookkeeper ... I explored the same things in the past. We currently use Portmaster PM2E's and PM-25s on a private network behind a FreeBSD host to offer serial access. I was looking into the Dell and Compaq lights out options. These cards fit the Proliant series of servers and basically feature a full embedded system on a PCI card that loops into the keyboard and mouse, and pulls video. My idea was that if it uses an analog capture setup we could hack an external feed for VGA input, and turn these cheap cards into something useful. The Dell model appears to somehow read shared memory for the video adaptor. This is our best guess, at least. The Compaq one has a special connector the board hits on the motherboard, and there is a jumper ribbon. I would imagine the jumper ribbon controls the power/reset and possibly reads the environment log. There are different models of the Insight remote cards, and the older ones look like they would be more acceptable to turning into a generic remote PC board. My idea was to put two insight boards in a host, setup the host to control the KVMs and come up with an auth mechanism to permit customers to access the consoles of their computers. I've only seen a Dell board in real life, have never used any in real life. I did a bit of digging around, but never actually tried to go further. YMMV. I do plan to buy a board or two in the future though. -- Ethan O'Toole