From owner-freebsd-stable  Tue Jul 10  6:59:20 2001
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Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:55:37 -0400
From: Bill Moran <wmoran@iowna.com>
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To: Kenneth W Cochran <kwc@world.std.com>
Cc: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: Tracking -stable remotely/colocated
References: <200107100227.WAA25392@world.std.com>
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There is a way to accomplish this. It requires 2 computers.
The first is your server, the second is a terminal computer.
You never log into the actual server, but the terminal
computer is connected via serial line to the server to
act as a console. This way, you can reboot and everything
over an ssh connection and you see what's going on just as
if you were sitting right at it.
The terminal computer need not be anything fancy. Got any old
P133s collecting dust? And you can connect multiple servers
to it.
I'm not very sure of the implementation details on this setup:
the handbook should help. But I did talk with one sysadmin a
few months ago that had ~15 servers running like this off of
two terminal machines. He loved the setup and recommended it.

-Bill

Kenneth W Cochran wrote:
> 
> Hello -stable:
> 
> I would like to install & run FreeBSD & track -stable on a
> remote, headless, keyboardless machine in a colocation facility
> to which I have minimal physical access at best.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> - How do I install FreeBSD on such a machine?  It has a CDROM
>   drive, but is there a way to install without connecting a
>   monitor & keyboard?
> 
> - How do I "make installworld" remotely with the system quiesced
>   (shut-down to single-user mode)?  In other words, how can
>   I access the system remotely from the network (Ethernet)
>   via ssh if the system is single-user?  I would want to do
>   something like the following:
>   1.  make buildworld...
>   2.  shutdown now (go to single-user)
>   3.  make installworld & new kernel & install new kernel
>   4.  shutdown -r now
> 
> - (Re)booting: How do ensure that the system reboots properly
>   without any (physical) operator intervention (ie. after
>   installing a new kernel)?
> 
> I've searched the Handbook & mailing lists & some of the Core
> Team websites & can't find quite what I'm looking for.  FAQ,
> documentation and/or "howto" pointers/references are *very*
> welcome. :)
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> -kc
> 
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