Just out of curiosity ... I've been experimenting with some alternatives to either "old" 250x-series Cisco console servers, or other brand solutions in order to cover our requirements for in-band/OOB management access to our DC infrastructure. While the Cisco console server is a viable, working solution, the old routers are getting both hard to get and aging, too, and alternative NM cards aren't exactly cheap (plus putting a router in the rack to use them in might not be the technically and economical solution). Other solutions also work, but are usually either not low(er) cost, or not flexible. I've did some proof-of-concept setups based on micro-servers (like RasPi) and USB UARTs, which turned out quite nicely, allowing for cool features (like e.g. forwarding all incoming data to a syslog server, or implementing some automation, etc.)
With that basis, I was thinking about designing a circuit that will allow for a high-density (1U) setup with 24 or even 48 serial ports, connectable to a user-supplied server via a USB port (though a 48 port solution might be better connected through two ports). A (halfway) careful first estimate could result in cost somewhere in the range of 200-300$ for a finished product with 24 ports. Is this something - both from a technical as well as financial POV - that folks might be interested in? tnx for any feedback, -garry _______________________________________________ cisco-nsp mailing list [email protected] https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-nsp archive at http://puck.nether.net/pipermail/cisco-nsp/
