Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
Hi Matt, I've done this once, on my webserver. You'll miss all the booting information such (i.e., BIOS, etc.), and if the machine should hang during the boot process (i.e., kernel panic, etc.), you'll have a hung machine with no display. But, you can always review dmesg to see how the boot went. There is an add-on board (either PCI or ISA) that provides true headless operation for i386 machines, but it's kinda pricey. It provides complete access to the machine, including access to the BIOS, boot, etc. Go here for information on this product: http://www.realweasel.com Again, it's kinda expensive, but useful. Hope that helps a little more, Dwight... Dwight, Thanks for the reply! I found references to that, but am I correct that the OS has to get pretty far in the boot sequence before the output get redirected? If all you lose is teh CMOS options this would be a great option. I assumed the first thing you would see is a log in prompt. Do you see all the devices loading up? Aloha, Matt
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
Hi Matt, I've done this once, on my webserver. You'll miss all the booting information such (i.e., BIOS, etc.), and if the machine should hang during the boot process (i.e., kernel panic, etc.), you'll have a hung machine with no display. But, you can always review dmesg to see how the boot went. There is an add-on board (either PCI or ISA) that provides true headless operation for i386 machines, but it's kinda pricey. It provides complete access to the machine, including access to the BIOS, boot, etc. Go here for information on this product: http://www.realweasel.com Again, it's kinda expensive ($250 for ISA $350 for PCI), but useful. Hope that helps a little more, Dwight... And Matt said: Dwight, Thanks for the reply! I found references to that, but am I correct that the OS has to get pretty far in the boot sequence before the output get redirected? If all you lose is teh CMOS options this would be a great option. I assumed the first thing you would see is a log in prompt. Do you see all the devices loading up? Aloha, Matt ___ LUAU mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://videl.ics.hawaii.edu/mailman/listinfo/luau
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
There is a new standard out now on intel boards that is a move in the right direction. Basically it's a nearly true serial console (I need to see if there is an equivelent of a stop-A like on a sparc) that is presented on an RJ-45. There is a jumper on the motherboard that changes the config to one of two terminal server pin configurations (lantronix and cisco). Gateway and MPC (micron PC) are both using it now, and of course if you purchase one of the newer intel motherboards you also get this. I've only tested with the lantronix SSH console server...but it works just fine. Oh yeahLantronix makes a 1 port, 2 port, 8 port, 16 port, and 32port SSH console server. Breaks out the ports with RJ-45's. Much less expensive than the Cyclades version. Or just put an octopus serial board in a linux boxbut I'm not sure if the octopus board will actually be cheaper than the lantronix unitand 16port version is 1RU. (balanced RS-232 configuration, so longer runs possible) You can even ssh to a particular port on the server and bypass the CLI and direct connect to the physical port. It also handles both connect and disconnect scripts. For wintel boxes you can run a virtual com port over the IP Networkso you could if you wanted to, run 32 serial ports off a wintel boxhaven't tried this under linux yet, but should be doable on that too. Lantronix also makes a VERY inexepensive OEM version that is the size of a small matchbox and is single port. /brian chee University of Hawaii ICS Dept Advanced Network Computing Lab 1680 East West Road, POST rm 311 Honolulu, HI 96822 808-956-5797 voice, 808-956-5175 fax - Original Message - From: Vince Hoang [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 11:03 PM Subject: Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out On Wed, Jul 30, 2003 at 08:16:18PM -1000, Dwight wrote: Redirecting console to the serial port (via the linux kernel) is covered in several internet articles: This is one of my long term gripes about x86 hardware: no true serial console. Intel boards that have EMP support have BIOS serial console redirection. It is still feels kludgey, however. Nothing compared to being able to send a break and restarting your server when the kernel panics. -Vince ___ LUAU mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://videl.ics.hawaii.edu/mailman/listinfo/luau
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
On Thu, Jul 31, 2003 at 09:49:30AM -1000, Brian Chee wrote: There is a new standard out now on intel boards that is a move in the right direction. Basically it's a nearly true serial console (I need to see if there is an equivelent of a stop-A like on a sparc) that is presented on an RJ-45. There is a jumper on the motherboard that changes the config to one of two terminal server pin configurations (lantronix and cisco). I am pretty sure you are talking about what I mentioned. The EMP part lets you power cycle. If you want have serial console _and_ power cycle, you need to use up two serial ports per server. If what you are referring to is something entirely new, please let me know. -Vince
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
hmmmlemme check with the MPC folks...I didn't see anything about NEEDING two serial portsjust the single RJ-45I'll do some checking and report back to the list. Intel is also implementing console over IP/Ethernet as a standard...not sure if anyone has decided to implement other than Intel. /brian chee University of Hawaii ICS Dept Advanced Network Computing Lab 1680 East West Road, POST rm 311 Honolulu, HI 96822 808-956-5797 voice, 808-956-5175 fax - Original Message - From: Vince Hoang [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 10:32 AM Subject: Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out On Thu, Jul 31, 2003 at 09:49:30AM -1000, Brian Chee wrote: There is a new standard out now on intel boards that is a move in the right direction. Basically it's a nearly true serial console (I need to see if there is an equivelent of a stop-A like on a sparc) that is presented on an RJ-45. There is a jumper on the motherboard that changes the config to one of two terminal server pin configurations (lantronix and cisco). I am pretty sure you are talking about what I mentioned. The EMP part lets you power cycle. If you want have serial console _and_ power cycle, you need to use up two serial ports per server. If what you are referring to is something entirely new, please let me know. -Vince ___ LUAU mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://videl.ics.hawaii.edu/mailman/listinfo/luau
RE: [luau] Mid range board with console out
Hi Matt, Redirecting console to the serial port (via the linux kernel) is covered in several internet articles: http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO/index.html http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/3164/1/ basically, it involves configuring the kernel to use the serial port as the console. Google is your friend: http://www.google.com/search?hl=enie=UTF-8oe=UTF-8q=redirect+console+seri al+port+linux Hope that helps (a little), Dwight... -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Matthew John Darnell Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 8:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [luau] Mid range board with console out Aloha, Does anyone have have a favorite mid range mother board PIII or P4 that has built in 10/100 LAN and the console output will go to a serial port? I would be looking at 512MB of RAM. No floppy, CD-ROM just console output and IDE for the boot. Aloha, Matt ___ LUAU mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://videl.ics.hawaii.edu/mailman/listinfo/luau
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
Hi Matt, Redirecting console to the serial port (via the linux kernel) is covered in several internet articles: http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO/index.html http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/3164/1/ basically, it involves configuring the kernel to use the serial port as the console. Google is your friend: http://www.google.com/search?hl=enie=UTF-8oe=UTF-8q=redirect+console+seri al+port+linux Hope that helps (a little), Dwight... -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Matthew John Darnell Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 8:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [luau] Mid range board with console out Aloha, Does anyone have have a favorite mid range mother board PIII or P4 that has built in 10/100 LAN and the console output will go to a serial port? I would be looking at 512MB of RAM. No floppy, CD-ROM just console output and IDE for the boot. Aloha, Matt Dwight, Thanks for the reply! I found references to that, but am I correct that the OS has to get pretty far in the boot sequence before the output get redirected? If all you lose is teh CMOS options this would be a great option. I assumed the first thing you would see is a log in prompt. Do you see all the devices loading up? Aloha, Matt
Re: [luau] Mid range board with console out
On Wed, Jul 30, 2003 at 08:16:18PM -1000, Dwight wrote: Redirecting console to the serial port (via the linux kernel) is covered in several internet articles: This is one of my long term gripes about x86 hardware: no true serial console. Intel boards that have EMP support have BIOS serial console redirection. It is still feels kludgey, however. Nothing compared to being able to send a break and restarting your server when the kernel panics. -Vince
