On 13/10/2010 20:35, Rudi Ahlers wrote:

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 7:51 PM, Giles Coocheygiles@coochey.net wrote:

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On 13/10/2010 19:31, Rudi Ahlers wrote:

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Hi all,

Has anyone seen something like this before:

I want to use a laptop as a KVM console. Basically when a technician goes to one of our datacentres, or clients he has to look for a free LCD, keyboard& mouse to connect to a server (no network access, reinstall, troubleshoot failed kernel / HDD, etc). And then hopefully there's an open power socker in that cabinet.

So I'm thinking why not just use a laptop instead? It already has an LCD, keyboard, mouse& power. Surely someone has, or may still, build something that could connect to the laptop's USB port(s) and then to the server's VGA& USB / PS2 ports, then act as a KVM?

Many servers have network console capability these days. HP's iLO (Integrated Lights Out) and Dell's DRAC functions.

You can just boot up the laptop, connect a network cable to the iLO port and the Laptop, set the IP, and use a browser to get a Java application that includes a console (OS independant). Most medium to large scale datacenter deployments will have a seperate management network to which these iLO and DRAC systems are constantly connected to for OOB management. _______________________________________________

This will only work for servers with iLO devices built-it, and / or network access to them.

It doesn't help me much with smaller / cheaper servers (aka headless file server / mail server / router / etc in a 10-user office) which doesn't have remote management features. Many of our smaller Atom based servers, or older Pentium 4 / Core2Duo / Core2Quad's also don't have iLO or other network managed interfaces and we still need to use a LCD, keyboard& mouse. Since many of our servers are colo we depend on the DC's to have these, but if there isn't any then the tech's can't work on the servers. So now they haul these with them in their cars, but that's not ideal as well. Especially if he needs his laptop with him already, and need to carry new server spares in, as well as the LCD / KB / mouse.

Yes, for the lower end of the market you won't find that capability built in, but going forward - if you're looking for a server that is going to be co-located then remote management built-in should be one of the things at the top of the list of requirements. The iLO / DRAC still works as a very good option, especially if you don't know what equipment the engineer will bring onto site... you can at least expect them to have a laptop with a RJ-45 port on it!

On 13/10/2010 20:52, Rudi Ahlers wrote:

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 8:42 PM, Giles Coocheygiles@coochey.net wrote:

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Yes, for the lower end of the market you won't find that capability built in, but going forward - if you're looking for a server that is going to be co-located then remote management built-in should be one of the things at the top of the list of requirements. The iLO / DRAC still works as a very good option, especially if you don't know what equipment the engineer will bring onto site... you can at least expect them to have a laptop with a RJ-45 port on it! _______________________________________________

How will DRAC / iLO work if there's a motherboard failure or network problem? And what about situations where the Linux server act's as PPPoE client to connect the network to the internet? Don't take this the wrong way, we already use iLO's but they don't cater for every need. And, I'm not going to replace a whole bunch of client's servers at my own expense just to get an iLO board.

Well - the iLO is a seperate subsystem, so if the system has a motherboard failure then the iLO will tell you that prior to initiating any console. And if the motherboard is failed, then there was little point looking at the console in the first place, as the system won't boot. The iLO port is a seperate network port on a different system, so it is independent of any network problem you might have. I'm not necessarily talking about using the iLO remotely, although it can and is usually used that way, so if you have some internet connectivity problem your engineer can still connect to the port with a network cable and get POST status and connect to the console if necessary on his laptop. I wasn't asking that you replace your existing servers, just mentioning that integrated remote management ought to be a serious consideration when you're going for unmanned systems. The USB kit mentioned earlier in this thread may be a viable solution for what you're looking for - you'll need one for each engineer though, and only you will know the numbers (# of servers, # of engineers, overall cost) which will define the best solution for you.

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Dale Dellutri daledellutri@gmail.com wrote:

Your request inspired me to try a google search:

linux laptop as kvm console

Apparently there is such a device (URL may wrap):

http://us.startech.com/product/NOTECONS01-Portable-USB-PS-2-KVM-Console-Adap...

It may require a Windows XP  or Mac laptop, but at least one page says it works on Linux, too.  You could try to contact StarTech, I guess.

-- Dale Dellutri

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Thanx Dale, that's what I was looking for :) Now I just need to find a local supplier, seeing how expensive this is. I guess my google search terms were just a bit off.....

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 11:39 AM, Rudi Ahlers Rudi@softdux.com wrote:

On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Dale Dellutri daledellutri@gmail.com wrote:

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Your request inspired me to try a google search:

linux laptop as kvm console

http://us.startech.com/product/NOTECONS01-Portable-USB-PS-2-KVM-Console-Adap...

Thanx Dale, that's what I was looking for :) Now I just need to find a local supplier, seeing how expensive this is. I guess my google search terms were just a bit off.....

Try searching for "kvm over ip" -- you'll find a number of devices not much more expensive than that adapter, which are KVMs with their own network interfaces. Which means you don't even need to be physically plugged in to use them, though I believe you *could* be if security concerns mean you don't want to connect the KVM to a public network.

From: cornel panceac cpanceac@gmail.com

is there a client-server application which does kvm over network connections?

What do you mean by client-server? VNC? NX? KVM is hardware "emulation" of the keyboard, Video and Mouse... Meaning you can remotely manage the server (reboot, bios, etc...), without being dependent of a server application running under an OS. So you need some hardware... Build into the server or from an external device.

JD

On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 7:20 AM, Devin Reade gdr@gno.org wrote:

Rudi Ahlers Rudi@SoftDux.com wrote:

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I want to use a laptop as a KVM console.

[snip]

Other people have pointed out KVM-over-IP devices for your legacy or low end machines (ALOM/iLO/DRAC/whatever is still cheaper for server-grade hardware).

I'd like to bring up the AdderLink IPEPs, which I can say from experience is a very nice device.  They are very stable and the over-the-wire protocol is encrypted VNC which means, unlike many of the lower-end competitors, you're not forced to use a Windows box to access the console of your windows machine.  The IPEPs has an IP-blocking mechanism if someone tries to brute-force it.  (Of course, having it on a non-publicly-available management network is still better.)

http://www.adder.com/uk/products/IPEPS.aspx or http://www.adder.com/uk/products/IPEPS_Dual_access.aspx

While they market them as one-per-server, you can easily amortize the cost by hooking the IPEPs to an electronic KVM switch (the kind that allows you to switch machines based on keyboard strokes rather than flipping a switch), and then hooking the KVM to your servers.  Thus the fanout depends on the capability of your KVM switch. Note that using the KVM means that you have a security model that assumes that anyone who logs into the KVM is permitted console access to any attached server.  (They'd still have to log into each server.)

I think that AdderLink also has multi-server versions of IP-over-KVM that may be better/cheaper if you need to allow for different people with different security access to get at the servers.

Unlike an ALOM/iLO/DRAC, the IPEPs does not have any power switching capability, so you'd still need to cover that capability off as well if you need it.  For power management, there are also many options for PDUs but I'd suggest the APC line, such as the AP7901 or equivalent:

http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=AP7901

IMO, this is only suitable for single-power-supply servers  (If you're using a redundant power supply in your servers, you should also have an ALOM/iLO/DRAC.)

If you go the IPEPs + KVM route, I'd suggest ensuring that your KVM doesn't draw power from the keyboard/monitor/mouse connectors so that if you need to reset the KVM you can power cycle it remotely via a PDU rather than needing to be on site.  (The DLink DKVM-8E is inexpensive, but it has the draw-power-from-multiple-sourcs problem and sometimes after a power outage it needs a reset -- for which we need on-site access. *grumble*)

Devin

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Hi Devin,

I have a few spider KVM-over-IP devices but found that if there's no spare power point in the cabinet it becomes a problem. They work well for this purpose though. The USB2KVM device mentioned earlier on in this thread is exactly what I was looking for, but I couldn't find a distributer locally and UPS quoted me $356 just for freight, excluding import duties in our country, so I think I'll stick with the spider KVM over IP's for now. They're about 50% cheaper locally than the KVM2USB before shipment & import duties.