James B. Byrne wrote: > ... > The purpose of the > serial connection is to permit a laptop to substitute for a > monitor/kb/mouse on site in that eventuality. If it proves too cumbersome > to enable direct host to host communications via usb then we will simply > ship a 15" flat screen, kb and mouse with the unit and have them returned > afterwards. or, use commercial servers with integrated TCP kvm's such as HP's iLO, Dell's DRAC, Sun's ILOM, etc. These provide virtual consoles and CD/DVD's over IP where the client side just needs a java enabled web browser. they generally have their own ethernet ports for this, and you assign them a dedicated IP address. most require SSL (https:) to connect, so are quite secure.