>do you have remote console access i.e. DRAC or ILO ? No. >did you mention if any recent OS or other software updates like 5.3 to 5.4 or otherwise? It is a newer box w/ 5.4 installed. >someone could be DOS'ing the server ??? Does not appear that way and if it was I would imagine console should still work but it does not. >do you run a firewall and drop bad traffic to the floor or is it wide open? I do run a firewall and drop traffic. >what about thermal issues? Temp does not spike during these periods. >recent BIOS update? No >also, you might consider using some boot time kernel parameters to disable things hardware wise etc that are not absolutely necessary. I have disabled acpi in kernel. Anything else I should disable? >does it match the switchport? i.e. hard set? auto negot? cisco should be hard set. Yes it matches but direct console crashes so I do not feel it is a network issue. If it was I would imagine you should still be able to direct console in.