Timothy, > -----Original Message----- > The problem is that the server is a long way away (in another country) > and I won't have any way of contacting it if it stops running. -- If your system is half-way around the world (or even half-way around the state), you might consider investing and installing a KVM-over-IP device like one at this site: http://opengear.com/product-IP-KVM-spec.html Not only does it provide direct access to a server's console via SSH (using AES 256-bit encryption), but it also allows you to mount a virtual CD/floppy/disk to the console. Server sees the disk as USB-attached. The KVM-over-IP device ensures that you can still talk to the server even if the network card, network stack, or server operating system gets hosed. The SSH session is between the KVM-over-IP device and your desktop machine, with a serial (or USB) connection from the KVM-over-IP device and the server console (just like you were sitting next to the server in person :-) -- the KVM-over-IP device can also be locked down to permit SSH from a known set of IP addresses and/or subnets. Or, if your server is running in a VPS, your cloud provider may be able to provide you with out-of-band access to the "virtual" console of the server. In the past, I have used a similar device ('iLO' built-in to the server) to repair/rebuild a broken server on the other side of the country by booting it from rescue media that lived as an ISO image on my desktop system. While the link was slower than a direct connection, it still saved me two days in the travel time I would have to spend to reach the physical server. My link to the server was about DSL (512 kbps), so it was slow, but within reason. If the link were slower, I would only use it for terminal access instead of using the virtual media feature. Cheers! Simba Engineering PS. While it took me four times as long to do it, it was still cool to be able to rebuild a server from the ground up without having to leave my desk :-)