[lug] remote management hardware?

Sun Apr 10 18:51:08 MDT 2011

There are quite a lot of options...

   IPMI: Some motherboards will have a card slot that an IPMI card can be
   added to.  I only use the ones that have dedicated Ethernet ports, I've
   had various problems with the "shared ethernet" ones (where IPMI runs on
   the same ethernet interface as the host traffic).  I also only use IPMI
   for power control, I have not found the "Serial over LAN" console to be
   reliable with the Supermicro.  These are usually $50-ish, but require
   the motherboard to support them.  Usually only low-end server
   motherboards support them.

   APC "control" power strips (note that they sell many models, the
   "metered" ones you can't control the outlets on).  These work great, but
   are around $200 for the 8-port model (APCs smallest).  BUT, you can
   often find things like this on ebay for dramatically less, with varying
   quality...  We have every piece of equipment at our hosting facility
   hooked up to one of these.  These you can SSH into, HTTP, SNMP, etc...

   HOWEVER, these *REQUIRE* that the server have a BIOS setting
   for "power on when power is lost".  And it must be enabled.  And it must
   not be buggy...  And many of them won't turn on a computer that you have
   powered off remotely via the OS ("shutdown -hy now" instead of "shutdown
   -ry now").

   There are smaller devices such as the "IPC-1" from cpscom.com which are
   a 1-port power control like the above, but they cost north of $100 for
   that single port, and tend to be RS-232 controlled rather than
   Ethernet.  Problematic if you have only one server to control.  I wrote
   Python code for controlling one of these, I used to have my DSL modem
   connected to one, and the firewall would reset it if it couldn't reach
   the Internet.  These *DO* have options to connect to a POTS line and use
   the ringing to control them, etc...  They're pretty slick boxes.

   There's the "PC Weasel" at realweasel.com, which is an ISA or PCI VGA
   card that can talk RS-232 for access to the text-mode display and power
   control.  Like the IPC-1, they require something else at the location
   that can do RS-232 to talk to.  They can't do graphics.

   Most modern PCs, particularly "server class" have BIOS options for doing
   BIOS over serial.  Coupled with setting up a getty and configuring the
   kernel for the serial port, this can be an effective means of console
   access.  *BUT*, these are definitely second-class citizens, particularly
   in the BIOS.  And if you think VGA KVMs are expensive, for some reason
   serial "terminal servers" for this application are quite expensive as
   well...

   There are a variety of KVM over IP solutions, but I really wanted one
   that did VNC, so we didn't need special client software.  I ended up
   choosing the StarTech 1115IP-EXT.  It works well, but I have had some
   weirdness with some versions.  The newest hardware seems likely to work.
   This is a single port KVM that you can plug VGA and PS-2 or USB into a
   server, and shows it's console, including graphics, doing mouse, etc...
   It's around $600, and I've been pretty happy with the one we have at our
   hosting facility.  But at $600 for one server may be a bit much.  It can
   also connect via USB to the server and emulate a CD or floppy.  It can
   do SSH, web, and more...  The mouse can be a bit funky to use in GUI
   installers and the like though.

   StarTech also have 1U 16-port KVMs either with the above included in it,
   or that can attach to the above.  You can cascade these to handle
   something like 130 ports.  All of our older machines at our hosting
   facility are connected to one of these.  The nice thing about these is
   that, unlike much of their competition, the cables for each port are
   relatively inexpensive, around $5.  It's not unusual to have cabling for
   KVMs cost $30 or more, per port.

   StarTech also makes serial controlled power strips, like the APC, but
   that integrate with the IP controllers so you can go to a console and
   then say "power cycle this guy".  I haven't used these, but they sure
   sound convenient.

   Then there are enhanced management cards like the Dell DRAC ($350-ish),
   HP iLO (built-in), and the Supermicro "+" IPMI cards ($100-ish).  The
   DRACs are great, but obviously only work with Dell equipment.  They tend
   to very well integrate including monitoring of chassis and other
   add-ons.  We use mostly Supermicro gear, and I really like the "+"
   cards, which give you remote KVM, remote media, power on and off,
   monitoring of fans and more.  All these options tend to require Java
   applets for consoles, but they do work great.  But, they only work in
   specific hardware.

That's what I know.

Sean
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