many servers are also starting to feature IPMI <nanog@merit.edu> which
allows for the remote console (that provides the VGA output slow.. only
good for emergencies or for Windows servers) and power cycling of servers.
Compaq/HP includes this feature in their Proliant servers, and many other
white box vendors do too via the re-selling/integration of
machines/motherboards from companies like SuperMicro.com.
if anyone has some really specific questions about IPMI and various
motherboard manufactures i might be able to help out as i work as a Sr.
System Engineer at a white box company (but in reality i'm a unix
hack/administrator)
many servers are also starting to feature IPMI ...
if somebody posts a summary of command/control options for remote colo boxes
i'd love to include it, or a pointer to it, at www.vix.com/personalcolo.
i like the pc-weasel but i admit that my main system has a motherboard that's
incompatible with it so i'm ready to consider an ethernet-based alternative.
(i also have a number of 1U's that didn't have a free slot for a pc-weasel.)
two thirds of the motherboards which advertise "serial bios" as an option
don't produce any output. and some of them appear to use the com1 or com2
port in some kind of non-ascii mode which requires special software.
i'm happy to add to the registry a list of things like pc-weasel and rtty and
rocketport, but i'd like to have some confidence that it's a comprehensive
list, which means that someone more familiary with the field has to build it.
many servers are also starting to feature IPMI ...
i'm happy to add to the registry a list of things like pc-weasel and rtty and
rocketport, but i'd like to have some confidence that it's a comprehensive
list, which means that someone more familiary with the field has to build it.
--
If someone is doing this, especially wrt to 1U servers, perhaps someone could provide a pointer to a reboot solution that would allow a single reboot device to control 42+ 1Us in a single rack. From my occasional interest in this area, I've seen lots of reboot solutions. Most of them take as many as 4-10 U to reboot 40 machines, which sort of obviates the need to reboot 40 machines in a single rack in the first place. Unless you use 10ft racks, I guess.
You could use dual vertical PDU's with serial management connected to a 1u
serial console / KVM solution. There are a few vendors working on PDU's with
IP / SNMP based management solutions but I don't think they have been
introduced into the marketplace. Something like this could work:
You could do this with a combination of two vertically mounted BayTech
RPC27[1] units per rack, and one Cisco 3640 w/ 3 * NM-32A and 1 *
NM-1E2W's (and the appropriate octal -> RJ45 serial cables and DCE
headshells) split between two racks. This would provide you with
effectively 44 serial console ports (not counting the 2 per rack
burned on the BayTech units) and 42 remotely controllable outlets at a
space penalty of only 1U per rack. I'm doing something similar right
now...
32 AC interfaces sounds like a pretty bad idea for the common 20A feeds
available at most colos, and not smart for 40 1U servers even with 30A
feeds.
I find the BayTech RPC27 to be a reasonable solution, using 2x for a rack
full of 1U's. If you get custom length power cables made, and interspace
power connections from multiple servers, the logistics can be decent too.
It's unfortunate that BayTech's pinout for serial console stuff is only
slightly less evil than satan, but their power systems are nice.