Remote console and/or RDP (or VNC) access

[amani]

Back in the late 1990s / early 2000s, I remember using a small Linux device to provide console access to appliances.

I've been looking for a similar device, and I came across http://www.lantronix.com/products/lantronix-spider/

My biggest complaint is the way it is powered via USB port. If you reboot the computer it's connected to, that will interrupt power to the USB port, so you'll lose connection to the IP-KVM. If you have the IP-KVM on an enterprise switch with spanning tree protocol, you'll have to wait a few minutes for it to come back online, then log back in, download the Java applet, confirm all the security exceptions and then get the screen back. The trouble here is by that time, you've missed any opportunity to (for instance) enter the BIOS, get into a RAID controller, issue F8 for Windows boot options or ESC to pause a Linux boot... That's a huge weakness.

I'm curious if anyone is using something similar or better. Thank you in advance.

[msjouw]

For simple single port units we use Startech net-rs232 network devices and for DC setups we use the 32 port units from Raritan.Main advantage is that there is a normal power and you connect through the network with telnet (Startech) or SSH (Raritan) to the box and it is online as long as you allow it. ( we send these boxes to other parts of the world with the same IP on that unit as the IP of the FW (mostly there is only 1 IP available and no switchports) so we ask our local contact to switch the cable over.

[Bob_Zimmerman]

Just about every server I have used since 2004 has had a Lights-Out Management (LOM) interface of some kind. Vendors all seem to have their own names. IBM calls it Integrated Management Module (IMM), Dell calls it Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), Sun and Fujitsu both call theirs Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM), HP calls it Integrated Lights-Out (iLO; not sure why the lowercase i).

Modern lights-out management interfaces power on as soon as the server is plugged in. They control the server's ATX power, so you can power-cycle remotely without a managed PDU. Most have the ability to send SNMP traps or email alerts for hardware events the OS can't see like fan failures. Good ones also have remote keyboard/video/mouse capabilities. Since about 2010, it is also common to have an emulated optical drive, so you can point the LOM card to an ISO image to install an OS on the server.

It's so incredibly useful I refuse to buy a server without one. Some of Check Point's "appliances" have LOM cards, but all the ones I've tried so far (5k, 12k, 13k, 15k, 23k) are awful. This is one of the biggest reasons I can't stand using those boxes.

RS232 (and USB) console servers certainly have their place. Most network gear is still stuck in the 90s with regards to ease of fully-remote administration. A console server can at least get you fully-out-of-band management which can still be done over IP. The lack of power control has bitten me a few times. Very little is as irritating as having to drive to a datacenter just to press a power button.

[cciesec2006]

Just about every server I have used since 2004 has had a Lights-Out Management (LOM) interface of some kind. Vendors all seem to have their own names. IBM calls it Integrated Management Module (IMM), Dell calls it Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), Sun and Fujitsu both call theirs Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM), HP calls it Integrated Lights-Out (iLO; not sure why the lowercase i).

Minor correction. I've used IBM servers x3650 and they called it "Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA)". Integrated Management Module (IMM), you must be referring to servers produced by Lenovo.

[Bob_Zimmerman]

Minor correction. I've used IBM servers x3650 and they called it "Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA)". Integrated Management Module (IMM), you must be referring to servers produced by Lenovo.

Right! I had completely forgotten about that one! Lenovo-manufactured, IBM-branded servers have used the names Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA), RSA-II, RSA-II Slimline, Integrated Management Module (IMM), and IMM2. I don't recall which models of server used which one, but the first x3650 model probably had an RSA-II Slimline. The x3650 M4 definitely uses an IMM2. I believe all of the Lenovo-branded models still use IMM2, and I don't think they've announced any forthcoming replacement.

I have an x3850 M2 with an RSA-II Slimline, which I use as a personal lab box. It's surprisingly quiet for a server meant to live in a datacenter.

[jflemingeds]

There is also impitool with SOL (Serial over Lan). I haven't used it but its on my giant todo list.

[Bob_Zimmerman]

There is also impitool with SOL (Serial over Lan). I haven't used it but its on my giant todo list.

An excellent point. IPMI exists on most current servers. It can provide SOL, and most versions have power management capabilities. Configuring it properly is a little complicated, but when set up, it works really well. It's essentially a standardized interface to the LOM card.

A lot of laptop and desktop computers have IPMI capabilities now. In those cases, it is typically the only interface for LOM. Same goes for many low-end servers.