[geeks] 1U rackmount KVM switch

[Andrew Jones]

On 04/21/2012 11:36 PM, Shannon wrote:
>>
>> Some stuff is just *weird*.  The last Avocent IP KVM I used implemented
>> serial support by pretending to be a glass screen terminal and giving
>> you a java applet to show you the glass screen.
>
> I was sorta worried about that myself having tried similar solutions.
>
> But, the ability to avoid the analog cabling appeals to the shop.
>

You can get boxes that will run vga/usb over cat5 independently of the 
KVM.  On the other hand, once you do, local KVMs I've seen tend to have 
a small number of ports. (e.g. 10)

>> P.S. Is there a reason you can't just buy ILO/DRAC options for these hosts?
>
> I don't know what that is.
>

Modern PCs have gotten to be like the UNIX systems of the 90s.  They 
have auxiliary processors to handle remote power on/off, remote serial etc.

The basic Intel standard for this is IPMI, which is extremely similar to 
a Sun ALOM.  It gets you remote serial console, remote power 
state/status, virtual media, and a few diagnostics. The IPMI unit gets 
its own IP address.  It usually shares a NIC with the OS. Nearly every 
"server"-type PC has IPMI support.

HP ILO and Dell DRAC are HP/Dell's enhanced aux processors.  They'll do 
everything IPMI does, but they also have fancy authentication options, 
full graphical KVM-over-IP, and more sophisticated diagnostics.

The KVM-over-IP for ILO and DRAC still isn't that great, but it has 
advantages over a standalone system:
1. A lot less cabling, and no proprietary garbage.
2. it upgrades itself -- buy a new server, get the newest generation of 
KVM stuff.