[rescue] KVM-over-ip

[Michael Parson]

On Thu, 16 Jun 2011, Lionel Peterson wrote:

> Argh - it's not that big a deal, but I do see where you are coming
> from, and where I was wrong.
>
> There are servers that include KVM functions on the motherboard/via
> add-in cards that allow access over an IP network to the system
> console, including what many would call the BIOS screen for
> configuring hardware, controlling the system and watching power-on
> messages. I think of this as a KVM-over-IP.

As I understood it, those are referred to as 'lights-out' setups.  When
I first started seeing them on the market, they were add-in PCI boards
that had dongles that fed into the PS/2 and USB ports and they had
their own NICs on them.  The idea was that you could have a seperate
management network and hit those ports with a web browser and have near
full control of the system, even power them on, have full access the the
BIOS bits, interrupt boot sequences, etc, just as if you were at the
physical keyboard.

The first ones I saw were from Compaq, cira 1999/2000, they even had a
bit where you could upload a floppy image and have the system boot from
that.

-- 
Michael Parson
mparson at bl.org
Austin, TX
KF5LGQ