KVM over Ethernet Switches for FreeBSD hacks ??

[Ethan]

> >Anyone have any recommendations on what works with FreeBSD?  I've had
> >fun/issues in the past with KVMs that just don't seem to work well,
> >including BlackBox stuff ...
> >I'm interested in being able to power-cycle a box remotely, as well as be
> >able to get into the DEBUGGER remotely if I need to ... I don't care if
> >the interface has to be run under Windows, as we have one in our office
> >for the bookkeeper ...

I explored the same things in the past. We currently use Portmaster PM2E's
and PM-25s on a private network behind a FreeBSD host to offer serial
access.

I was looking into the Dell and Compaq lights out options. These cards
fit the Proliant series of servers and basically feature a full embedded
system on a PCI card that loops into the keyboard and mouse, and pulls
video. My idea was that if it uses an analog capture setup we could hack
an external feed for VGA input, and turn these cheap cards into something
useful.

The Dell model appears to somehow read shared memory for the video
adaptor. This is our best guess, at least.

The Compaq one has a special connector the board hits on the motherboard,
and there is a jumper ribbon. I would imagine the jumper ribbon controls
the power/reset and possibly reads the environment log.

There are different models of the Insight remote cards, and the older ones
look like they would be more acceptable to turning into a generic remote
PC board. My idea was to put two insight boards in a host, setup the host
to control the KVMs and come up with an auth mechanism to permit customers
to access the consoles of their computers.

I've only seen a Dell board in real life, have never used any in real
life. I did a bit of digging around, but never actually tried to go
further.

YMMV.

I do plan to buy a board or two in the future though.

				-- Ethan O'Toole