Re: [TCLUG:14044] serial consoles

["Eric M. Hopper" <hopper@omnifarious.mn.org>]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2000 at 08:20:13AM -0600, Nate Carlson wrote:
> 
> Yeah, the Phoenix bios on some Intel server boards (the ones in VA
> Boxes I know for sure) support serial console. But, the only time you
> need BIOS support is if you want BIOS messages over the serial
> wire.. otherwise, you just see from the time LILO boots the kernel.

	There is a company I used to work for called Global Maintech.
They make a product that you can view multiple serial consoles with.  It
uses X, so you can view the all the serial consoles from home if you
like.

	The latest version of this product uses an ethernet based board
that speaks TCP/IP, and has several serial connections on it to connect
to the serial consoles.  You can set up a dedicated network (or use your
existing one for a little less reliability) for these cards and connect
them all to their box.  It's kind of neat.

	Sadly, they've treated all their development trash, so they've
all left.  The product is currently being maintained/developed by an MVS
system administrator turned programmer and a couple of programmers
who've been teaching school for the past 10 years.

	But, the existence of that product is a good reason why you
might want to forget about having a KVM switch and go for a BIOS that
can work with the serial port instead.

Have fun (if at all possible),
-- 
Its name is Public Opinion.  It is held in reverence. It settles everything.
Some think it is the voice of God.  Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet
broke a chain or freed a human soul.     ---Mark Twain
-- Eric Hopper (hopper@omnifarious.mn.org  http://omnifarious.mn.org/~hopper) --

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