Need solution to obtain remote system control over montior-less machine

I have 2 Linux servers in my home network. Server #1 is kind of old
without a connected monitor and doesn't have the right port support for
my KVM switch. That being said, I have no solution to be able to
monitor Server #1 as it boots or get into the BIOS from a remote server
(Server #2). Of course once the server is fully booted up I have full
access through telnet, ssh,rsh, etc. But I have a need to see what is
going on as it boots. Any software out there for Linux that meets this
requirement?

On 18 Jan 2006 19:59:27 -0800, d
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I have 2 Linux servers in my home network. Server #1 is kind of old
> without a connected monitor and doesn't have the right port support for
> my KVM switch. That being said, I have no solution to be able to
> monitor Server #1 as it boots or get into the BIOS from a remote server
> (Server #2). Of course once the server is fully booted up I have full
> access through telnet, ssh,rsh, etc. But I have a need to see what is
> going on as it boots. Any software out there for Linux that meets this
> requirement?
>
Some server motherboards allow access to the BIOS through a serial port.
If yours doesn't have that feature I don't think there is any other way
to access the BIOS remotely. Linux kernels and bootloaders can also be
configured to use a serial console.


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"d" <(E-Mail Removed)> writes:

> I have 2 Linux servers in my home network. Server #1 is kind of old
> without a connected monitor and doesn't have the right port support for
> my KVM switch. That being said, I have no solution to be able to
> monitor Server #1 as it boots or get into the BIOS from a remote server
> (Server #2). Of course once the server is fully booted up I have full
> access through telnet, ssh,rsh, etc. But I have a need to see what is
> going on as it boots. Any software out there for Linux that meets this
> requirement?

Assuming you don't need really access to the BIOS, you can easily
control the boot loader grub on the serial line.

Just add this to /boot/grub/menu.lst:

serial --unit=0 --speed=115200 --word=8 --parity=no --stop=1
terminal --timeout=10 serial console
timeout 10

Then to get the linux console on the serial line, you add console=
options to the kernel command in menu.lst:

kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3 console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200


Then as soon as the boot loader is launched you have the control of
the machine over the serial line.



There exist BIOSes that can be controled over a serial line too. If
your's cannot, you may try to find one that does and flash it. You
may consider LinuxBIOS http://linuxbios.org

--
__Pascal Bourguignon__ http://www.informatimago.com/

PLEASE NOTE: Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the
consumer is not directly observing this product, it may cease to
exist or will exist only in a vague and undetermined state.

In comp.os.linux.networking Bill Marcum <(E-Mail Removed)>:
> On 18 Jan 2006 19:59:27 -0800, d
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> I have 2 Linux servers in my home network. Server #1 is kind of old
>> without a connected monitor and doesn't have the right port support for
>> my KVM switch. That being said, I have no solution to be able to
>> monitor Server #1 as it boots or get into the BIOS from a remote server
>> (Server #2). Of course once the server is fully booted up I have full
>> access through telnet, ssh,rsh, etc. But I have a need to see what is
>> going on as it boots. Any software out there for Linux that meets this
>> requirement?
>>
> Some server motherboards allow access to the BIOS through a serial port.
> If yours doesn't have that feature I don't think there is any other way
> to access the BIOS remotely. Linux kernels and bootloaders can also be
> configured to use a serial console.

Yep, real server motherboard usually have this feature to
redirect the BIOS via serial or/and LAN. There are some add-on
cards, realweasel or so (search google) that allow the same
through PCI card for almost any PC. Not the cheapest but work
quite nice, if those are still available.

--
Michael Heiming (X-PGP-Sig > GPG-Key ID: EDD27B94)
mail: echo (E-Mail Removed) | perl -pe 'y/a-z/n-za-m/'
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