[ale] 1U server question

[Allan Metts]

I've recently been installing HP DL140 G3 Servers in a co-lo 
facility.  These have a third NIC on them, which provides "lights 
out" capabilities directly to the BIOS and motherboard.  You can 
power cycle the machine, check sensors, etc.  For an extra $200 you 
can have full KVM and virtual disk capabilities on this same port.

This third NIC can be configured for either DHCP or a static IP in 
the BIOS.  The MAC address for this port is also visible in the BIOS 
-- by taking note of these, I can figure out which machine is which 
by looking at which MAC addresses registered with which IP addresses 
at the DHCP server.

A----




At 11:22 AM 10/24/2007, Jeff Lightner wrote:
>Some of the newer Dells (e.g. 1950 which is 1U) have something built in
>for LAN which I *think* is for remote - we don't use it because we have
>a data center KVM solution (Raritan) but maybe you can find info on
>line.
>
>Failing that the only suggestion would be:
>1) KVM solution designed for IP access such as Raritan IP Reach
>(consoles can be accessed via browser).
>2) Some sort of remote power on/off device for when the console isn't
>available for some reason.
>I think there are combo solutions that include 1 and 2 but haven't
>worked with any of them.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Jim
>Lynch
>Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:33 AM
>To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
>Subject: [ale] 1U server question
>
>I'm toying with the idea of putting in a small system in a colocation
>site and was looking at 1U servers.  I've not worked with these before
>and haven't quite figured out how you initially boot them.  None of
>them, that I've looked at, mention a serial port which was what I
>thought one might use to communicate with the bios.  One did have a
>statement like "lan only" under "Remote management" which I'm assuming
>is how you'd access it.
>
>But, how would that work?  I could see if it were a dhcp client it could
>
>get an ip address, but then you'd have to guess what it is.  Also it
>wouldn't make sense to assume dhcp 'cause once you got it in the colo
>site, you couldn't be assured that there was a dhcp server nor would you
>
>be able to connect to it.
>
>Anyway, before I spend $$ on something, I think I need to know how these
>
>things work.
>
>Anyone?
>
>Thanks,
>Jim.
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