Re: [SAGE] IP KVM's and PDU which give you the most bang for youbuck

[Martin Jackson <martin@guyver.demon.co.uk>]

Good point, I was just checking out the opengear site (www.opengear.com) 
and they have a different take from the other IP KVM vendors, i.e. you 
can use console redirection and Windows Emergency Management Services to 
manage Windows 2003 & XP using a serial console server, not sure how 
much functionality is available though but if it's acceptable $30 to $40 
per port is more than worth it.

-Martin

Michael T. Halligan wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Nate, given the fact that remote PDUs are about $20 per port, and IP  
> kvms seem to be somewhere
> in the ballpark of $200 - $400 per port.. If you're not using  
> windows, a serial console goes a long way.
>
> Michael T. Halligan
> - -------------------------------------
> BitPusher, LLC
> http://www.bitpusher.com/
>
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2006, at 9:21 AM, nmedbery@museverte.net wrote:
>
>> We currently use a Raritan Dominian KX 32 port KVM over IP.  I don't
>> really like it.  You have to install their client software and it uses
>> some Internet Explorer components (ActiveX actually).  The KVM itself
>> locks up from time to time and needs to be reset.  Sometimes it  
>> recovers,
>> sometimes it does not.  I upgraded the firmware recently and then  
>> grabbed
>> the new Java client, but I thought the interface got worse!  The older
>> interface (which still works thankfully) has nice keyboard  shortcuts to
>> refresh the screen etc.  On the new client, you had to use a key  
>> sequence
>> just to bring up the menu giving you the option of a screen  refresh, 
>> which
>> had to be clicked with your mouse.  It's possible that a keyboard  
>> sequence
>> could have been used, but it was not intuitive enough for me to  
>> figure out
>> quickly, so I went back to the old client.
>>
>> The mouse synchronization seems a little off to me as well and the  
>> screen
>> refreshes are not very good.  Maybe that is more to do with the  
>> "over IP"
>> part, but I doubt it.  I just have not used other products so I cannot
>> compare.  I do know that I don't get a warm fuzzy from using this  thing
>> though.
>>
>> I have used Cyclades TS-series equipment and always liked those.  I  
>> do not
>> know what their KVM over IP products are like and would be  
>> interested in
>> hearing what others have to say about them.
>>     -Nate
>>
>> On Fri, 27 Jan 2006, Lance A. Brown wrote:
>>
>>> Lucky Dog wrote:
>>>
>>>> Check out the Raritan line of PDU and KVM.
>>>>
>>>> The PDUs have remote control ability via a console port that can  
>>>> also be
>>>> connected to the KVM.  The KVM has network control so you can  
>>>> access the
>>>> console without having to actually be in front of the rack.
>>>>
>>>> They can be a bit pricy IMHO but it's turning out to be well  worth 
>>>> it when
>>>> you can VPN in from home and either connect to the console or  
>>>> power cycle a
>>>> device without having to drive in.
>>>
>>>
>>> When I last used Raritan equipment (7 months ago), they were selling
>>> Avocent's DSView (previously mentioned here) as the "remote  access" 
>>> part
>>> of their solution.  It sucked to have to rdesktop into a windows  
>>> machine
>>> from linux Linux box so I could run the DSView client to access the
>>> console on my linux servers. :-\
>>>
>>> --[Lance]
>>
>>
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (Darwin)
>
> iD8DBQFD2mM6wjCqooJyNAMRAr1UAKC/Q2F3ckVWFRChCScWP+/GP63iIQCgop7F
> TzJBHLExuB7aQNIciEpAMWc=
> =TcVM
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>