[68960] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: Personal Co-location Registry
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Brian (nanog-list))
Thu Mar 18 20:23:07 2004
From: "Brian (nanog-list)" <nanog@confluence.com>
To: nanog@merit.edu
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 20:22:17 -0500
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
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Kelly Stezer wrote:
| Personally, I recently priced intel server systems from a
| variety of major
| vendors including Dell, Compaq/HP, IBM, and Sun (intel-based).
| All of them offered (proprietary?) ethernet-based remote management.
| None offered serial management.
Dell poweredge servers have had console redirection to serial port for a
while.
I can't recall how far back, and I haven't personally used them, but they're
definitely there.
http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/pe650/en/ug/n1515ab0.htm
"Console redirection allows you to manage a host (local) system from a
client (remote) system by redirecting keyboard input and text output through
a serial port. You cannot redirect graphic output. You can use console
redirection for tasks such as configuring BIOS or RAID settings."
That comes from the documentation for a current dell poweredge 650 1U
When purchasing the 1U's, another thing that must be figured into the final
cost are the rack rails and mounting hardware. Not all servers play well
with different vendor's racks, not all rails work with all rack types. You
may not always get the rails with an ebay purchase, and a rack full of 1u's
without rails is a management nightmare.
That brings up a whole other issue, cable management. If you've ever worked
with a bunch of 1Us, keeping the cabling from pinching other cabling is
really tough (1u doesn't give you much room). I can imagine what a rack
full of 1U's from varying vendors with different cable management systems
would be like. Pull one server out for maintenance, yank the cables of the
machine below it. Big fat KVM cables wouldn't be needed so that would limit
it to ethernet, console, and power cable(s), so it might not be too bad.
And then again, this isn't mission critical stuff, and the charter was for a
"publicly usable personal 1u" aimed at the lowest price....
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<TITLE>RE: Personal Co-location Registry</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=3D2> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Kelly Stezer wrote: </FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>| Personally, I recently priced intel server systems =
from a </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>| variety of major</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>| vendors including Dell, Compaq/HP, IBM, and Sun =
(intel-based).</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>| All of them offered (proprietary?) ethernet-based =
remote management.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>| None offered serial management.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dell poweredge servers have had console redirection =
to serial port for a while.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>I can't recall how far back, and I haven't =
personally used them, but they're definitely there.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2><A =
HREF=3D"http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/pe650/en/ug/n1515ab0.htm" =
TARGET=3D"_blank">http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/pe650/en/ug/n1515=
ab0.htm</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>"Console redirection allows you to manage a host =
(local) system from a client (remote) system by redirecting keyboard =
input and text output through a serial port. You cannot redirect =
graphic output. You can use console redirection for tasks such as =
configuring BIOS or RAID settings."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>That comes from the documentation for a current dell =
poweredge 650 1U </FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>When purchasing the 1U's, another thing that must be =
figured into the final cost are the rack rails and mounting =
hardware. Not all servers play well with different vendor's =
racks, not all rails work with all rack types. You may not always =
get the rails with an ebay purchase, and a rack full of 1u's without =
rails is a management nightmare. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>That brings up a whole other issue, cable =
management. If you've ever worked with a bunch of 1Us, keeping =
the cabling from pinching other cabling is really tough (1u doesn't =
give you much room). I can imagine what a rack full of 1U's from =
varying vendors with different cable management systems would be =
like. Pull one server out for maintenance, yank the cables of the =
machine below it. Big fat KVM cables wouldn't be needed so that =
would limit it to ethernet, console, and power cable(s), so it might =
not be too bad. And then again, this isn't mission critical =
stuff, and the charter was for a "publicly usable personal =
1u" aimed at the lowest price....</FONT></P>
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