Console Server Recommendation

Chris Adams cmadams at hiwaay.net
Wed Feb 1 20:06:38 UTC 2012


Once upon a time, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> said:
> I would hardly call conserver software a home-baked solution unless you'd
> also call anything based on OSS a "home-baked solution".

Console server hardware: buy appliance, plug it in, set password/IP
Home-baked box: buy server (or buy parts and assemble), buy a serial
   card (make sure it is supported by Linux/BSD distribution of choice),
   install/configure OS, install/configure console server software

Which one is worth my company's time for me to install?  If you are
going to install and maintain hundreds of them, the second might come
out ahead eventually (assuming you script the install/configure steps),
but the first is going to win almost all the time.

I build stuff for personal use, but at work, we look for canned
solutions to most needs.  I have a couple of Linux firewalls where I
wanted some extra flexibility, but we've got an Avocent console server
(of course, Avocent is also a customer, and it is good to give a
customer a little business).
-- 
Chris Adams <cmadams at hiwaay.net>
Systems and Network Administrator - HiWAAY Internet Services
I don't speak for anybody but myself - that's enough trouble.




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