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We have some old Sun servers (V125, V210, V240, T2000 amongst others) sitting unused and I've been asked to find out if there is anything useful on them before they get wiped and disposed of. However, I've been unable to connect to any of the servers.

I tried connecting the servers to a router using the Net Management, Serial Management and standard Ethernet ports. When doing this, I ran 'nmap -sP' from my Linux desktop before and after connecting a server so I could compare the two outputs and hopefully work out what IP address had been assigned to the server, but it didn't appear to have received one.

Unfortunately only one of the servers has a VGA output. I was able to access this machine as we still have the login details stored in KeePass, but I've no idea at the moment on how I should go about connecting to any of the others. Any suggestions?

hellsgate
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2 Answers2

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The serial management console will probably be your best bet. Last time I did this I used a USB-to-serial adapter with my normal laptop sat on top of the server.

They're slow, so try to avoid -v command line options, but they'll work when other methods fail.

Ladadadada
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  • A basic USB-serial adapter for DB9 and DB25 connections costs [less than US$10](http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031104&p_id=2067&seq=1&format=2). The expensive item that you linked above appears to be some kind of USB/video extender, not a USB-serial adapter. – Skyhawk Apr 02 '12 at 11:34
  • Looks like it depends on [what you search for](https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=shop&hl=en&q=USB+to+RS232&oq=USB+to+RS232&aq=f&aqi=g4&aql=&gs_l=products-cc.3..0l4.8582l8582l0l10112l1l1l0l0l0l0l488l488l4-1l1l0.). Good thing I didn't buy one. :-) – Ladadadada Apr 02 '12 at 11:43
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All of the servers you list have an ALOM which can be accessed via the SER-MGT port. This is an RJ45 serial connection. You'll need to get or make a suitable cable. You'll also need to get familiar with the ALOM for each machine. THe Docs are available on the Oracle website still.

user9517
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