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I have a remote server that doesn't have any IP KVM capabilities, meaning I can't remotely power cycle it or access the BIOS. I saw that ASUS offers something for their motherboards here:

http://www.asus.com/Server_Workstation/Accessories/ASMB5iKVM/

But is there anything like this available for other motherboards? Even something that I could stash away somewhere in a hard drive bay that simply plugs into the board would be great.

Daniel Lawson
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eek
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  • Can't you just connect the server to an IP KVM? – joeqwerty Oct 10 '12 at 00:59
  • What do you mean? I was under the assumption that you need to have it built into the server itself, like iLO or DRAC. – eek Oct 10 '12 at 01:00
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    Not as far as I know. We are talking about a Keyboard/Video/Mouse unit right? KVM? If so, there are a billion KVM's avaliable with or without complementing IP modules. Something like these: http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/kvm-switch-over-ip.html – joeqwerty Oct 10 '12 at 01:05
  • I think you're right! I'm gonna see what I can do about getting something like this to work: http://www.neweggbusiness.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707104&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleBiz&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleBiz-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA&gclid=CJ_pqN6g9bICFQbd4AodDBIAxQ – eek Oct 10 '12 at 01:08
  • That's a little big for one server (16 ports) but if it works for you then why not. – joeqwerty Oct 10 '12 at 01:34
  • @joeqwerty, "regular" KVMs, IP or otherwise, don't give you the direct ability to power cycle the machine. It's fine of the host responds to some keypress combination but useless if the machine is in a frozen state, which is when the ability to power cycle is most valuable. – John Gardeniers Oct 10 '12 at 05:41
  • @John - I didn't catch that part of the question. I saw IP KVM and submitted my comment. – joeqwerty Oct 10 '12 at 13:55
  • @joeqwerty, I suspected that was the case. ;) – John Gardeniers Oct 10 '12 at 16:35
  • They do also make IP-controllable PDU (power distribution units), so that plus an IP KVM does get you most everything you could get in front of a recalcitrant server. – mfinni Oct 15 '12 at 21:02

5 Answers5

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You'll need to check with your specific motherboard vendor to see what's available. There won't be anything generic that works with everything unless it was going to be able to physically push the power button on the server.

mrdenny
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The Raritan eRIC G4 KVM-over-IP PCI card provides the ability to control power remotely. I've never used one, although I have used Compaq RILOE cards in the past, which provided similar functionality.

(EDIT) You can connect the card to an IPMB port on your motherboard, which in turn provides normal IPMI style power management directly. Alternatively, you can connect the card to the reset/power headers on your motherboard, which may require adapter cables depending on your motherboard.

Daniel Lawson
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  • A lot of server-boards don't have such jumpers on the motherboard. – Tonny Oct 15 '12 at 21:16
  • @Tonny: That's true. You'd need an adapter to sit in between the front-panel connector and the mainboard. The eRIC manual suggests talking to Raritan directly to see if they can help you out. – Daniel Lawson Oct 15 '12 at 22:19
  • Also, if your board has an IPMB connector, the eRIC can connect to that instead of using the reset/power headers. – Daniel Lawson Oct 15 '12 at 22:20
  • How would that work if the machine is powered down? – eek Oct 16 '12 at 20:57
  • The eRIC card either gets internal ATX power (which is independent of whether the motherboard is powered on or not, but the PSU has to have mains power applied), or else it has an external power connector. http://www.raritan.com/support/eric-g4/quick-setup-guide/eric-g4-0C-E.pdf – Daniel Lawson Oct 16 '12 at 22:27
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There used to be a company that made a card (ISA or PCI models) that did this: it was called PC Weasel. They appear to be defunct, although you might be able to find some on eBay.

Other than that, it looks like any given IPMI/BMC card has to be supported by the mobo it's getting attached to, reading up on the SuperMicro and ATEN product docs on their IPMI cards.

As I mentioned in comments, you can get a per-port controllable PDU and an IP KVM for all of your servers, and you've got a good chunk of the feature set. The nice thing about Tier-1 servers and their cards is that they also implement remote mounting of media for OS installs, monitoring hooks for the hardware, buncha fun stuff.

mfinni
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Raritan has a one port KVM-over-IP switch which could be used instead of a built-in KVM-over-IP capability. See: Dominion KX2-101-V2

Richard Dominach
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Most servers can wakeup after powerloss. And there are usvs were you can cut the the output. This is a bit messy but should work.

Normaly we are using drac (dell remote access controller). There is much more benefit like hardware logs, events in case of failures and remote control over a browser.

Michael Hampton
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KEB
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