Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Sam Schorr" sschorr@homestead-inc.com To: toasters@mathworks.com Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 11:37 AM Subject: Console "Servers"
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We
have
14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share.
Thanks
in advance for any advice!
Livingston^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hucent Portmasters (2e) also work well and might be a little cheaper than an Annex.
Bruce
Bruce Sterling Woodcock wrote:
Livingston^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hucent Portmasters (2e) also work well and might be a little cheaper than an Annex.
Our current favourites are cisco 2621s with NM32-AS. 32 ports and 2 fast ethernets in 1U of space. They're a little fiddly to get set up right and they're not as cheap as some alternatives but for sheer flexibility to reuse them for all sorts of things they have my vote.
/* Bruce Sterling Woodcock [sirbruce@ix.netcom.com] writes: */
----- Original Message ----- From: "Sam Schorr" sschorr@homestead-inc.com Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 11:37 AM Subject: Console "Servers"
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server?
Livingston^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hucent Portmasters (2e) also work well and might be a little cheaper than an Annex.
I've had excellent luck with the ConsoleServer 3200 from Lightwave Communications. It lets you connect to consolves via other serial connections or via the network. It also has some excellent features such as allowing certain people to connect only to particular consoles!
You can get more details at their website www.lightwavecom.com, or I'd be happy to elaborate or answer any questions as a user/purchaser of their product. It is hardly perfect, but I couldn't find anything better when I was looking for something that would work with all of our boxes which include some filers, FreeBSD boxes, Solaris, ...
On Mon, Aug 28, 2000 at 12:09:41PM -0700, Bruce Sterling Woodcock wrote:
From: "Sam Schorr" sschorr@homestead-inc.com Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 11:37 AM
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share.
Livingston^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hucent Portmasters (2e) also work well and might be a little cheaper than an Annex.
On the pricy side, we have a Cisco 2511, and it does a very nice job.
We are using two models of the Lightwave console server from Lightwave Communications, Inc. http://www.lightwavecom.com/ . Our older ones are Lightwave System Console Switches. They can handle twelve connections plus a serial connection for your console terminal. These can be chained together and use a standard strait through RJ45 cable and use a standard RJ45 to 9/25 pin D-Sub.
Our newer models are a Console Server 3200 which allow us to connect up to 32 devices and we can network it as well. The ability to add this device to the network allows us to telnet into the console server remotely work on a connected device as if we were there locally.
Give a visit to the lightwave web page for more information.
-gdg
Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
-- Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. -J. Lennon
Let's not forget about the software-side of console management either. Keeping track of which host is connected to which port is a job for a tool, not the sysadmin. The best console management software I've seen is "conserver".
Password authentication, console logging, periodic timestamps (MARK's), multiple servers, multiple people can "watch" the console while one person is "attached". It's quite nice.
Todd
On Mon, Aug 28, 2000 at 02:34:36PM -0500, G D Geen wrote:
We are using two models of the Lightwave console server from Lightwave Communications, Inc. http://www.lightwavecom.com/ . Our older ones are Lightwave System Console Switches. They can handle twelve connections plus a serial connection for your console terminal. These can be chained together and use a standard strait through RJ45 cable and use a standard RJ45 to 9/25 pin D-Sub.
Our newer models are a Console Server 3200 which allow us to connect up to 32 devices and we can network it as well. The ability to add this device to the network allows us to telnet into the console server remotely work on a connected device as if we were there locally.
Give a visit to the lightwave web page for more information.
-gdg
Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
-- Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. -J. Lennon
Content-Description: Card for G D Geen
Yea, I have one of those too... I love it!
The thing that's cool is that you can put a modem card in it and dial in to get access to the consoles...
-corris
On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, G D Geen wrote:
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 14:34:36 -0500 From: G D Geen geen@msp.sc.ti.com Reply-To: geen@ti.com To: Sam Schorr sschorr@homestead-inc.com Cc: "'toasters@mathworks.com'" toasters@mathworks.com Subject: Re: Console "Servers"
We are using two models of the Lightwave console server from Lightwave Communications, Inc. http://www.lightwavecom.com/ . Our older ones are Lightwave System Console Switches. They can handle twelve connections plus a serial connection for your console terminal. These can be chained together and use a standard strait through RJ45 cable and use a standard RJ45 to 9/25 pin D-Sub.
Our newer models are a Console Server 3200 which allow us to connect up to 32 devices and we can network it as well. The ability to add this device to the network allows us to telnet into the console server remotely work on a connected device as if we were there locally.
Give a visit to the lightwave web page for more information.
-gdg
Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
-- Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. -J. Lennon
A year ago I wanted to consolidate all our headless Sparcs and throw in some authentication. We had been using multiple switch boxes for the Sun boxes which was a royal pain. But I didn't want to spend alot.
The best bang-per-buck (i.e. cheapest solution) is Digi's Portserver II.
http://www.digi.com/digi.cfm?p=805917.pi.prd.00000015
It can be configured for as few as 8 ports or as many as 64. It's very expandable too, and does authentication so we could hang modems off it too (i.e. radius, tacacs).
There's a difference between terminal servers and port servers, generally meaning if it has authentication or not.
Next in the price line was Xyplex, but last place I worked with one of those I found the OS to be quite cryptic.
Of course if you're looking for DIRT CHEAP, you could grab a PC and put in a multi-port board like :
http://www.digi.com/digi.cfm?p=805917.pi.pline.content.0002
One really neat thing about the Portserver II is it comes with software called RealPort which allows you to configure the ports of the portserver to seem like local ports on a machine. For example, I have paging software that thinks one modem on the portserver is locally attached to the server the s/w is running on.
My $0.02 anyway....
On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
----------- Jay Orr Systems Administrator Fujitsu Nexion Inc. St. Louis, MO
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box.
My favorite to date has been the Cisco 2511 (used Annex, Lucington PortMaster, and PowerSentry).. They're tiny (1RU), with 17 ports, completely manageable/upgradable/fixable via console, and of course run IOS, which hopefully any operations admin atleast knows their way around. Retails for around $2100, which at $123/port makes it more expensive than a PM2E ($98/port w/ 30 ports), but cheaper than a Annex 4000 ($128/port w/ 36 ports).
Both the Annex (if you add patch panels to fan out the octopus's) and PM2E are rather bulky units, and the added advantage is the 2511-RJ's use of RJ45's for serial (compact, add whatever hood you need for gender/size/DTE-DCE).
I don't recall seeing many (any?) in your cage, butanother nice side is Sun used the same pinout for the Netra t1's serial ports (read: no hoods). We've got over a dozen of the 2511's now with netapps, raid boxes, suns, pc's, switches, and routers hanging off of them.
I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share.
I've used an Annex in the past and was revolted by its interface. Config commands spread all over the thing in counter-intuitive places, and in no single place for a simple backup. bletch. Not to mention an overall nasty mechanical design, with the goofy rackmount kit and unwieldy RJ21 octopus cables).
..kg..
kevin graham wrote:
My favorite to date has been the Cisco 2511 (used Annex, Lucington PortMaster, and PowerSentry)..
As I've already said I'm a fan of the 2621 but for people not familiar with cisco gear the 2621 is a modular box which takes standard cisco modules. The base chassis has 2*100bT ports whereas the 2511 has 1*10bT. In our environment to preserve our sanity we force everything to 100bT-FD which meants the 2511 is no good. In my mind the 2621 is well worth the extra cost and a cisco box with 2FE ports is extremely useful for other things as well.
Can't beat a Livingston(Lucent) Portmaster. PM-2e, 20 Serial ports, 1 parallel, 1 Ethernet.
sk
_____________________________________________________________
Stephen Kent Photronics skent@austin.photronics.com
201 Michael Angelo Way 512/248-6243 Voice Austin, TX 78728 512/248-6047 Fax www.photronics.com 512/248-6275 Main
-----Original Message----- From: owner-toasters@mathworks.com [mailto:owner-toasters@mathworks.com]On Behalf Of Sam Schorr Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 1:38 PM To: 'toasters@mathworks.com' Subject: Console "Servers"
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
We have been using a console server from Lightwave Communications.
Check out http://www.lightwavecom.com
-- jeremy
-- Jeremy A. Rosengren jeremy@rosengren.org
On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
I favour Portmasters...and you can pick the 2 series up pretty damn cheap on eBay ;-)
-marc
On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
we use the cisco 2511-RJ - 16 ports, 1U rackmount, RJ-45 jacks for termination.
they work great, i manage all our hardware which is 600 miles away. this includes suns, cisco, foundry, and netapps.
you can use ethernet cables for the cables, but i don't recommend them for long runs. i use the cisco RJ-45/DB-9 adapter that i modify. see below
Vance Hardware Systems Engineer Xigo, Inc (415) 428-9464 (415) 428-9001 fax (415) 845-1103 cell 249 Shipley San Francisco, CA 94107
At 1:24 PM -0700 8/18/00, vance wrote:
use the cisco 9 pin/rj-45 adapter on the back of the netapp.
modify the adapter in the following fashion: pop db-9 out of case. cut wiires to pin's 4 and 6 (orange and brown) flush on db-9. strip each as much as you can. twist the two together A LOT, unless your going to solder it. push them back into the case first. snap the db-9 back on.
you have to use a straight through rj-45 to rj-45 cable the standard green cisco will not work. i just cut the connecter off the end and put a new one on the right way.
works for foundry switches to!!
Vance
At 11:37 AM -0700 8/28/00, Sam Schorr wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Sam Schorr Homestead.com ph: (650) 549-3152 fax: (650) 364-7329 sschorr@homestead-inc.com http://www.homestead.com
Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
I really like Digital/Compaq DECServer 900TMs. 1U, 32 RJ45 serial ports in front (build custom modtaps & avoid the dec adapter nonsense), rather fully featured.
Be sure to order the DecHub-One (power supply that latches onto the back), boot software on a flash card and a transceiver.
- Ed Schwab Operations Manager Tripod, Inc. -- Part of the Lycos Network
On Mon, Aug 28, 2000 at 11:37:39AM -0700, Sam Schorr wrote: : Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have : 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial : connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe : some folks out there in toasterland might have some ideas to share. Thanks : in advance for any advice! : : Sam Schorr : Homestead.com : ph: (650) 549-3152 : fax: (650) 364-7329 : sschorr@homestead-inc.com : http://www.homestead.com : : Homestead: It's a new world. Make your place.
Sam Schorr sschorr@homestead-inc.com wrote:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a console connection server? We have 14 filers and growing and I'm looking for some centralized, easy serial connection box. I have used Annex in the past for UNIX, but thought maybe . . .
What we settled on, with the goal of being self-contained, is one or two of the Central Data (now Digi) SCSITerminalServer ST-1032's, which is a 1RU unit supporting 32 serial connections (RJ45), connected via SCSI to an old SPARCstation. They have drivers for lots of Unix(-like) variants, and also for Windows systems if I recall correctly.
Anyway, on the SPARC system (we run Solaris-2.x) is an open-source package called "conserver", which both logs all serial traffic to individual logfiles, and allows one to connect an interactive session to whatever you happen to be logged in to at the moment.
We weren't happy about the prospect of passing console traffic or root passwords unencrypted over the network, so the typical ethernet- attached solution was not so attractive. For network access we use ssh to get to the Sun console server, which gives (slightly :-) better protection than telnet.
Here are some URL's: http://www.conserver.com/ http://www.gnac.com/consoles/
Note that we're running a 1997 vintager version of "conserver", but it looks like the "conserver.com" site derives from the same code.
Regards,
/* Marion Hakanson [hakanson@cse.ogi.edu] writes: */
We weren't happy about the prospect of passing console traffic or root passwords unencrypted over the network, so the typical ethernet- attached solution was not so attractive. For network access we use ssh to get to the Sun console server, which gives (slightly :-) better protection than telnet.
Yup... we have the same concern here. With the Lightwave box (console server 3200) you can have "terminal" port(s) which you can can connect to the back of "secured" machines (or actual dumb terminals) and do as you describe, ssh in and then connect to the console server and then select the device you want. My "secured" machine is also connected to the terminal server so if that machine runs into trouble, worst case is I *can* telnet into the console server, resolve the problem, and then go about changing passwords as necessary.
This works particularly well in a colocation type environment.
-
Aaron Sherman -
Bruce Sterling Woodcock -
chris_good＠webtop.com -
Corris Randall -
Ed Schwab -
G D Geen -
Jay Orr -
Jeremy A. Rosengren -
kevin graham -
Marc Nicholas -
Marion Hakanson -
mitch＠netline.com -
Sam Schorr -
Stephen Kent -
Todd Stansell -
vance