KVM question

[Jerry Feldman-2]

We just received 7 servers at work, and we now have approval to buy a
rack. We currently have 2 6U servers in the server room. 5 of the new
servers are 4U, 1 is 6U and 1 is 2U.  I probably have some input on
what KVM we will buy. I tend to prefer Avocent since they seem to be
very reliable.  Only one of the servers, to my knowledge has ILO
technology. All but one are Intel boxes, and the other is an HP box.
BostonUsergroups owns a full rack, but I never got it from Shalom
Keynan. If anyone knows Shalom, please give me his number since my
company will buy the rack from BUG. We will be moving fast on this
since the servers are affecting the office golf game :-)

What I would prefer to do is to buy a KVM over IP because the server
room is locked, and we need to get one of the Regus Office employees to
let us in, but we also have some people working on weekends.  

Or we could go a more standard route with a KVM with integrated
keyboard, mouse and video.




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[John Abreau-2]

I recently bought an Aten 16-port KVM-over-IP unit, and I'm
planning to install it next week.  Once I've got it installed, I'll be
able to tell you how well it works.


Jerry Feldman wrote:

> We just received 7 servers at work, and we now have approval to buy a
> rack. We currently have 2 6U servers in the server room. 5 of the new
> servers are 4U, 1 is 6U and 1 is 2U.  I probably have some input on
> what KVM we will buy. I tend to prefer Avocent since they seem to be
> very reliable.  Only one of the servers, to my knowledge has ILO
> technology. All but one are Intel boxes, and the other is an HP box.
> BostonUsergroups owns a full rack, but I never got it from Shalom
> Keynan. If anyone knows Shalom, please give me his number since my
> company will buy the rack from BUG. We will be moving fast on this
> since the servers are affecting the office golf game :-)
>
> What I would prefer to do is to buy a KVM over IP because the server
> room is locked, and we need to get one of the Regus Office employees to
> let us in, but we also have some people working on weekends.  
>
> Or we could go a more standard route with a KVM with integrated
> keyboard, mouse and video.
>
>
>
>
>  
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@...
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>  

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238 Littleton Rd., Suite 100
Westford, MA 01886
T: 978-392-1777            F: 978-692-4725
M: 978-764-8934
E: John.Abreau@...  W: www.zuken.com


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[Jarod Wilson]

We use the Avocent KVM-over-IP units here, and they work reasonably
well. Have to use some kinda clunky java-based software to connect to
them, but it works well enough.


On Fri, 2008-05-02 at 12:11 -0400, John Abreau wrote:

> I recently bought an Aten 16-port KVM-over-IP unit, and I'm
> planning to install it next week.  Once I've got it installed, I'll be
> able to tell you how well it works.
>
>
> Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > We just received 7 servers at work, and we now have approval to buy a
> > rack. We currently have 2 6U servers in the server room. 5 of the new
> > servers are 4U, 1 is 6U and 1 is 2U.  I probably have some input on
> > what KVM we will buy. I tend to prefer Avocent since they seem to be
> > very reliable.  Only one of the servers, to my knowledge has ILO
> > technology. All but one are Intel boxes, and the other is an HP box.
> > BostonUsergroups owns a full rack, but I never got it from Shalom
> > Keynan. If anyone knows Shalom, please give me his number since my
> > company will buy the rack from BUG. We will be moving fast on this
> > since the servers are affecting the office golf game :-)
> >
> > What I would prefer to do is to buy a KVM over IP because the server
> > room is locked, and we need to get one of the Regus Office employees to
> > let us in, but we also have some people working on weekends.  
> >
> > Or we could go a more standard route with a KVM with integrated
> > keyboard, mouse and video.

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[Jerry Feldman-2]

BTW: One of those servers belongs to the BLU :-)
Thanks.

I'm not sure what type of KVM's are installed in our New York and
Toronto offices or if our IT department will have a say. Based upon
prior experience, the less we involve IT the better :-).

On Fri, 02 May 2008 12:11:51 -0400
John Abreau <john.abreau@...> wrote:

> I recently bought an Aten 16-port KVM-over-IP unit, and I'm
> planning to install it next week.  Once I've got it installed, I'll be
> able to tell you how well it works.
>
>
> Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > We just received 7 servers at work, and we now have approval to buy a
> > rack. We currently have 2 6U servers in the server room. 5 of the new
> > servers are 4U, 1 is 6U and 1 is 2U.  I probably have some input on
> > what KVM we will buy. I tend to prefer Avocent since they seem to be
> > very reliable.  Only one of the servers, to my knowledge has ILO
> > technology. All but one are Intel boxes, and the other is an HP box.
> > BostonUsergroups owns a full rack, but I never got it from Shalom
> > Keynan. If anyone knows Shalom, please give me his number since my
> > company will buy the rack from BUG. We will be moving fast on this
> > since the servers are affecting the office golf game :-)
> >
> > What I would prefer to do is to buy a KVM over IP because the server
> > room is locked, and we need to get one of the Regus Office employees to
> > let us in, but we also have some people working on weekends.  
> >
> > Or we could go a more standard route with a KVM with integrated
> > keyboard, mouse and video.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >  
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Discuss mailing list
> > Discuss@...
> > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >  
>
> --
> John Abreau
> IT Manager
> Zuken USA
> 238 Littleton Rd., Suite 100
> Westford, MA 01886
> T: 978-392-1777            F: 978-692-4725
> M: 978-764-8934
> E: John.Abreau@...  W: www.zuken.com
>
>
> --
> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> believed to be clean.
>

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[Jerry Feldman-2]

On Fri, 02 May 2008 13:38:11 -0400
Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:

> We use the Avocent KVM-over-IP units here, and they work reasonably
> well. Have to use some kinda clunky java-based software to connect to
> them, but it works well enough.

I assume that both Windows and Linux is supported.

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[Jarod Wilson]

On Sat, 2008-05-03 at 11:09 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> On Fri, 02 May 2008 13:38:11 -0400
> Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:
>
> > We use the Avocent KVM-over-IP units here, and they work reasonably
> > well. Have to use some kinda clunky java-based software to connect to
> > them, but it works well enough.
>
> I assume that both Windows and Linux is supported.

I presume Windows is also supported, but we're an all-Linux shop, I can
only speak to the fact it works under Linux. :)


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[Jerry Feldman-2]

On Sat, 03 May 2008 12:48:13 -0400
Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:

> On Sat, 2008-05-03 at 11:09 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > On Fri, 02 May 2008 13:38:11 -0400
> > Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:
> >
> > > We use the Avocent KVM-over-IP units here, and they work reasonably
> > > well. Have to use some kinda clunky java-based software to connect to
> > > them, but it works well enough.
> >
> > I assume that both Windows and Linux is supported.
>
> I presume Windows is also supported, but we're an all-Linux shop, I can
> only speak to the fact it works under Linux. :)

That's really all I care about because all 7 of the new servers as well
as the existing 2 Itanium workstations and 3 x86-64 servers currently
run RHEL.
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[Jarod Wilson]

On Sat, 2008-05-03 at 16:53 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:

> On Sat, 03 May 2008 12:48:13 -0400
> Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:
>
> > On Sat, 2008-05-03 at 11:09 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > > On Fri, 02 May 2008 13:38:11 -0400
> > > Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:
> > >
> > > > We use the Avocent KVM-over-IP units here, and they work reasonably
> > > > well. Have to use some kinda clunky java-based software to connect to
> > > > them, but it works well enough.
> > >
> > > I assume that both Windows and Linux is supported.
> >
> > I presume Windows is also supported, but we're an all-Linux shop, I can
> > only speak to the fact it works under Linux. :)
>
> That's really all I care about because all 7 of the new servers as well
> as the existing 2 Itanium workstations and 3 x86-64 servers currently
> run RHEL.

Well, the OS running on the boxes the kvm is physically attached to
doesn't matter (or at least shouldn't). To the boxes, it looks like
either a ps2 keboard/mouse and video combo or a usb keyboard/mouse and
video combo, depending on the adapter. The java viewer software only
runs on the workstation you're trying to remotely view with. (Nb: you
can also have an actual keyboard mouse and display hooked up to the kvm
to view that way as well).


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[Jerry Feldman-2]

On Sat, 03 May 2008 21:46:20 -0400
Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:

> Well, the OS running on the boxes the kvm is physically attached to
> doesn't matter (or at least shouldn't). To the boxes, it looks like
> either a ps2 keboard/mouse and video combo or a usb keyboard/mouse and
> video combo, depending on the adapter. The java viewer software only
> runs on the workstation you're trying to remotely view with. (Nb: you
> can also have an actual keyboard mouse and display hooked up to the kvm
> to view that way as well).


The issue is really the java viewer. As long as I can use that from an
Itanium workstation, I'm satisfied. The problem in our office is that
the server room is very small and there is no room for a keyboard and
monitor. When I need to do something on one of the Intel boxes, such as
what happend the other day when I got back from vacation, there had
been a power failure and one of the servers failed to come back up (bad
disk). I had to use someone else's monitor and keyboard so that when
she came in, she was relegated to using her laptop keyboard and screen.
The other issue is that one of my coworkers frequently works on
weekends, and having console access in case of a failure would be
necessary because the people that run the office are 9-5.

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[Jarod Wilson]

On Sun, 2008-05-04 at 08:31 -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:

> On Sat, 03 May 2008 21:46:20 -0400
> Jarod Wilson <jarod@...> wrote:
>
> > Well, the OS running on the boxes the kvm is physically attached to
> > doesn't matter (or at least shouldn't). To the boxes, it looks like
> > either a ps2 keboard/mouse and video combo or a usb keyboard/mouse and
> > video combo, depending on the adapter. The java viewer software only
> > runs on the workstation you're trying to remotely view with. (Nb: you
> > can also have an actual keyboard mouse and display hooked up to the kvm
> > to view that way as well).
>
>
> The issue is really the java viewer. As long as I can use that from an
> Itanium workstation, I'm satisfied.

Hrm, the Itanium could be an issue. Never tried running it on ia64, not
sure if there's a suitable jvm. Just found the latest software here:

http://dell.avocent.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=63&func=showdown&id=52

It comes with a bundled i386 jvm, so you'd probably have some work to do
to make it work on ia64...


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[Jerry Feldman-2]

We still have not made our decision, but we are currently considering 3
KVM solutions. All the KVM solutions require remote LAN access and 16
ports. Also add a rack mounted console (1U).  All require cables at
just under $100 per cable. All system support Linux and Windows remote
users.

I am considering 4 brands:
1. Aten. JABR's company bought an Aten KH1516I for about $800.  Aten
also has some consoles at different resolutions from about $1200 FOR A
15IN 1024X768.

2. Rose Electronics UltraView Remote 2. We have been quoted $2300. Rose
also has a monitor/kbd for about the same price range as Aten.

3. Avocent. The DSR2030 is about $4000, but does have a remote CD
capability.

4. APC. About $3000.

Our needs are to control 9 or 10 Linux servers, all probably running
RHEL 4. One of our servers is a tower, but the others are rack
mountable, and we will be buying a rack. I've got about 40U worth of
servers, and I will need a KVM (1U), a local console(1U), and a
switch(1U). Hopefully one of the servers will migrate over to
Marlborough and become a BLU server so I do have room in the rack.  
The Avocent remote CD capability is interesting in that we are in a
Regus office (HQ company) where we don't have a key to the server room.
We normally have to get someone to open it every time we go in, so in
the worst case, when installing an OS, we would have to get someone to
open the door every time we mount a CD. But, is that worth the premium
price. Currently, it appears that we would probably order the Rose
units because that is what we have in our other data centers. I've
already got feedback from Avocent users, but I am looking for feedback
primarily on Aten as that is the  most cost effective solution.

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[Matt Shields]

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 4:28 PM, Jerry Feldman <gaf@...> wrote:

> We still have not made our decision, but we are currently considering 3
>  KVM solutions. All the KVM solutions require remote LAN access and 16
>  ports. Also add a rack mounted console (1U).  All require cables at
>  just under $100 per cable. All system support Linux and Windows remote
>  users.
>
>  I am considering 4 brands:
>  1. Aten. JABR's company bought an Aten KH1516I for about $800.  Aten
>  also has some consoles at different resolutions from about $1200 FOR A
>  15IN 1024X768.
>
>  2. Rose Electronics UltraView Remote 2. We have been quoted $2300. Rose
>  also has a monitor/kbd for about the same price range as Aten.
>
>  3. Avocent. The DSR2030 is about $4000, but does have a remote CD
>  capability.
>
>  4. APC. About $3000.
>
>  Our needs are to control 9 or 10 Linux servers, all probably running
>  RHEL 4. One of our servers is a tower, but the others are rack
>  mountable, and we will be buying a rack. I've got about 40U worth of
>  servers, and I will need a KVM (1U), a local console(1U), and a
>  switch(1U). Hopefully one of the servers will migrate over to
>  Marlborough and become a BLU server so I do have room in the rack.
>  The Avocent remote CD capability is interesting in that we are in a
>  Regus office (HQ company) where we don't have a key to the server room.
>  We normally have to get someone to open it every time we go in, so in
>  the worst case, when installing an OS, we would have to get someone to
>  open the door every time we mount a CD. But, is that worth the premium
>  price. Currently, it appears that we would probably order the Rose
>  units because that is what we have in our other data centers. I've
>  already got feedback from Avocent users, but I am looking for feedback
>  primarily on Aten as that is the  most cost effective solution.
>
>  --
>  --
>  Jerry Feldman <gaf@...>
>  Boston Linux and Unix
>  PGP key id: 537C5846
>  PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB  CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846

We use the Raritan Dominion KXII series.  The nice thing is it has a
web based java viewer so it doesn't matter what OS the viewer is, and
supports any server or desktop.  Also the way the servers/desktops are
connected are with standard cat5/6 then a adapter (CIM) on the end,
which is nice because it's cheaper to run cat5/6 all over our
datacenters than buying trying to figure out how many special kvm
cables and what lengths to order.  Also, Raritan makes a box called
the Command Center which will control all your Raritan products from
one interface, so we've got the KVM over IP boxes in all of our
datacenters, but we only connect to one interface and it shows all our
servers sorted either by name or by kvm device they are connected to.
They also have network managed PDU's that integrate with all this as
well.


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[Jerry Feldman-2]

On Thu, 8 May 2008 19:52:53 -0400
"Matt Shields" <mattboston@...> wrote:

> On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 4:28 PM, Jerry Feldman <gaf@...> wrote:
> > We still have not made our decision, but we are currently considering 3
> >  KVM solutions. All the KVM solutions require remote LAN access and 16
> >  ports. Also add a rack mounted console (1U).  All require cables at
> >  just under $100 per cable. All system support Linux and Windows remote
> >  users.
> >
> >  I am considering 4 brands:
> >  1. Aten. JABR's company bought an Aten KH1516I for about $800.  Aten
> >  also has some consoles at different resolutions from about $1200 FOR A
> >  15IN 1024X768.
> >
> >  2. Rose Electronics UltraView Remote 2. We have been quoted $2300. Rose
> >  also has a monitor/kbd for about the same price range as Aten.
> >
> >  3. Avocent. The DSR2030 is about $4000, but does have a remote CD
> >  capability.
> >
> >  4. APC. About $3000.
> >
> >  Our needs are to control 9 or 10 Linux servers, all probably running
> >  RHEL 4. One of our servers is a tower, but the others are rack
> >  mountable, and we will be buying a rack. I've got about 40U worth of
> >  servers, and I will need a KVM (1U), a local console(1U), and a
> >  switch(1U). Hopefully one of the servers will migrate over to
> >  Marlborough and become a BLU server so I do have room in the rack.
> >  The Avocent remote CD capability is interesting in that we are in a
> >  Regus office (HQ company) where we don't have a key to the server room.
> >  We normally have to get someone to open it every time we go in, so in
> >  the worst case, when installing an OS, we would have to get someone to
> >  open the door every time we mount a CD. But, is that worth the premium
> >  price. Currently, it appears that we would probably order the Rose
> >  units because that is what we have in our other data centers. I've
> >  already got feedback from Avocent users, but I am looking for feedback
> >  primarily on Aten as that is the  most cost effective solution.

> We use the Raritan Dominion KXII series.  The nice thing is it has a
> web based java viewer so it doesn't matter what OS the viewer is, and
> supports any server or desktop.  Also the way the servers/desktops are
> connected are with standard cat5/6 then a adapter (CIM) on the end,
> which is nice because it's cheaper to run cat5/6 all over our
> datacenters than buying trying to figure out how many special kvm
> cables and what lengths to order.  Also, Raritan makes a box called
> the Command Center which will control all your Raritan products from
> one interface, so we've got the KVM over IP boxes in all of our
> datacenters, but we only connect to one interface and it shows all our
> servers sorted either by name or by kvm device they are connected to.
> They also have network managed PDU's that integrate with all this as
> well.

Thanks Matt,
I also priced the Raritan Dominion series. I think that all of the
units I mentioned above use cat 5, 5e, or 6 with then host adapter.
Cost-wise, I think it is in the same price range of the Rose Electronics
units. My boss is going to talk to the data center people in our
Toronto office to see what they think of their equipment. The nice
thing about KVM over IP is that the computers being controlled do not
need to be in the same location. In my case, we've got 1 Intel whitebox
tower.  



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PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB  CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846

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