Re: Need "console switch" - any ideas?

[Leslie Dreyer Kalra <lbd@techiesinc.com>]

While I'm no longer in the full-time sysadmin biz (I'm a consultant
now), I did use one of those console switch boxes for a while
several years ago. I bought it from (I think) Workstation Express
or some such catalog -- I think I recently saw one in one of those
small-size catalogs (Multi-something). When I bought it (c.1994)
it cost about $600, but I've seen them as pricey as $1300.

I'm assuming you're talking about a switch that will let you share
a Sun monitor, keyboard and mouse, not one that lets you share
dumb terminals connected to serial ports. Wim Peeters posted an
answer on that kind of switch. That didn't sound to me like what
you were looking for, though.

One caveat when using such a switch. Whenever a machine boots,
the switch has to be pointing at it, or it will boot headless,
without a keyboard or mouse. If the switch isn't set to it, it
can't see the keyboard/mouse/monitor. It will boot, but you won't
have a console. That could be a problem if you find yourself
booting machines from locations other than the console (like from
home). This is the way our switch worked; maybe they've improved
the design since then. The serial port switch might be better in
that sense.

FYI, we stopped using our switch after a few months because my
fellow admins hated it with a passion. Real estate wasn't an
issue in our machine room at the time, so the switch got mothballed.

Hope this helps...

Leslie Dreyer Kalra
Techies, Inc.
lbd@techiesinc.com

> Greetings all,
> 
> I find myself in need of a "box" that will allow several UNIX
> workstations/servers to be controlled at a single
> keyboard/mouse/monitor. My primary need is for SGI equipment, but I may
> need to incorporate a couple of Sun SPARCStations into the mix as well.
> 
> Anybody out there know of or use such a beastie?
> 
> TIA,
> 
> -john g-
>