Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 21:23:07 -0400 From: John Turner <john@drexeltech.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: HELP: connecting 2 servers via serial port Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000814211250.00a9e380@mail.johnturner.com>
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Hello - I have a need for a (relatively) foolproof method of accessing a server that is not available on the network. The scenario is that I have pairs of servers in several different locations. Should one be unavailable to the network for whatever reason, I'd like a convenient (and inexpensive) way to access the unavailable server. My thoughts are to connect the two servers in each location with a null modem cable, serial port to serial port. If server A becomes unavailable on the net for some reason, conceivably I could telnet into the other server, and then communicate with the unavailable server via serial port (maybe even getting it in console mode). Does this sound plausible? Any thoughts on how to go about it? I realize from recent posts on the list that I could probably use tip or something similar to communicate over the serial ports, but I am concerned about getty. Does getty run on both serial ports by default? What will happen if there is a getty on each machine running on the serial ports? I think it will cause a race condition: getty on server a: login: getty on server b: thinks someone is trying to login using username of "login:", replies with "password:" getty on server a: thinks someone is trying to login using username of "password:", replies with "password:" getty on server b: thinks someone is trying to login using password of "password:", replies with "login incorrect" etc this would happen over and over and over, eventually both servers would be doing nothing except firing getty requests at each other as fast as they could. So, short of purchasing pricey terminal servers, can anyone help me out with some ideas on how I can hook two servers together via serial cable as a last resort type of access method? Or should I just consider the idea crazy and move on to something else? Thanks in advance. - John Turner To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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