Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Tue, 6 Jan 1998 23:05:59 -0800 (PST)
From:      Dave Smith <dpsmith@xoom.com>
To:        David Greenman <dg@root.com>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, freebsd-smp@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Remote power cycle 
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.3.96.980106224529.4373G-100000@mail1.xoom.com>
In-Reply-To: <199801070628.WAA07983@implode.root.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> 
>    I wrote this recently:
> 
> ...
>      For wcarchive, I use the BOOT_FORCE_COMCONSOLE make option. I run gettys

In my kernel config files:
On the FreeBSD 3.0 machines I do:
device	sio0	at isa? port "IO_COM1" tty flags 0x30 irq 4 vector siointr

On the FreeBSD 2.2.5 machines I do:
options	COMCONSOLE

These work for me. Once the kernel loads I see the boot messages which
are something I need when I am installing new machines at our colocation
with a laptop hooked up to the serial com1 port.

>   on the vga virtual ttys so I can log in when I'm sitting in front of the
>   machine, but the console is always on the serial port. The console serial
>   port is connected to another PC (the "remote console" machine). I always have
>   an rlogin/kermit session open on the console in an xterm here with the xterm
>   configured to log all output to a logfile. When I need to use the console
>   while physically in front of the machine, I just plug the serial cable into

I am setting up a terminal server with 2 16-9pin port Digiboards and 1
db25 port. I am waiting for our hardware supplier to get all the pieces
together for me so I can set it up. I hope it works. I scoured the list
and it was either Digiboard (or whatever it is called, starts with Digi)
or Cyclades.

>   a laptop. The remote console machine also has an internal modem that I hacked
>   to function as a reset switch whenever it goes off hook to dial - I use this
>   to reset wcarchive if necessary. I have a watchdog process running on the
>   remote console which pings wcarchive every minute or so, and if the pings
>   start failing, wcarchive is automatically reset (I have a kermit dialout
>   script for this :-)).
> ...

This I do not do, and I would like to know more about the watchdog process
and how you do the auto reset. And how did you hack an internal modem to
act as a reset switch?

Pings would be difficult for me because of our configuration it looks like
machines are up all the time. We use a product called BigIP from
f5.com. It does fancy load-balancing like the Cisco LocalDirector.

However some sort of ping to port 23 would work for me.

> 
>    It's never been necessary to power cycle the machine, and considering how
> much hardware is involved, that's a good thing. :-)

I know it is a bad thing. I could only think of a good swift power cycle
when machines are not responding.

> 
> -DG
> 
> David Greenman
> Core-team/Principal Architect, The FreeBSD Project
> 




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.BSF.3.96.980106224529.4373G-100000>