From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Lucio De Re <lucio@proxima.alt.za>
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: [9fans] secstore
Message-ID: <20020515155912.S1584@cackle.proxima.alt.za>
References: <23aa011a90a4cbe68cac5d7b58414644@plan9.bell-labs.com>
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In-Reply-To: <23aa011a90a4cbe68cac5d7b58414644@plan9.bell-labs.com>; from presotto@plan9.bell-labs.com on Wed, May 15, 2002 at 09:33:33AM -0400
Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 15:59:14 +0200
Topicbox-Message-UUID: 92b4b4f4-eaca-11e9-9e20-41e7f4b1d025

On Wed, May 15, 2002 at 09:33:33AM -0400, presotto@plan9.bell-labs.com wrote:
>
> man consolefs.  We plug all our consoles (including Unix ones)
> into a serial line panel on our auth server.  That way we can manage
> everything from one place.  If you con(1) to a console
> in consolefs then you join a session of people on that console.
> You can all type and you all see the output.  Also a message
> comes out whenever anyone joins or leaves the group.
>
Hm, I saw the idea in consolefs(?), but it seemed too good to be true.
It would seem that with the trivial addition of /dev/null one could
build an IRC-like facility too :-)

> It makes managing a large number of machines a little easier.
> It also cuts down on the number of monitors and mouse-kbd-display
> switches in the machine room.  On some machines we connect the reset
> button to a relay that's controlled by DTR and plug them in too.
> That way, for our testing machines, we can push the reset button
> remotely.
>
I was considering very seriously going that route for my own array of
low-power obsoletes, and my main client has a similar need with none
of the ready expertise I can throw at my equipment.  We use a console
switch, but that's more out of familiarity than convenience, although
having a locked computer room does reduce the number of console
accidents.

I have a power panel I'm considering switching through a somewhat more
selective signal than DTR as occasionally a remote operation causes
chaos (I shut down the firewall last weekend, had to drive 60km there
to bring it back up, a DTR-RESET would have been very handy in that
case).

The power panel has the advantage of allowing us to power down
equipment when the UPS batteries risk running out, and power equipment
back up in a chosen sequence.  You folks are lucky in that you seem to
have a fairly homogenous system, my client lives in the twilight zone
of SCO Server, NetBSD (various versions), WinNT and a poorly
administered network of sundry Win95 workstations.  We seem to be in a
truce period right now, but I don't expect it to last.

A full-blown Venti server could make a huge difference, but we're also
in a transition phase with the parent company perceived as the
providers of IT resources in the future, and they are committed to
Windows as an infrastructure.

> We also have a program (clog) that connects to a console and
> writes each line into a file with a timestamp, ala syslog.  It's useful
> for crashes and for autditing what was done, when systems
> rebooted, etc.

I suppose there are lots of cool ideas with which you are all so
familiar, you don't think they may benefit anyone else.  In this
particular case, I specifically appreciate the confirmation that where
I was hoping to go is in fact a workable option elsewhere.

++L