[Gllug] No video card - no boot?

[Simon Trimmer]

On Tue, 18 Jun 2002 tet at accucard.com wrote:
> >You need to set that up first time in the BIOS using a cheap video
> >card...
>
> Yep, you have to do that with ours too. Also, unlike serial consoles on
> "real" computers (read: SPARC, Alpha, PPC, pretty much anything except
> x86 really), you can't get BIOS/PROM level access over the serial port.
> Do the Tyan's let you do that?

Recent dells have console redirection in the bios and the older ones you can
fit a DRAC card to, but the one I have (drac 2) requires a windows machine to
run their client :( I think there is a serial connection on the board but
trying to get a cable is like pulling teeth


> Equally, the Real Weasel has the same disadvantages.

I should have reported back about these cards, both of ours are current
sitting on desks outside of machines. They have problems emulating the
console on our dell boxes and the firmware hung when you put the system into
kdb... (not good for kernel developers)

I guess if they rev the firmware on the card it could be an option again, the
developers I spoke to are a good (one is ex BSD) and I did write a linux
watchdog driver for the card in exchange for being able to trigger NMIs (NMIs
are longer term, but the driver is up on urbanmyth.org)


> When your machines are at a hosting centre 10 miles away (as ours are),
> that's an invaluable feature...

Our lab is too far away, even for the scooter ;)

-Simon
Simon Trimmer <simon at urbanmyth.org>



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