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Re: console for Linux
Ariel Biener wrote:
> I am not talking about a PROM monitor here. I am simply talking about boot
> console, which loads when the kernel loads. This has nothing to do with
> stability. I am not looking for a hardware prom monitor like Sun machines
> have, which can give you a device prober, debugger, and option to change
> boot devices etc etc etc. I was merely talking about a boot console, which
> loads immediately after the kernel was loaded. You didn't answer if such
> an option exists in Linux.
I still don't understand what your requirement is.
Are you looking to redirect your dmesg to a serial tty? Cute, but what
of
it? Are you looking to connect another box to your server's console,
that
alanyses its output and decides on forcing a reboot? And how will you do
that? On what case will you decide on a reboot?
I am still convinced that this DOES have to do with stability. OS
stability.
Because you're talking of a "console" that loads with the kernel, it
won't
be worth anything when the kernel dies; you're just stuck with one more
respondless peripherial.
What can you do with a serial console that you can't do with a monitor?
Oh,
of course *if* you find a BIOS smart enough to boot from remote, *and*
you
buy another machine to eat your console's messages, you'll be able to
boot
from remote -- but that's only as reliable as your BIOS, two serial
cards,
the software on the inspecting machine, and the inspecting machine
itself.
Where's the reliability increase?
> > > I am interested in both features, in order to have reliable production
> > > network servers running Linux.
> > Buy a hardware watchdog.
> These kind of answer is obvious, and I am not looking for the obvious, as
> it might be clear now. I don't need something that will decide when to
> boot my network server.
At the risk of igniting something I don't want to ignite, let me assure
you
that what you're looking for is completely unobvious to me. :-)
Gaal