Perle Systems Technical Note

Console Management in a SUN Environment

Many companies in the past have managed remote console ports through standard terminal servers. However their use with SUN servers poses a unique challenge.

If a Sun system is powered up without a monitor or keyboard connected, the serial port is automatically configured as a console management port. The entire Sun system can be managed from this port.

When the need arises the administrator has the ability to shut the system down to the “Open Boot Prompt” (OBP). The shut down takes the systems down to an engineering level and shuts all other services down. This happens when a ‘break’ signal is sent to the port, which the Sun system reads as the command to shut down.

Most serial systems such as Terminal Servers send a ‘break’ signal when they are powered on and off. This does not pose a problem in an environment where the Terminal Server is deployed to function only as a terminal server. However, it is fatal when connected to a Sun system as a management connectivity solution.

When a Terminal Server is powered off it sends a ‘break’ signal from all ports. This signal will automatically shut down all attached Sun servers. The result is disastrous to any service provider whose mission critical applications are running on those servers.

Some vendors have taken a few novel approaches to the problem. One large router vendor suggests when using their serial port routers as a console/terminal server that a specific Solaris patch be made or that you purchase 3rd party "non-aborting console adapters" at $89 per port or that you solder a resistor across two of the serial pins. All are very cumbersome and time consuming approaches.

By using an IOLAN Console Servers connected to the console ports on the SUN servers, “break” signals are prevented from being sent to the SUN server should the console server be powered off. This eliminates accidental downtime which would occur without this feature.

Administrators can also send an intentional “break” across the network to the SUN server through the use of a special key sequence understood by the IOLAN.

Perle IOLAN Terminal Servers and Console Servers are ideal for managing remote Solaris consoles having the following features;

• All IOLAN's are SUN Break Safe and are certified by Sun Microsystems as Solaris Ready™. No patches or custom jumper soldering required.
• Ready-made cable adapters available for Use CAT5 cabling to connect to all of your Sun equipment consoles such as:
  • Netra
  • Blade
  • Enterprise
  • Sun Fire
  • StorEdge
  • Ultra
• Telnet, HTTP browser access, secure HTTPS and SSH support ensure that only authorized personnel have access to critical SUN resources.
• IOLAN Port buffers store messages from your SUN server for troubleshooting purposes
• Access Sun Serial Console ports using any Java-enabled internet browser. No need to load SSH or Telnet clients on administrative workstations
• IOLAN SCS models are fault tolerant with dual Ethernet interfaces for hot back-up or alternate network access
• Optional integrated dial-up modem provides reliable out of band access
• Ability to incorporate 3rd part wireless GSM/GPRS cards
• Perle Remote Power Switches that can power cycle equipment can also be used with IOLANs for a complete remote management solution