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LCD Displays That Fit In A 5.25" Drive Bay?
"Yes, I have tried Google, but no one seems to be making these anymore. There's scads of links to projects where people mount their own LCD display vertically in 3 unused bays in a normal PC case, but I need something that will hide in a normal bay (just like a CD-ROM drive), and there obviously aren't 3 unused bays vertically arranged in a 2U rackmount case.
Anyone know of a manufacturer? Got an old model that works that you want to sell? I might even throw one in my car since then I could hide the display when I'm not using it, and it'd give me a minimal monitor for that SBC-based portable server I've been meaning to build, and it might be good enough to play some games on in a mini-portable system, etc., not to mention the sheer cool-factor."
This isn't at all what you want, but may work better for your purpose.
I've had this sig for three days.
You can try any of the ones from the LCDProc hardware page. These include CrystalFontz, Matrix-Orbital, and CwLinux to name a few. The first two of these companies have a pretty good selection of LCDs in different colors and with different viewable areas.
--Kylus
Idiot-proof something, and Life will build a better Idiot.
In a drive bay is pretty small... there are plenty of 1U keyboard/LCD combos though.
/ LK M-920B.htm is just one.
http://www.armorlink.com/product/lcd_displaykit
I have my server at home set up this way and it runs FreeBSD. Most UNIX's do this very well. Not sure about windows, but I did not see that as being a requirement There are also add in cards that can handle the display for the bios.
Then you can bring a laptop and a null modem cable to the colo and your hooked up.
Only 'flamers' flame!
I've seen a 1U pull-out tray that has a LCD, keyboard, and mouse. I think they're expensive, and you'll have to pay for an extra 1U (if that's how they charge). Still, it may be cheaper than a monitor.
A quick Google on: keyboard mouse lcd 1u
revealed several such solutions. It looks like they cost on the order of $3000.
With prices like that, you're probably better off bringing a monitor in with you when you need to use it.
Try Intel Server Motherboards, you can access the BIOS settings / powerup / powerdown your machine remotely with Serial Over Lan functionality
All the Colo's I've hosted at have had monitors (along with keyboard/mouse) on wheels, which you pull it over to your rack and plug it in.
I'm suprised your provider doesn't have something similar.
I run serial port consoles on all my *nix machines. all i need in order to administer them is a laptop with a serial port and minicom.
Sitting Walrus Blog
...but this is one reason why you should by a real server, and not a desktop PC hacked into a rackmount case.
Virtually every Sun made works can be maintained entirely with a serial connection. I have servers in Europe and Asia that I've never even seen, much less touched, but I can do everything remotely, including powering them up and down and reconfiguing the boot process.
I'm sure someone may have already mentioned this - but almost any manufacturer of servers (dell, hpq) sells a 1U pull-out drawer type unit with a flip-up LCD panel and keyboard...
There might be one in your ATM machine ( Automatic Teller Machine machine) which you can look at while you poke in your PIN number (Personal Identification Number number), which it will store momentarily in its RAM memory (Random Access Memory memory).
Dell has a 1U monitor/keyboard solution (that folds out) for $1400: http://www.dell.com/us/en/bsd/products/model_svrac _2_svrac_monitor.htm
Dan
Or, just get a head-mounted display and carry it with you (they are down to about $500 for VGA resolution).
Although you probably already have your hardware, you might want to think about getting hardware support for these kinds of things in the future. I had some coworkers from India send me some mail once about the BIOS settings in one of the machines in my office. I wondered how the hell they'd gotten into the BIOS from India, but it was an IBM xSeries machine with remote text access via a "Service Processor". You can either telnet into the thing, or use a serial cable to do power, get into the BIOS, or play with the bootloader, like GRUB and Lilo. Some of the newer ones even let you do a PXE boot remotely for installations.
I know that there are also add-in PCI cards to do the same thing. Most of them have video on board, and a plug to put the keyboard into. A quick googling didn't turn anything up, and I can't remember the name.
earthlcd.com
They have kits with small LCDs and driver cards. There's a 6.3" monochrome with an ISA driver for $199 and a 7.8" color with a PCI controller for $299. Their outlines are 8.11" X 5.74", which should fit fine as a 5.25" bay is actually 5.875" wide. If you've got a few more bucks in your budget, or maybe don't have a free ISA or PCI slot, there's also an analog color 6.5" for $695 that's 7.04" X 4.99".
You're going to have to rig up some sort of mounting bracket for it. I'd recomend looking up a small machine shop in the phone book to do the fab work. Usually small shops have pretty good machinists who will be able to give you some useful suggestions on the design of it, and I highly recomend taking advantage of their expertise if you want the bracket articulated in any way. Stay away from places that specialize in automotive machining, as they are generally considered to be the machining equivalent of an MCSE.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
It just doesn't help.
http://www.logitec.co.jp/products/monitor/lcmt041a .html
You are going to spend money on an LCD display for a server that sits at a co-lo facility with noone looking at it 99.3% of the time? This is so 1999. I'm not trying to insult you, but question your understanding of the alternatives, which are likely to be more simple.
/etc/inittab, put your consoles on /dev/ttyS0 - it only makes sense!
got Unix? Serial console!!! On Linux, edit lilo.conf, and edit
Windoze? A network-capable kvm is likely about the same price as an LCD display, and scales to multiple boxes. But even cheaper is VNC, which can be tunneled over pub key authenticated SSH for remote access.
Co-lo facilities are likely to be charging 15-25 USD per rack unit per month, and a 15" CRT takes up 8 units, so you end up paying at least 120 USD a month to not see a monitor most of the time. What a waste. If you go the VNC or serial console route, even without an expensive Mainboard with remote access to the bios setup, etc, you can still get away with no monitor - and when you do need one, your colo provider should have a monitor on a cart you can use gratis (if not, screw them and go elsewhere - it is a competitive enough business that they can't screw you).
The reason that the LCD in the drive bay thing has gone away is that it is too much of a niche item to survive in a commoditized economy where hardware has low margins (this is also known as reality). Welcome to 2003 - scale down your expectations.
Sony make a unit that slides out and flips up for video in cars.
http://www.partsexpress.com/ has all kinds of that crap including tiny displays you could stick in a removable bay yourself.
Another guy saying his 'biggest problem' is that he wishes he had a way of kicking the floppy out of the drive bay?
I'm suprised any of this is an issue. Trying to find complex solutions for relatively easy problems.
As far as remote administration, you can get cheap motherboards that support redirection of the console to a tty. Then hook the tty up to a terminal server, modem, etc. And that's it. These types of motherboards are fairly easy to find. Probably cheaper than some ridiculous LCD screen bling-bling interface.
Or buy a machine that's meant to be remotely administered (Sun).
Don't trick your colo machines out with Icy Hot Hardwarez.
http://www.remix.net/
Here's the LCD screen And here's a link on how to make it into a 5.25" drive bay. Enjoy
Read the fine post - he said he needed this for the BIOS setup, not for main system settings, for which he is using SSH.
Since you cannot (yet) SSH into your BIOS, nor use VNC to access the BIOS, you solution is trivially rejected by what is in the story.
However, I do agree with you - just take a portable monitory in with you when you need it.
www.eFax.com are spammers
Rackit Technology
What you're looking for is a KVM over IP technology. There are numerous solutions out there for remote administration of multiple servers. The link provided is one vendor, but alot of vendors exist.
Perhaps my only pet peeve: it is spelled beaucoup and pronounced bowcoup.(except in the southern US, but perhaps that's where you're taking your french lessons)...
Alot of car audio stores sell dash-mounted DVD players that have a screen like what you are talking about. Often times the screen module is in a separate case from the radio.
;) ...
You might be able to rig a setup where you get one of the car screens and connect it to a video card that has Svideo or component video out.
Not as high resolution as a VGA LCD (though who knows, maybe they have a VGA interface on some models, doubt it though), but you'll be using an alternate signal source, meaning your SVGA port will still be open, and it will look smooth with you press the button to deploy the screen
This brings up a segue into a feature I really wish laptop makers would provide. I travel alot and use my laptop as a terminal in a NOC sometimes. I would really like an SVGA -input- and PS2/USB dongle on my laptop so I could use the laptop monitor/keyboard/screen as a terminal for another computer. If this were a fairly common possibility, people like the article's author probably wouldn't need to resort to weird things like built-in screens.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
within the sheer numbers of Slashdot readers that so many people have so little experience. KVM over IP solutions will allow an administrator to have complete BIOS control over servers located at a NOC. Additionally these systems can be integrate into keypad lockable cases and power management systems for a very slick remote management system.
That's it exactly!!
Unfrotunately, I can't read Japanese so price and availability are still unknown.
why do you need a LCD that fits in a 5-1/4" bay and not just a 1U or 2U rackmount LCD display?
This sig was generated by a barrel of trained kittens for SeXy_Red (550409).
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Try this page instead. It shows that it's 50,300 yen. Put a '1' in the box at the end of the line and press the oval red and yellow button to put it in your cart. Then press the next to last button at the bottom (bright yellow instead of orange) to place your order. Have fun filling out the address fields, though.
Bring in your monitor in a sunglass case. All you need is a NSTC out either native on your motherboard/video card or get an external box and stuff it in you extra bay. Add a roll up keyboard and you are in business.
SD
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
IBM and HP/Compaq make rack mounted servers that have a service processor that allow you to access the system at the BIOS level remotely.
At the place where we work, electricians wire racks, plug systems in, and turn them on. We use Tivoli and IBM software to remotely install images and whatever software bundles the systems need unattended. Of course we also spent gazillions of dollars to do that.
You can also get KVM switches that work over ethernet. They are expensive too.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
It's called NT because it was originally designed to run on a (greatly delayed) Intel processor, codenamed the NTen.
Unfortunately, I have a LOT of remote servers to administer. We have 4 data centers here in Irving, TX; 1 in Blue Hill, NY; 1 in Freehold, NJ; 1 in Ft.Wayne, IN; and 1 in Sacramento, CA. We've got that drill down. It's so good that I've gotten lazy and use the system to administer the servers that are in my building so that I don't have to get up from desk!
I would suggest that since this is co-lo'd server that you look at something like the RIBLOE from Compaq. There are several companies that make them and you can even use the virtual floppy to do things like flash the BIOS remotely. It also allows to you watch the POST and do all the things that you could do if you were standing in front it except change hardware. We use the Compaq/HP version, the IBM one, Rose Electroics makes one, you can get them for almost any hardware you can name.
HDGary secures my bank
The way I heard it, NT's name was based on Digital Equipment's VMS OS. The story goes something like this: MS recruited the top developers of VMS away from DEC to build a new OS. The developers based the new OS on DEC's VMS OS. So, what to name the new MS OS? Why not just use the next letters in the alphabet?
V -> W
M -> N
S -> T
After that little epiphany, someone decided that WNT had to stand for something, so they called it "Windows New Technology." I'm sorry that I can provide no proof for this story, but I find it has a certain appeal, just the same.
Sometimes I worry that I'll develop Alzheimer's disease, but no one will notice.