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Vehicular LCD for Server Monitoring
Pete writes "The guys over at Extreme Overclocking have show how to put a car LCD inside a computer. The article shows how to install VNC remote computing software onto the server, how to manage the server from another computer, and how to use the color LCD to manage the server locally. They also included a video at the end which shows the setup process, and the LCD in action."
- this does not scale well for > 1 server.
- only works if you have some sort of ATX type case
- with any sort of non-gui mgmt tools, this becomes irrelavent
that said, it's a neat idea for a web page article, but this would never fly for the typical mgmt of servers that i've seen. and, i prefer non-gui tools because gui tools tend to slow and a pain in the ass to deal with.
Why not just connect up your machines to a console server via thier serial ports? If you need graphics, use X over the network.
Stick Men
From the article:
If you are running a server and do not want to waste money on buying a monitor that you will only use probably once a week then you will definitely see the value here. If it's coolness factor you're looking for, then by all means go ahead and install the 5-inch LCD. But if it's "value" that you're looking for, as the article suggests, there are cheaper ways of doing it.
Headless comes to mind, of course. Nearly all new server hardware supports keyboardless/displayless operation. Or you can do "nearly headless" -- do a serial console. Again, nearly all new server hardware supports running the BIOS/POST to a serial port, and Linux supports a serial console with no trouble at all.
Of course, if you're running a Windows server, then you'd better just pony up the $100-300 for a real monitor (or in a large multi-server environment, a big KVM switch) because you're going to be spending a lot of time sitting at the console fixing broken Microsoft crap.
And before you mod me down as a zealot, please know that this is based on my experience at a mid-size managed hosting facility. Our sysadmins are constantly babysitting the Windows boxen, so we have to dedicate expensive KVM ports to each one. Linux just runs and runs without ever having a problem that requires console access, so we go serial, and we hook them up with really inexpensive used terminal servers.
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Actually I would like something like this because of space restraints. All of my servers are crammed into a small corner of a small room. I do my best to keep it need and tidy, but I have to hook up a 15 inch monitor to a KVM switch. Even with the best cable managment system, it is a nightmare of KVM cables. If I could have these screens in the servers, then I could eliminate the cables, KVM switch, and monitor making a cleaner work environment. Not to mention by removing the monitor, KVM, and cables Now I have enough room to add another server. Right now I would have to start a second area of servers. Don't get me wrong I would love a new spcae that was large enough to house all of my servers and have room for expansion, but in these trying economic times the money to properly renovate a new space is non-existient. Remeber, by saving space you can save money.
He never claimed that this was a business solution. Everyone's talking about how he could never use this to manage multitudes of servers, and that's very true, but he never said he wanted to use it for managing any servers at all. He was using this so he can monitor CPU/Mem loads from his recliner across the room. If you read the article, and looked at the images, all his screen shots showed the WinXP System Monitor app in the task manager. It shows with, simple bar and line graphs, how much load the system has. He put VNC on to actually manage the beast.
;-)
Read the article!
~Jon~
P.S. I'm not saying that I agree with him running WinXP on a "server" though
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From the article:All of us know that both the car and the PC have a 12V line
But they neglect to tell us if this mod is for diesel or gas powered computers.
Seriously though:
Since cars typically use the car body as the return from the positive terminal (i.e. the car body is connected to negative), the fastenings for a car part could be designed to connect to the negative terminal. (A few cars are made the other way around. Look out.)
A computer case is supposed to be connected to ground. So although connecting turn signals, cigarette lighters and horns (Ellen Feiss would go deaf) to your computer might sound tempting, you'd better check out how the car and the part is coupled.
In other words: Tell Chewie to isolate the reverse power couplings.
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