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Sorry if the title is weird, please feel free to suggest a rephrase. I have a personal server in my closet. I host various software on this for my family's use. The vast majority of the time I con...
#2: Post edited
by
matthewsnyder
·
2023-07-01T17:43:02Z (10 months ago)
- Sorry if the title is weird, please feel free to suggest a rephrase.
- I have a personal server in my closet. I host various software on this for my family's use. The vast majority of the time I control it with SSH.
- There are occasional times when SSH is not possible. For example, when the server is booting up (for security reasons, I set it up so that a manual password must be entered), the network is malfunctioning, or the system is so impaired that SSH server is broken (can happen when you accidentally fill your hard drive 100% or a buggy update).
- Currently, I keep a keyboard and monitor in the same closet, that I connect to the server when I cannot use SSH. This is a bit annoying, because the monitor is bulky, there's a long delay when you first connect, the cables end up in a tangle, etc.
I've looked around and it sounds like the techs at data centers carry around a console that they connect to servers as needed. These seem like a laptop but without a computer inside, so just a screen/keyboard combo. However, these seem horrendously expensive ($400+ a few years ago) and I have no idea if they require a special enterprise server to work. My server is simply a regular desktop PC that I run headless.- What is a practical way for occasionally managing a personal server, when remote control like SSH is not available?
- Sorry if the title is weird, please feel free to suggest a rephrase.
- I have a personal server in my closet. I host various software on this for my family's use. The vast majority of the time I control it with SSH.
- There are occasional times when SSH is not possible. For example, when the server is booting up (for security reasons, I set it up so that a manual password must be entered), the network is malfunctioning, or the system is so impaired that SSH server is broken (can happen when you accidentally fill your hard drive 100% or a buggy update).
- Currently, I keep a keyboard and monitor in the same closet, that I connect to the server when I cannot use SSH. This is a bit annoying, because the monitor is bulky, there's a long delay when you first connect, the cables end up in a tangle, etc.
- I've looked around and it sounds like the techs at data centers carry around a console that they connect to servers as needed. I've never worked such a job and don't know anyone who has, so it's all a mystery to me. The consoles seem like a laptop but without a computer inside, so just a screen/keyboard combo. However, these seem horrendously expensive ($400+ a few years ago) and I have no idea if they require a special enterprise server to work. My server is simply a regular desktop PC that I run headless. I've never worked such a job and don't know anyone who has, so it's all a mystery to me.
- What is a practical way for occasionally managing a personal server, when remote control like SSH is not available?
#1: Initial revision
by
matthewsnyder
·
2023-07-01T17:42:09Z (10 months ago)
Hardware for occasional direct control of personal server
Sorry if the title is weird, please feel free to suggest a rephrase. I have a personal server in my closet. I host various software on this for my family's use. The vast majority of the time I control it with SSH. There are occasional times when SSH is not possible. For example, when the server is booting up (for security reasons, I set it up so that a manual password must be entered), the network is malfunctioning, or the system is so impaired that SSH server is broken (can happen when you accidentally fill your hard drive 100% or a buggy update). Currently, I keep a keyboard and monitor in the same closet, that I connect to the server when I cannot use SSH. This is a bit annoying, because the monitor is bulky, there's a long delay when you first connect, the cables end up in a tangle, etc. I've looked around and it sounds like the techs at data centers carry around a console that they connect to servers as needed. These seem like a laptop but without a computer inside, so just a screen/keyboard combo. However, these seem horrendously expensive ($400+ a few years ago) and I have no idea if they require a special enterprise server to work. My server is simply a regular desktop PC that I run headless. What is a practical way for occasionally managing a personal server, when remote control like SSH is not available?