Forums > Community Lab > OpenGear
Ben
5 posts
14 Nov 2009 at 10:33 a.m. UTC

First, congratulations about setting up this awesome lab !

Could you explain how the OpenGear console server works? I do not knew this kinf of device before this lab announcement. You could maybe explain how it works by a futur Blog post :)

Thanks Stretch !
ZiPPy
1 post
15 Nov 2009 at 8:36 a.m. UTC

I would also be interested in how the OpenGear console works. I've been using a Cisco AS2511-RJ as my console server. I must admit the AS2511-RJ is slow, but it also is an old device. I browsed the OpenGear website and found the units to be rather expensive, but the unit is such a valuable asset to the lab.

Cheers,

ZiPPy
stretch
269 posts
15 Nov 2009 at 6:52 p.m. UTC

First off, the 2511 isn't a console server. It's just a crappy old box with a bunch of antique asynchronous serial ports which happen to work as console lines. =)

The CM4116 is a low-power 16-port console server running embedded Linux. It's a great solution for lab access as Opengear makes available a custom software development kit (SDK/CDK) and custom scripts are easily loaded onto the device. And as enterprise console servers go they're actually quite economical.

See the Opengear CM4000 series feature set for more. The features I've found most useful in constructing this lab are:

  • Running custom scripts on the box itself
  • Remote PDU control for inline power cycling
  • Regex matching against the serial stream to trigger alerts

For a private lab you might not need such robust features, but for a public lab like this one or for a shared lab at work, I definitely recommend them.

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