I’ve been playing around with a new remote access card for the HP Microserver, the main benefit of this card it that it can give you access to the server as if you were sitting in front of it, whilst actually connected from anywhere via an IP connection.
Think of it as a virtual KVM switch with some added benefits, these include email alerts (although it only supports insecure SMTP servers, which was an issue for me as I couldn’t use Gmail as a reply, much like many other network services around, sadly). It gives you options to remotely power cycle the server, as if you could touch the power button on the front (so on, off and hard reset options are available). There are monitors for system heat, with options to alert or shut down the server if it exceeds a set maximum temperature.
The card is simple to install, just slot it into one of the PCIe slot, then connect a network cable to it. Access is via the web browser (so you will need to figure out what IP it has picked up, easy if you know how, you can tell from most router/wifi admin screens). The first thing I did was set its MAC address to a fixed IP on my router, rather than give the card a static IP (PS the default login is admin/password, there’s no manual so I don’t know how anyone would know this automatically!)
In order to access the main feature, the virtual KVM, you need to enable the feature and save the changes. I tried in vain to get the built in Java client to work on my mac (with OSX 10.7 Lion) without joy, the feature works flawlessly on a Windows machine (you just need to make sure you have the full Sun Java application installed), just hit the launch button and you get a very responsive remote desktop window that can access everything from the Bios all the way through the the windows desktop, identical to if you were sitting there yourself.
You can use the virtual media feature to load .iso files as if it had a dvd inserted, which could be handy for server restores, although you would want to have that data on your local network, as the speed would be crippling over the internet.
The card isn’t a true iLO card as the care doesn’t use a backup power supply, but considering the price and the server it is intended to be used on, it is still feature rich. I think this card could be a huge bonus to anyone who travel often and needs guaranteed access to the server in any state, in any location. To be able to see error messages, load remote media and power cycle the server could save you if you’re away for the home or office.
That said it does retail for around £60 and considering how bullet proof my experience with Windows Home Server on the HP Microserver has been, I don’t think it will be card for everyone. If it were around £35-40 retail then I would put it down as a no brainer, belt and braces remote access solution.
