[arch-general] Installing by remote control

[David Rosenstrauch]

On 03/19/2013 06:13 PM, Christoph Vigano wrote:
> On 19.03.2013 23:04, David Benfell wrote:
>> It sounds like heartburn to me. I don't have a lot of experience
>> installing Arch Linux (Linode *does* offer it as an option and I
>> installed via Bridge Linux on my desktops). I'm hoping this isn't as
>> weird as it sounds. (I've actually never heard of a KVMoIP.)
>>
>> Is what they're offering a reasonable proposition? How weird is it really?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>
> IIRC, by requesting KVMoIP you will get a serial console attached to
> your server onto which you can logon and thus have access to a serial
> console to your server, allowing you to view the boot process, GRUB and
> stuff like that.
>
> If you have this, you only have to boot into the USB install stick and
> install as you would usually do.
>
> The main point is that you should have serial access to your server with
> KVMoIP :)
>
> Greetings,
> Christoph

That's exactly right.  If you've ever used a Dell server, you know they 
have this system called "DRAC" which essentially gives you a full remote 
console/administration system for the server, along with the ability to 
upload CD iso's and have them be available to the system.  (Many other 
vendors provide this capability too, such as SuperMicro.)  This 
capability provides you with full keyboard, mouse, screen, and console 
access to your system, and lets you do full management of a system even 
if there's no OS installed.  Very useful in situations where you want to 
install the OS remotely.  (I built a whole data center this way - from 
2000 miles away.)

A KVMOIP is basically the same thing, but for systems that don't have 
this capability built natively into their BIOS.  The data center 
operator hooks up the KVMOIP to the system, and provides you with the IP 
address, and login credentials.  You then connect to that KVMOIP, and 
can do remote system administration, OS install, etc.  I've used one of 
these before as well - Hurricane Electric has them.

HTH,

DR