nanog mailing list archives
Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine
From: Matthew Petach <mpetach () netflight com>
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:54:29 -0800
On Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 7:34 AM, Jon Lewis <jlewis () lewis org> wrote:
Speaking of that sort of thing, I'd really LOVE if there were a device about the size of a netbook that could be hooked up to otherwise headless machines in colos that would give you keyboard, video & mouse. i.e. a folding netbook shaped VGA monitor with USB keyboard and touchpad. I know there are folding rackmount versions of this (i.e. from Dell), but I want something far more portable. Twice in the past month, I'd had to drive 100+ miles to a remote colo and took a full size flat panel monitor and keyboard with me. Has anyone actually built this yet?
Seeing as how most laptops have a VGA connector and a keyboard/mouse connector on them, albeit wired in the wrong direction (VGA connector feeds video out from the video card, keyboard port takes in input from external keyboard), the wiring and hard parts are already mostly done; I'd *love* to have a vendor release a laptop line that has a toggle switch on it that a) only engages when the laptop is off, and b) flips the logic--keyboard port gets connected to the output of the laptop keyboard, and sends data out rather than receives data, while the VGA port is disconnected from the video card, and is instead connected to the LCD panel of the laptop. If an enterprise vendor added support for a toggle like that, I'm sure there would be dozens of companies that would order them in a heartbeat, to be able to do away with the constant need for crash carts rolling around the datacenter aisles. Heck, even I'd order one--I could finally get rid of the old monitors I keep around the house for debugging random server problems in the rack upstairs. :/ Matt
Current thread:
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine, (continued)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine John Osmon (Feb 18)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Chris Adams (Feb 18)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Jeff Kell (Feb 18)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Joe Hamelin (Feb 18)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Jon Lewis (Feb 20)
- RE: WW: Colo Vending Machine Matthew Black (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Owen DeLong (Feb 21)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine -Hammer- (Feb 21)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Owen DeLong (Feb 21)
- RE: WW: Colo Vending Machine Blake Pfankuch (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Matthew Petach (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Joel jaeggli (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Leo Bicknell (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Joel jaeggli (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Jay Ashworth (Feb 20)
- Re: WW: Colo Vending Machine Mario Eirea (Feb 20)
- Laptop with reverse VGA Jussi Peltola (Feb 20)
- Re: Laptop with reverse VGA Faisal Imtiaz (Feb 20)
- Re: Laptop with reverse VGA Jon Lewis (Feb 20)
- RE: Laptop with reverse VGA Scott Berkman (Feb 20)
- RE: Laptop with reverse VGA Mario Eirea (Feb 20)