LCD Displays That Fit In A 5.25" Drive Bay? 87
"Yes, I have tried Google, but no one seems to be making these anymore. There's scads of links to projects where people mount their own LCD display vertically in 3 unused bays in a normal PC case, but I need something that will hide in a normal bay (just like a CD-ROM drive), and there obviously aren't 3 unused bays vertically arranged in a 2U rackmount case.
Anyone know of a manufacturer? Got an old model that works that you want to sell? I might even throw one in my car since then I could hide the display when I'm not using it, and it'd give me a minimal monitor for that SBC-based portable server I've been meaning to build, and it might be good enough to play some games on in a mini-portable system, etc., not to mention the sheer cool-factor."
Something different (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Something different (Score:5, Funny)
(my biggest headache when I remotely reboot a server.)
Re:Something different (Score:2)
Re:Something different (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Something different (Score:2)
Re:Something different (Score:3, Interesting)
i don't know from experience if they'll let you eject from linux, but i can't imagine them not taking advantage of the eject commands in the atapi command set
Re:Something different (Score:3, Funny)
I have a SparQ drive connected to a parallel port. (Had I known what piece of crap it was, I'd never have bought it.) The documentation says it cannot eject from software. Before I got my first Linux computer, I tested the drive on a friends Linux computer. He had not read the documentation, so he just used the eject command. To my surprise it actually worked.
Re:Something different (Score:1)
Re:Something different (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Something different (Score:3, Funny)
[reboot] [beep]
[reboot] [beep]
[reboot] [beep]
TiFox
Re:Something different (Score:1)
A few places (Score:2, Informative)
Re:A few places (Score:2)
-psy
Re:A few places (Score:2)
Re:A few places (Score:2)
Not to mention that the Matrix Orbital displays are fed serially, which is *way* too slow to handle a VGA video feed.
That being said, the Matrix Orbital stuff is wonderful, if you want/need a small LCD display for showing system stats, MP3 playlists or the like.
In a drive or 1U slot? (Score:1)
http://www.armorlink.com/product/lcd_displaykit
Why Choose an LCD when you can have full remote? (Score:1)
Unfortunately, I have a LOT of remote servers to administer. We have 4 data centers here in Irving, TX; 1 in Blue Hill, NY; 1 in Freehold, NJ; 1 in Ft.Wayne, IN; and 1 in Sacramento, CA. We've got that drill down. It's so good that I've gotten lazy and use the system to administer the servers that are in my building so that I don't have to get up from desk!
I would suggest that since this is co-lo'd server that you look at something like the RIBLOE from Compaq. There are several companies that make them and you can even use the virtual floppy to do things like flash the BIOS remotely. It also allows to you watch the POST and do all the things that you could do if you were standing in front it except change hardware. We use the Compaq/HP version, the IBM one, Rose Electroics makes one, you can get them for almost any hardware you can name.
two words... (Score:2)
I have my server at home set up this way and it runs FreeBSD. Most UNIX's do this very well. Not sure about windows, but I did not see that as being a requirement There are also add in cards that can handle the display for the bios.
Then you can bring a laptop and a null modem cable to the colo and your hooked up.
Re:two words... (Score:2, Informative)
guess what? serial console doesnt do diddly for BIOS setting either
Re:two words... (Score:1)
Re:two words... (Score:2)
Re:two words... (Score:1)
Redirection Mode.
Turn this on, the when the machine boots, it scrapes the display onto a serial port
So yes, serial console does allow me to adjust bios settings.
And when the machine boots, and linux opens the serial device for console
access, i have linux serial console also.
Re:two words... (Score:2)
As far as the bios settings go, Sun, HP and most none intel systems also output by default ALL the bios crap to the serial console.. that's what they do.. there are add in cards for intel machines that can also show the bios settings as well and allow one to change them..
so eht, where you got ssh from serial console is just beyond me???? unless you were either replying to another post, or you are just a plain confused..
Re:two words... (Score:1)
Another alternative (Score:5, Informative)
A quick Google on: keyboard mouse lcd 1u
revealed several such solutions. It looks like they cost on the order of $3000.
With prices like that, you're probably better off bringing a monitor in with you when you need to use it.
Re:Another alternative (Score:3, Informative)
Serial Over Lan (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Serial Over Lan (Score:1)
Re:Serial Over Lan (Score:1)
Lousy Colo (Score:4, Informative)
I'm suprised your provider doesn't have something similar.
Re:Lousy Colo (Score:2)
I used to host some gear at Level3. When we moved there in 1998, they had nice carts. Since they were good folks as well, we lent them one of those old Sun monitors; we needed it for some of our boxes, and thought it would be nice to share.
A year or so later, they decided the carts were too much trouble to maintain, complaining that people tended to forget and put the mouse in their cabinet. So did they take three seconds and a 3-cent cable tie to attach the mouse permanently? No, they got rid of every one. Including the one with our monitor. Bastards.
A cynical person would note that getting rid of the carts means you have to buy rack space for your monitors. Ergo, more money for them. I'm not that cynical, of course. But that doesn't mean that Level3's execs aren't.
Regardless, that was one of the things that pushed us to move to new colo.
why not serial port console? (Score:1)
Re:why not serial port console? (Score:2)
I suppose that this is a good reason to look into one of the open source BIOS projects. (On the other hand, I'm under the impression that those projects aren't ready for serious use yet.)
Re:why not serial port console? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:why not serial port console? (Score:2)
another idea (Score:1)
Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:5, Funny)
There might be one in your ATM machine ( Automatic Teller Machine machine) which you can look at while you poke in your PIN number (Personal Identification Number number), which it will store momentarily in its RAM memory (Random Access Memory memory).
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:2, Interesting)
I got in an argument with a non-techie over this once and lost, embarassingly.
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:2, Funny)
But it's not encrypted very securely. Yes, I read the Register
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:1)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:2)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:4, Funny)
NT stands for New Technology. Built on New Technology Technology.
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:3, Insightful)
Aaah, There is nothing like a little nitpicking in the morning...
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course, you do realize that NT is actually the two letters that follow MS?
Re:NT stands for what? (Score:2)
V -> W
M -> N
S -> T
After that little epiphany, someone decided that WNT had to stand for something, so they called it "Windows New Technology." I'm sorry that I can provide no proof for this story, but I find it has a certain appeal, just the same.
No. (Score:1)
Re:Liquid Crystal Display Display? (Score:2)
Dell has LCD/keyboard in 1U for $1400 (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Dell has LCD/keyboard in 1U for $1400 (Score:2, Informative)
TV + converter (Score:2)
Or, just get a head-mounted display and carry it with you (they are down to about $500 for VGA resolution).
Get some real hardware support (Score:2)
I know that there are also add-in PCI cards to do the same thing. Most of them have video on board, and a plug to put the keyboard into. A quick googling didn't turn anything up, and I can't remember the name.
Re:Get some real hardware support (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Get some real hardware support (Score:1)
Here's what you're looking for (Score:5, Informative)
They have kits with small LCDs and driver cards. There's a 6.3" monochrome with an ISA driver for $199 and a 7.8" color with a PCI controller for $299. Their outlines are 8.11" X 5.74", which should fit fine as a 5.25" bay is actually 5.875" wide. If you've got a few more bucks in your budget, or maybe don't have a free ISA or PCI slot, there's also an analog color 6.5" for $695 that's 7.04" X 4.99".
You're going to have to rig up some sort of mounting bracket for it. I'd recomend looking up a small machine shop in the phone book to do the fab work. Usually small shops have pretty good machinists who will be able to give you some useful suggestions on the design of it, and I highly recomend taking advantage of their expertise if you want the bracket articulated in any way. Stay away from places that specialize in automotive machining, as they are generally considered to be the machining equivalent of an MCSE.
This is what you were looking for.. (Score:5, Informative)
We have a winner. (Score:2)
Unfrotunately, I can't read Japanese so price and availability are still unknown.
Try this page (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Try this page (Score:1)
Re:Try this page (Score:1)
Re:Try this page (Score:1)
You need to simplify (Score:3, Insightful)
got Unix? Serial console!!! On Linux, edit lilo.conf, and edit
Windoze? A network-capable kvm is likely about the same price as an LCD display, and scales to multiple boxes. But even cheaper is VNC, which can be tunneled over pub key authenticated SSH for remote access.
Co-lo facilities are likely to be charging 15-25 USD per rack unit per month, and a 15" CRT takes up 8 units, so you end up paying at least 120 USD a month to not see a monitor most of the time. What a waste. If you go the VNC or serial console route, even without an expensive Mainboard with remote access to the bios setup, etc, you can still get away with no monitor - and when you do need one, your colo provider should have a monitor on a cart you can use gratis (if not, screw them and go elsewhere - it is a competitive enough business that they can't screw you).
The reason that the LCD in the drive bay thing has gone away is that it is too much of a niche item to survive in a commoditized economy where hardware has low margins (this is also known as reality). Welcome to 2003 - scale down your expectations.
RTFP (Score:2)
Since you cannot (yet) SSH into your BIOS, nor use VNC to access the BIOS, you solution is trivially rejected by what is in the story.
However, I do agree with you - just take a portable monitory in with you when you need it.
Re:RTFP (Score:1)
Re:You need to simplify (Score:1)
Funny problems.. (Score:1)
Another guy saying his 'biggest problem' is that he wishes he had a way of kicking the floppy out of the drive bay?
I'm suprised any of this is an issue. Trying to find complex solutions for relatively easy problems.
As far as remote administration, you can get cheap motherboards that support redirection of the console to a tty. Then hook the tty up to a terminal server, modem, etc. And that's it. These types of motherboards are fairly easy to find. Probably cheaper than some ridiculous LCD screen bling-bling interface.
Or buy a machine that's meant to be remotely administered (Sun).
Don't trick your colo machines out with Icy Hot Hardwarez.
Re:LCD Screen (Score:2)
I've got a 6" VGA monitor from a point of sale system on my server rack at home. It'd be cool to do something like this there, but I haven't found a decent small VGA LCD, either.
To recap: TV out is not so good for this application and your links point to TV out.
Here's what you want.... (Score:3, Informative)
What you're looking for is a KVM over IP technology. There are numerous solutions out there for remote administration of multiple servers. The link provided is one vendor, but alot of vendors exist.
Look at your local high-end car audio store (Score:3, Insightful)
You might be able to rig a setup where you get one of the car screens and connect it to a video card that has Svideo or component video out.
Not as high resolution as a VGA LCD (though who knows, maybe they have a VGA interface on some models, doubt it though), but you'll be using an alternate signal source, meaning your SVGA port will still be open, and it will look smooth with you press the button to deploy the screen
This brings up a segue into a feature I really wish laptop makers would provide. I travel alot and use my laptop as a terminal in a NOC sometimes. I would really like an SVGA -input- and PS2/USB dongle on my laptop so I could use the laptop monitor/keyboard/screen as a terminal for another computer. If this were a fairly common possibility, people like the article's author probably wouldn't need to resort to weird things like built-in screens.
it always amazes me.... (Score:4, Informative)
Smaller monitor choice (Score:3, Interesting)
SD
Buy name-brand hardware... (Score:2)
At the place where we work, electricians wire racks, plug systems in, and turn them on. We use Tivoli and IBM software to remotely install images and whatever software bundles the systems need unattended. Of course we also spent gazillions of dollars to do that.
You can also get KVM switches that work over ethernet. They are expensive too.
Re:Buy name-brand hardware... (Score:2)
HP/UX boxes also have a service processor that has a built in web server. You can power on/off your machines remotely over the web from your web-enabled cell phone. And it's all vendor supported stuff that's been around for years, not some silly hack. Having used both the HP and the Compaq solutions, I can tell you that they both work very well.
If you must stick with a tinker-toy x86 box, have a look at www.realweasel.com for a nice text mode remote service processor that's pretty inexpensive.