Managing Remote Presence

This chapter includes the following sections:

Managing the Virtual KVM

KVM Console

The KVM console is an interface accessible from CIMC that emulates a direct keyboard, video, and mouse connection to the server. The KVM console allows you to connect to the server from a remote location. Instead of using CD/DVD or floppy drives physically connected to the server, the KVM console uses virtual media, which are actual disk drives or disk image files that are mapped to virtual CD/DVD or floppy drives. You can map any of the following to a virtual drive:

  • CD/DVD or floppy drive on your computer
  • Disk image files (ISO or IMG files) on your computer
  • USB flash drive on your computer
You can use the KVM console to install an operating system or hypervisor on the server and to do the following:
  • Access the BIOS setup menu by pressing F2 during bootup.
  • Access the CIMC Configuration Utility by pressing F8 during bootup.
  • Access the WebBIOS to configure RAID, by pressing the Ctrl and H keys during bootup.

Configuring the Virtual KVM

Before You Begin

You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure the virtual KVM.

Procedure
      Command or Action Purpose
    Step 1 Server# scope kvm  

    Enters KVM command mode.

     
    Step 2 Server /kvm # set enabled {yes | no}  

    Enables or disables the virtual KVM.

     
    Step 3 Server /kvm # set encrypted {yes | no}  

    If encryption is enabled, the server encrypts all video information sent through the KVM.

     
    Step 4 Server /kvm # set kvm-port port  

    Specifies the port used for KVM communication.

     
    Step 5 Server /kvm # set local-video {yes | no}  

    If local video is yes, the KVM session is also displayed on any monitor attached to the server.

     
    Step 6 Server /kvm # set max-sessions sessions  

    Specifies the maximum number of concurrent KVM sessions allowed. The sessions argument is an integer between 1 and 4.

     
    Step 7 Server /kvm # commit  

    Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

     
    Step 8 Server /kvm # show [detail]  

    (Optional) Displays the virtual KVM configuration.

     

    This example configures the virtual KVM and displays the configuration:

    Server# scope kvm
Server /kvm # set enabled yes
Server /kvm *# set encrypted no
Server /kvm *# set kvm-port 2068
Server /kvm *# set max-sessions 4
Server /kvm *# set local-video yes
Server /kvm *# commit
Server /kvm # show detail
KVM Settings:
    Encryption Enabled: no
    Max Sessions: 4
    Local Video: yes
    Active Sessions: 0
    Enabled: yes
    KVM Port: 2068

Server /kvm #
    What to Do Next

    Launch the virtual KVM from the GUI.

    Enabling the Virtual KVM

    Before You Begin

    You must log in as a user with admin privileges to enable the virtual KVM.

    Procedure
        Command or Action Purpose
      Step 1 Server# scope kvm  

      Enters KVM command mode.

       
      Step 2 Server /kvm # set enabled yes  

      Enables the virtual KVM.

       
      Step 3 Server /kvm # commit  

      Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

       
      Step 4 Server /kvm # show [detail]  

      (Optional) Displays the virtual KVM configuration.

       

      This example enables the virtual KVM:

      Server# scope kvm
Server /kvm # set enabled yes
Server /kvm *# commit
Server /kvm # show
Encryption Enabled Local Video      Active Sessions Enabled KVM Port 
------------------ ---------------- --------------- ------- -------- 
no                 yes              0               yes     2068     

Server /kvm #

      Disabling the Virtual KVM

      Before You Begin

      You must log in as a user with admin privileges to disable the virtual KVM.

      Procedure
          Command or Action Purpose
        Step 1 Server# scope kvm  

        Enters KVM command mode.

         
        Step 2 Server /kvm # set enabled no  

        Disables the virtual KVM.

        Note   

        Disabling the virtual KVM disables access to the virtual media feature, but does not detach the virtual media devices if virtual media is enabled.

         
        Step 3 Server /kvm # commit  

        Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

         
        Step 4 Server /kvm # show [detail]  

        (Optional) Displays the virtual KVM configuration.

         

        This example disables the virtual KVM:

        Server# scope kvm
Server /kvm # set enabled no
Server /kvm *# commit
Server /kvm # show
Encryption Enabled Local Video      Active Sessions Enabled KVM Port 
------------------ ---------------- --------------- ------- -------- 
no                 yes              0               no      2068     

Server /kvm #

        Configuring Virtual Media

        Before You Begin

        You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure virtual media.

        Procedure
            Command or Action Purpose
          Step 1 Server# scope vmedia  

          Enters virtual media command mode.

           
          Step 2 Server /vmedia # set enabled {yes | no}  

          Enables or disables virtual media. By default, virtual media is disabled.

          Note   

          Disabling virtual media detaches the virtual CD, virtual floppy, and virtual HDD devices from the host.

           
          Step 3 Server /vmedia # set encrypted {yes | no}  

          Enables or disables virtual media encryption.

           
          Step 4 Server /vmedia # commit  

          Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

           
          Step 5 Server /vmedia # show [detail]  

          (Optional) Displays the virtual media configuration.

           

          This example configures virtual media encryption:

          Server# scope vmedia
Server /vmedia # set enabled yes
Server /vmedia *# set encrypted yes
Server /vmedia *# commit
Server /vmedia # show detail
vMedia Settings:
    Encryption Enabled: yes
    Enabled: yes
    Max Sessions: 1
    Active Sessions: 0

Server /vmedia #
          What to Do Next

          Use the KVM to attach virtual media devices to a host.

          Managing Serial over LAN

          Serial Over LAN

          Serial over LAN (SoL) is a mechanism that enables the input and output of the serial port of a managed system to be redirected via an SSH session over IP. SoL provides a means of reaching the host console via CIMC.

          Guidelines and Restrictions for Serial Over LAN

          For redirection to SoL, the server console must have the following configuration:

          • console redirection to serial port A
          • no flow control
          • baud rate the same as configured for SoL
          • VT-100 terminal type
          • legacy OS redirection disabled

          The SoL session will display line-oriented information such as boot messages, and character-oriented screen menus such as BIOS setup menus. If the server boots an operating system or application with a bitmap-oriented display, such as Windows, the SoL session will no longer display. If the server boots a command-line-oriented operating system (OS), such as Linux, you may need to perform additional configuration of the OS in order to properly display in an SoL session.

          In the SoL session, your keystrokes are transmitted to the console except for the function key F2. To send an F2 to the console, press the Escape key, then press 2.

          Configuring Serial Over LAN

          Before You Begin

          You must log in as a user with admin privileges to configure SoL.

          Procedure
              Command or Action Purpose
            Step 1 Server# scope sol  

            Enters SoL command mode.

             
            Step 2 Server /sol # set enabled {yes | no}  

            Enables or disables SoL on this server.

             
            Step 3 Server /sol # set baud-rate {9600 | 19200 | 38400 | 57600 | 115200}  

            Sets the serial baud rate the system uses for SoL communication.

            Note   

            The baud rate must match the baud rate configured in the server serial console.
             
            Step 4 Server /sol # commit  

            Commits the transaction to the system configuration.

             
            Step 5 Server /sol # show [detail]  

            (Optional) Displays the SoL settings.

             

            This example configures SoL:

            Server# scope sol
Server /sol # set enabled yes
Server /sol *# set baud-rate 115200
Server /sol *# commit
Server /sol # show
Enabled Baud Rate(bps)  
------- --------------- 
yes     115200    

Server /sol #

            Launching Serial Over LAN

            Procedure
                Command or Action Purpose
              Step 1 Server# connect host  

              Opens an SoL connection to the redirected server console port. You can enter this command in any command mode.

               
              What to Do Next

              Press Ctrl and X keys to disconnect from SoL and return to the CLI session.


              Note

              When you enable SoL, the output from the serial port is redirected; therefore, when you try to session into the host from Cisco IOS CLI, you will not see any output.