Hi, I’m looking to make a buildserver machine, solely dedicated to compiling code. I have external displays and networks cables of course, and another machine. But how do I install Opensuse on the buildserver and connect to it without having a graphics card on it?
I’m sure servers generally don’t have graphics cards, that would be a waste of money so there has to be some way.
How can it be done?
You’ll obviously want to install with a keyboard and graphics card present, but many motherboard BIOS configurations allow for headless operation, with remote access in mind.
One of many guides around:
Going Headless with openSUSE! More CPU/RAM, less power consumption. | RunUO Community
I do not know what your exact prerequisites are (like is there already
anything bootable on that machine) so as a blind shot I can only point
you to that article.
http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Remote_installation
–
PC: oS 12.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.8.4 | GeForce GT 420
ThinkPad E320: oS 12.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.8.4 | HD 3000
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10
Thank you, “headless” is the keyword that brings good results. I kept searching for “no graphics card / installation” and all I could find was people with gaming related questions.
Hi
Over the serial port with a text install… you can then use this for
remote access if there are issues. Don’t have an older card you can use
as a framebuffer?
–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (x86_64) Kernel 3.0.34-0.7-default
up 7 days 20:49, 2 users, load average: 0.30, 0.48, 1.08
CPU Intel i5 CPU M520@2.40GHz | Intel Arrandale GPU
On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 23:16:02 +0000, Maxxi12 wrote:
> I’m sure servers generally don’t have graphics cards, that would be a
> waste of money so there has to be some way.
Generally servers do have graphics cards. In 15 years of IT work
starting in the early 90’s, I never saw a server with /no/ graphics card.
A cheap graphics card will set you back $25 or so, not a huge savings to
leave it out, and a huge headache when you need to actually hook a
monitor up to troubleshoot something. And that day /will/ come.
Jim
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Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
I have a system running without using the graphics card. I installed of course a text only openSUSE, but I used the graphics card (and monitor) during installation. Removed the monitor for space saving after installation.
During daily life I have an old “glass teteltype” connected to the async port (COM1 in MS-DOS lingo). When you need that, I can give you more information on how to direct GRUB, the Kernel and the console login to that async terminal.
Else manage remote on the CLI (using SSH), or remote GUI as mentioned above. But for the last, you need of course more then just a text installation.
@**malcolmlewis: **Thank you for that tip with the serial cables, I didn’t know about that! It seems logical that the serial cables should only be used for installation since I can hardly build a cluster with serial cables. (just checking ;))
I will explain my steps a little more, also for other people who read this but I still have one possible problem.
I looked into the manuals of both the motherboards and they have this kind of COM1/2 serial port connector:
It looks kind of cramped! And indeed, after a long back and forth on Google, I found out that I needed a “nullmodem” cable.
Nullmodem Kabel, 9-pol Buchse /Buchse, Länge: 1,8m: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör
However, as you can see it seems like these cable heads won’t fit onto my mainboard. In addition: Why are there screws on the cable heads, there isn’t any place to screw anything into my mainboard next to the serial port connector. As you can see on the picture, it’s just 9 pins protruding in a cramped place. Any ideas on this?
The next step is to connect to the serial port on my main computer with the “screen” utility to the buildserver. This part is a little sketchy, but I think I have the right keywords to figure it out on my own with Google and the man pages.
If you have any ideas on why/if/how the serial cable will fit onto the mainboard, that would be awesome 
A NULL modem is just a little piece of hardware that crosses a few of the wires in the serial cable. It can go anywhere in the connection. Thus connect the two async cables to both sides and put the null modem in between. You need only a few of the wires and no need to have the “wide” plugs on the system.
You can easily make the null modem yourself with some pieces of wire and some soldering. I have one here. The problem often is the male and female connectors. One used to use flat cable with male and female connectors at both sides so all connections were possible.
I have here a small (computer side) to wide cable (only few cm), then the null modem (also a few cm) and then flat cable to my console.
Okay, I just read your replies that happened while I was writing my post, and it occurred to me that mainboards sometimes have onboard chips, and why shouldn’t my old one have one. And indeed, the specs say that it does have an onboard chip. So I’ll probably not need to do the whole serial port thing, but I would still appreciate your opinion on why the cable head is so much bigger than what seems to fit into the port on the mainboard.
@hcvv: Why would I need the stuff you mentioned? Shouldn’t a simple LAN connection be sufficient for SSH access to the buildserver?
@hcvv: That would do the job of a nullmodem right?
Gender Changer D-SUB 9 pol. Buchse auf 9 pol. Buchse: Amazon.de: Elektronik
It’s a gender changer. But that wouldn’t really solve the problem of the wide plugs I guess, I don’t really understand what you proposed on how to solve that. Manually extracting the cables somehow and soldering them onto the mainboard?
Sorry, misunderstanding. The async solution has nothing to do with SSH.
You can use SSH to remote connect to the system for managing it. Even when it has a text only install. Of coursee the CLI is there for all the statments a manager/root might need and YaST has beauttifull ncurses interface also.
When you have a small plug, that is fine, you do not need a wide one unless on of the partners has one, there are small to wide conversion cables
The device you point to should probably be OK,but one only knows for sure when the internal connecetion scheme is known.
BTW RS232 is the buzzword here. You caa start here: RS-232 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and then scroll down to Connectors and further where you will find pointers to e.g. Null modem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, etc.
The pins on the motherboard, pictured in your post, are simply the header to which you connect an adapter in the form of of a short ribbon cable with a 9 pin socket on the other end that’s normally secured to a “knockout” on the back panel of the PC. For RS232 the adapter is typically a 9 pin “DB9 connector”, which will fit the end of the cable you have.
Before I retired I built and shipped literally hundreds w/ no video card. Most were to customers planning to do text installs using RS232.
Sorry I can’t offer a HowTo. I only built and shipped them… never loaded them myself.
I assume this is about PC type of hardware. Most of the computer room computers (is that what some people call “servers”) I saw in my working life had no graphics card. Where it only for the fact that graphics hardware was first introduced in so called graphical terminals (remember Tektronix in the 1970s?). Then in the graphical workstations (no computer room, but desktop) and only much later was added to the then desktop systems based on the IBM PC.
On 2012-08-06 10:56, Maxxi12 wrote:
> *Thank you for that tip with the serial cables, I didn’t know about
> that! It seems logical that the serial cables should only be used for
> installation since I can hardly build a cluster with serial cables.
> (just checking ;))
If you decide to use serial port for installation, you need to leave them for ever. If at some
time you need to reinstall the system, or to solve some problems. Same as you would need a
graphical card on a normal system.
One possible method is to install machines in pairs, with ports crossed between them.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
On 2012-08-06 13:46, caprus wrote:
>
> hendersj;2478586 Wrote:
>> I never saw a server with /no/ graphics card.
> Before I retired I built and shipped literally hundreds w/ no video
> card. Most were to customers planning to do text installs using RS232.
> Sorry I can’t offer a HowTo. I only built and shipped them… never
> loaded them myself.
How can the bios be accessed over a serial port?
I know there are tricks to send grub output to the serial port, but the bios?
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
Am 06.08.2012 14:38, schrieb Carlos E. R.
> I know there are tricks to send grub output to the serial port, but the bios?
>
If it is supported by the manufacturer, for example
http://www.manualowl.com/m/Hewlett-Packard/Xw460c/Manual/25104
–
PC: oS 12.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.8.4 | GeForce GT 420
ThinkPad E320: oS 12.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.8.4 | HD 3000
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10
On 2012-08-06 14:26, hcvv wrote:
>
> hendersj;2478586 Wrote:
>>
>> Generally servers do have graphics cards. In 15 years of IT work
>> starting in the early 90’s, I never saw a server with /no/ graphics
>> card.
>>
> I assume this is about PC type of hardware. Most of the computer room
> computers (is that what some people call “servers”) I saw in my working
> life had no graphics card. Where it only for the fact that graphics
> hardware was first introduced in so called graphical terminals (remember
> Tektronix in the 1970s?). Then in the graphical workstations (no
> computer room, but desktop) and only much later was added to the then
> desktop systems based on the IBM PC.
What I have seen is racks of headless servers, but one display/keyboard unit that was plugged
to the appropriate server for maintenance when needed, on a table on wheels. And a chair
The servers had low end graphical cards, or integrated hardware.
And of course, this is perhaps easier on Linux, but I can not imagine setting up a Windows
server without a head during installation (OT perhaps, but I’m curious).
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
Contradictio in terminis IMHO rotfl!
