conserver/conserver

# $Id: README,v 4.1 91/06/19 15:23:03 ksb Exp $
#

The general idea...

 The idea is you have a big network.  You have several machines whose consoles
 you want to access remotely.  You connect the console lines of these machines
 to serial ports on another machine, which runs the server half of this
 software.  Then you can use the client program to get at the consoles from
 anywhere in the network.  It also provides log file of the consoles and
 an operator stream.


Who will help me?

 Send questions, comments, and bug reports to:
	ksb@cc.purdue.edu  (Kevin S Braunsdorf)
	fine@cis.ohio-state.edu (Tom Fine)

Permissions needed to run this?

 The console server does not need to be run as root.  As long as it
 has permission to write to all the log files, any id will be fine.
 Keep in mind, though, that log files occasionally end up with
 sensitive data in them (like root passwords when people don't watch
 for the pasword prompt).


Console server process management.

 The conserver (usually) ends up running several process: one master and
 several children.  Each of the children is responsible for some of the
 consoles.  Occasionally, we've had problems with one of the children becoming
 "stuck" in one sense or another.  To make dealing with this easier here
 is the plan:

 1.  If you need to restart everything, run
	console -q
     which will terminate the console server on all master hosts.

 2.  If you need to restart on one host, killing the master process (on
     that host) with a SIGTERM (the default for kill) will tell the master
     process to kill everything (including itself).

 3.  If any child dies, the master process will start another one to replace
     it.  So if you have a process which is "stuck" it is easy to restart.
     {Send it a TERM and let conserver respawn it.}

 4.  If a console is spewing trash use the down (`d') command to make the
     server ignore it.  Use the reopen (`o') command to restore it to
     working order.

 5.  If all else fails get a real tty on a cart and push it to the poor
     machine :-).  [Keep one handy -- we don't claim this software is
     any better than any other *FREE* product.]


Log file time stamping

 We use a simple script like stamper.sh, which we start from rc.local, to
 time-stamp the files from all the machines that don't do this already.
 Using this script has the advantage over crontab entries that it doesn't
 interrupt what is happening on the console, if someone is using it.

 Use
	stamper /usr/adm/target.console /usr/adm/other.console
 to add time stamps to the log file for the `target' and `other' machines.

 [ This stamper script will go away someday soon. -- ksb]

--
"When the head an heart of it finally alope!"
kayessbee, Kevin Braunsdorf, ksb@cc.purdue.edu, pur-ee!ksb, purdue!ksb