[plug] laptop screen/keyboard/mouse 2 control the server?

[Craig Ringer]

somewhereintime wrote:
> howdy pluggers...
> 
> Just wondering if it's possible that i could use a laptop
> screen/keyboard/mouse as if that server had a monitor/keyboard/mouse, to
> control the server?

If you want it to work at the hardware level, so that you can access the 
BIOS etc, then I'm not aware of any laptop with that ability. The laptop 
would need some funky onboard hardware to do the VGA conversion for 
display on the LCD, plus it'd need to be able to somehow permit the 
server to see the keyboard and mouse as direct PS/2 devices.

It sounds to me like what you really want is a console unit like you get 
  for 19" racks. They're usually laptop-like, in the sense that they 
provide a built-in mouse and keyboard plus an LCD and work as you describe.

The alternative, as suggested by Michael Holland, is to use remote X (or 
SSH, VNC, or RDP) to access the server. This won't do you much good 
until the networking is up, of course.

If you only need text access, I'd suggest using a null-modem cable (a 
PC<->PC serial cable). Easy and reliable. Good server boards let you 
access the server over the serial port for BIOS access etc, but if you 
only have a basic board you'll only be able to use the serial console 
once Linux boots. You'd need to boot your server with 
'console=/dev/ttyS0' then use a program like 'minicom' on the laptop. 
You may also need to modify inittab to provide a getty on the serial 
port. There's plenty of info about all this on the 'net.

--
Craig Ringer