Rudi Ahlers wrote:
> I do agree that a KVM is a good option, but also found that a properly
configured server never needs it.
ANY server ALWAYS need it. Simply because it can fail and you might need
to access the BIOS to disable an HDD, or simply reboot the server, or
again boot on a diagnostic server. Now that I use KVMs everywhere, I
just feel I'm BLIND when I don't have one, and I hate the feeling.
Well, each to his own, I suppose :) I don't really sit and work on
servers every moment of the day :)
It's not something you sit at very much at all. We've just rebuilt
the server room at work, and although we've got lots of stuff
virtualised (so virtual desktops and stuff), we've still put in a KVM
so we can access the consoles of any box. We don't use it much, in
fact it can go many weeks without being used, but when it is used ...
it's essential.
I couldn't imagine not having the option of getting at the server console.
What saving are we talking about here? 100 USD per server wont make your
accountant have a heart attack ... But loosing precious time can make
your customers run away.
Well, with a KVM, I meant that I would need to sit and fix the
problem, or pay a tech's salary to sit and fix the problem. It's
more than often cheaper to pay the IDC to manage the servers, since
time is valuable to me.
Time is valuable to everyone. The question is, have you actually
saved anything by using the hosting providers support staff ? Rather
than access the server and see for yourself, you've had to instruct
them to do something, wait for them to respond, and then work out
what the results mean.
In this case, you've come to this list for advice, and then you have
to go back to the hosting support staff, explain to them what to do,
and wait to find out what's happened.
If it costs you income (either directly from discounting customers
hosting fees, or indirectly from losing customer goodwill and
possibly losing their custom) then the time taken has probably cost
more than adding remote access would have cost.
That's my 2d worth on the subject.
Anyway, it's your hosting not ours - so your choice.
--
Simon Hobson
Visit http://www.magpiesnestpublishing.co.uk/ for books by acclaimed
author Gladys Hobson. Novels - poetry - short stories - ideal as
Christmas stocking fillers. Some available as e-books.
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