Re: Console Locking Up

[Joe Votour <vulture@vulturesnest.net>]

Hmmm, interesting indeed...  I had the Omniview Pro 8-port model, which 
allowed for chaining up to seven more units (I really only needed four 
ports, but couldn't find a four port switch at Fry's).  And this is no 
lower-end switch - it cost $400 (or is that lower end for an eight-port 
switch?)

For some reason, I'm convinced (at least in my case) that the problem 
was the switch in resolution and frequency, since it didn't show up 
until I ran X on one of the machines (or boot up Windows).  Another 
thing that changed results (every now and then) was to play with the 
timing on the switch (how often it did keyboard scans, that kind of 
thing), but I was never able to get it working reliably.

Of course, I also didn't have the high quality cables required for 
running at 1600x1200, so I got some nasty banding on the screen, even 
with using a Matrox G400 Pro.

Regardless, I've managed to live with just using SSH to communicate 
with the servers.

Joe

On Sun, 03 Sep 2000, you wrote:
> While I can't dispute the behavior of a KVM for other people, I've
> been using an Omniview SE with Win2k, OpenBSD 2.6 & 2.7, and BeOS
> without any problems -- in fact, my uptime on OpenBSD can be measured
> by length of time from the last release.  My current setup is 1
> OpenBSD 2.7 always in X, 1 OpenBSD 2,7 always in console, and 2 Win2k
> boxes.  I use an Intellimouse Explorer with the USB-PS2 adapter, and
> a regular PS2 keyboard.  I realize this doesn't solve anyone's
> problem, but I hate to see a good KVM unfairly maligned :)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Wingate [mailto:srwingat@gte.net]
> Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2000 12:07 AM
> To: Joe Votour; tony@themail.com
> Cc: misc@openbsd.org
> Subject: RE: Console Locking Up
>
>
>
> I'm inclined to believe it is the KVM also. If you search thru the
> archives for this topic almost everyone mentions that they have a KVM
> swith in the mix, usually a lower end one.
> I currently have Win2K Pro, Mandrake 7.1/Win98 dualboot and OpenBSD
> 2.7 all on a Belkin OmniView SE (FD104). I have had my OpenBSD box
> lock up so many times I replaced my NICs and even swapped motherboard
> and cpu's. In my case I was initially able to solve it by running xdm
> on OpenBSD. However now it seems the console locks then the NICs stop
> responding to remote sessions soon afterwards.
> You might try using xdm; giving the OpenBSD box it's own mouse; or
> taking it off the KVM altogether. If the last one solves it, and I
> believe it will, you'll have your answer.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-misc@openbsd.org [mailto:owner-misc@openbsd.org]On Behalf
> Of Joe Votour
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2000 10:57 AM
> To: tony@themail.com
> Cc: misc@openbsd.org
> Subject: Re: Console Locking Up
>
>
> Tony,
>
> Actually, I'd be willing to bet that it is the KVM switch, as I've
> had very similar problems with them.  When I was doing networking
> setup for my company's booth at E3 this year, we had a bunch of PC's
> in the back running various game servers, connected via a KVM switch
> (one made by Belkin that handles up to 8 connections).  I had many
> Windows PC's and an OpenBSD PC (running OpenBSD 2.6), and although
> all of the Windows PC's were fine (running Windows 98 and NT 4.0),
> the OpenBSD machine would mysteriously lock up on the console.  It
> was still accepting SSH connections, but the console was dead, and
> resetting the switch didn't do anything.
>
> At home, I have four PC's, and decided to get a KVM switch.  Here at
> home I have three OpenBSD 2.7 machines, and one Linux/Windows 98
> (dual boot) PC.  In this case, things were fine when I stuck to the
> console only, but as soon as I ran X Windows on the Linux box, the
> OpenBSD boxes wouldn't take input on the console.
>
> I returned the darn switch and decided to run my OpenBSD boxes
> headless (although I'd love to have a KVM switch, as things would be
> MUCH easier).  I haven't tried FreeBSD on a KVM switch, so I can't
> comment on that, but that's my experience.
>
> Joe
>
> On Sat, 02 Sep 2000, you wrote:
> > > I'm running OpenBSD 2.6-STABLE, and I'm experiencing wierd
> > > console
> >
> > locking problems. If I a) login via console and don't interact with
> > the system through the console, I find it locks up, or if I don't
> > login for a long time, the console stops responding. The system
> > still works (ie ssh, ftp, dns -- its my router/firewall system),
> > it's just the console locking I have a problem with. The machine
> > itself is a Dell OptiPlex GXi (Pentium 166 with 64 megs of ram),
> > and it is on a KVM switch. I seriously doubt it's the kvm switch
> > thats the problem, because I also have a linux and FreeBSD box
> > connected to it, and no problems there. If anyone has a solution or
> > maybe an idea, please email me back.
> >
> > --------------------------------
> > Tony Lambiris [tony@themail.com]
> > OpenBSD: Because I care. [www.openbsd.org]
> > --------------------------------
> > __________________________________________________________________
> > Make A Buck Or Two @ TheMail.com - Free Internet Email
> > Sign-up today at http://www.themail.com/ref.htm?ref=10950

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