Building a console server using FreeBSD 4.7

This report summarizes the technology I used to provide a cheap lab console server for Swinburne's Centre for Advanced Internet Architectures (CAIA). The idea is lifted directly from Gregory Bond's FreeBSD.org article on building console servers. My only contribution here is to document a specific configuration used at CAIA - a VIA EPIA ESP5000 'Mainboard' (motherboard), a Stallion Technologies EasyIO 4 port serial card (PCI), and the conserver software package. This report is for the benefit of anyone curious enough to try and replicate our scheme. In a nutshell: We'd like remote console access to a bunch of machines in our server room, Commercial console/terminal servers are rather expensive, FreeBSD supports multi-port serial cards, Purchase a multi-port serial card, Install the free 'conserver' software package: Logs the console outputs of devices attached to our serial ports, Allows interactive access to these device, Voila, we have a console server!