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CHAPTER 9: POWER, ENVIRONMENT AND DIGITAL I/O
Black Box console servers manage Remote Power Control devices (RPCs including PDUs and IPMI devices) and Uninterruptible Power
Supplies (UPSes). They also monitor remote operating environments using Environmental Monitoring Devices (EMDs) and sensors, and
can provide digital I/O control.
9.1 REMOTE POWER CONTROL (RPC)
The console server Management Console monitors and controls Remote Power Control (RPC) devices using the embedded
PowerMan and Network UPS Tools open source management tools and Black Box’s power management software. RPCs include
power distribution units (PDUs) and IPMI power devices.
Serial PDUs invariably can be controlled using their command line console, so you could manage the PDU through the console
server using a remote Telnet client. You could also use proprietary software tools supplied by the vendor. This generally runs on a
remote Windows PC and you could configure the console server serial port to operate with a serial COM port redirector in the PC
(as detailed in Chapter 5).
Similarly, network-attached PDUs can be controlled with a browser (with SDT as detailed in Section 7.3) or an SNMP management
package or using the vendor supplied control software. Servers and network-attached appliances with embedded IPMI service
processors or BMCs invariably are supplied with their own management tools (like SoL) that provide secure management when
connected using SDT Connector.
For simplicity, all these devices can now all be controlled through the one window using the Management Console’s RPC remote
power control tools.
9.1.1 RPC CONNECTION
Serial and network connected RPCs must first be connected to, and configured to communicate with, the console server.
For serial RPCs, connect the PDU to the selected serial port on the console server.
Navigate to Serial & Network > Serial Port.
Configure the Common Settings of that port with the RS232 properties etc required by the PDU (see Section 5.1.1).
Select RPC as the Device Type.
Similarly for each network connected RPC, go to Serial & Network > Network Hosts and configure the RPC as a connected Host by
specifying its Device Type as RPC.
Click Apply.
