Currently, I have SSH, VNC, and Cockpit setup on my home NAS, but I have run into situations where I lose remote access because I did something stupid to the network connection or some update broke the boot process, causing it to get stuck in the BIOS or bootloader.
I am looking for a separate device that will allow me to not only access the NAS as if I had another keyboard, mouse, and monitor present, but also let’s me power cycle in the case of extreme situations (hard freeze, etc.). Some googling has turned up the term KVM-over-IP, but I was wondering if any of you guys have any trustworthy recommendations.
Check out pikvm: https://pikvm.org/
There are cheaper knockoffs that run the same software. For example: https://geekworm.com/
Thanks!
Maybe?
OP, this is probably your cheapest option. KVMs are NOT cheap, so the $264 dollar price tag on this pre-built one is actually pretty low. If you’re handy with electronics, you can build one yourself for a little over $100. I did it with a Raspberry Pi 4, following this guide: https://github.com/pikvm/pikvm#diy-getting-started
Thanks! Seems like a lot of people here are recommending pikvm as well. I’ll look into it
You could look into mainboards with IPMI. They give you a web based interface to fully control your server, including power management, shell, sensor readings, etc.
Ah, good idea. I’ll look into whether my board has this feature.
Netconsole in u-boot saved me numerous times. Depending on your bootloader of course.
Another fan of pikvm, love mine. I have it plugged into a HDMI switcher so I can control four boxes from one pikvm. It does use some pins so if you wanted to control the power switches you have to do some extra work.
Worth considering if you want to get a UPS at the same time for the NAS, pikvm and any networking you have. Will all last longer with one to avoid random power cuts or surges.
If you need to access it remotely I would strongly suggest getting wireguard or some other reliable VPN setup rather than exposing the web interface to pikvm directly to the internet.
Cool! I’ve never heard of this project but it looks interesting
What’s your budget and is the NAS the only device you need to have KVM for?
Anything below $500 is good. I just need something that’s versatile and also trustworthy.
Search eBay for AVOCENT 16 Port Digital KVM Over IP Switch DSR2020
New Avocent DSRIQ-USB for DSR1020 DSR2020 DSR8020 DSR1021 DSR2161 DSR4161
This is the route I went as well. I have a couple MPU2016s at different sites. Like, u/aodhsishaj indicated, they’re pretty cheap on the used market; just bear in mind that you’ll need a module for each machine. I think this makes sense if you have multiple machines, but I’m not so sure mine can power cycle connected machines (as in with AHCI controls). I can, however, reboot from the command line and interact with BIOS, etc.
Lantronix has a product called Spider, which (several years ago when I used one) works wonders. To the host side it looks like a standard monitor, keyboard, mouse and usb. I’m not quite sure if they still actively develop that, but at least the product page is still available. It’s not cheap, so it might not be what you’re looking for, but I was impressed on what it can do (since the company I worked back then too care of the invoice). It can’t do power cycle or hit reset button, but beyond that it was pretty close to IPMI and other remote server management solutions.
With my own wallet I’d look for piKVM, but it’s not really cheap either and I don’t have any personal experience with it. For power cycle there’s a ton of companies who manufacure wall-warts which you can control over wifi, APC and other big players included, and for home gamers nodeMCU and shelly are solid options if you’re familiar with electronics, but they can’t do KVM over IP, so it might require using different products to remotely accessing the host and for power management.
Thanks! The piKVM does look very interesting, and its open source nature gives me more piece of mind too.
