1748171 Members
4051 Online
108758 Solutions
New Discussion юеВ

Re: Access hpux remotely

 
coollllllllllll
Regular Advisor

Access hpux remotely

Hi ,

I need to access hpux servers kept at Y location.

What we do is take a remotedesktop of windows kept in Y location , and from there we take putty sessions .

 

Recently smethg went wrong and all our putty sessions got disconnected , some terminla license error.

Whats alternate way of accessing ?????

We do this to avoid link disruptions in case our windows get disconnected .

24 REPLIES 24
Matti_Kurkela
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

In ancient times, before the rise of the Internet, HP-UX licensing used to be based on the number of serial terminals connected to it. As time passed on, serial terminals become obsolete for regular users, and HP decided that all the remote access connections through the network, by whatever means, would be counted as a single "user" for licensing purposes.

 

From that point on, a "two-user license" was the standard for HP-UX: one user for the system console, and another for all the users logging in through the network. For those rare situations where serial ports were still used, HP offered an "unlimited-user license". Eventually, HP provided the unlimited-user licenses for HP-UX 10.20 and 11.00 as a free download; all the HP-UX versions after that allowed "unlimited users" by default.

 

So, if your HP-UX system really shows you error messages about terminal licensing, it might mean that something ancient and forgotten has awakened in your server, making demands of things long thought abolished. Now, the system administrator needs to find the legendary System Console, and use it to find out what exactly caused this nameless monster to awaken. If the cause can be found, the brave sysadmin just might be able to send the beast back to its timeless sleep, to dream about the era of the rule of modem lines and serial ports.

MK
Bill Hassell
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

So is there a reason that you can't use PuTTY directly to the remote systems?

Using a remote desktop seems a bit clumsy.

 

...some terminal license error...

 

This is missing some very important details:

 

-- What version of HP-UX are you running?

    Did this error come from HP-UX?

    Or from the PuTTY window?

    Or from the remote console session?

    Or from your own PC?

 

-- What PuTTY connection are you using:

     telnet?

     ssh?

     port tunneling and you are really running Xwindows?

 

What does syslog.log show on the remote HP-UX system?

 

Finally, since these are remote (I assume with no local operator to walk into the computer room), do you have the console connection setup as well as one or more HP-UX ports?



Bill Hassell, sysadmin
Robert_Jewell
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

MK - very nice!

 

 

-Bob

----------------
Was this helpful? Like this post by giving me a thumbs up below!
coollllllllllll
Regular Advisor

Re: Access hpux remotely

Hi ,

 

We are accessing hpux servers remotely , becoz we cannot aceess them directly .

REason is we have vvimp eod processes which run at night and all are front end jobs , if our link goes down then we will have to restore everything and hence to avoid the same we are using windows remote desktop to server in same LAN and from there we take ssh of our hpux server.

Even if we loose our link , we still have these sesions connected and programs running on windows session , whenevr the link is restored.

 

Terminal license eror was seen on windows box , whose remote session we take .  

 

We need a different method of accessing hpux servers kept in "Y location "  , which must also take this link into picture.

 

We take remote from win xp client machines to win 2003 server remote desktop sessions.

and from which we take ssh if hpux servrs 11iv2.

Torsten.
Acclaimed Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

Do you have more details about this

>> some terminla license error. ???



I understand you first connect to a local windows host, just in case the line from your location to the server location gets disconnected, right? So in this case the ssh session between hp-ux and windows is still alive, even if your remote desktop to windows got disconnected.

Any ssh client is still the way to go.

Hope this helps!
Regards
Torsten.

__________________________________________________
There are only 10 types of people in the world -
those who understand binary, and those who don't.

__________________________________________________
No support by private messages. Please ask the forum!

If you feel this was helpful please click the KUDOS! thumb below!   
Matti_Kurkela
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

My earlier answer seemed to suffer from an overdose of H.P. Lovecraft literature. Sorry about that.

 

If you are maintaining HP-UX servers in a distant location, you will really want to have some way to access the system console. Otherwise you will be helpless if there is a major issue that causes the system boot to stop in single-user mode, or just prevents the sshd daemon from starting. In those situations, if you don't have console access, you must send someone with appropriate skills to visit the system physically.

 

Pretty much all currently-supported HP-UX hardware now have a management processor: a GSP, MP, or iLO MP.
These are all separate network interfaces that have their own tiny processor, which can allow console connections even if the main server has completely crashed - or even turned off, as long as the PSUs are still receiving power. Essentially, the console will have its own IP address, completely separate from the IP address(es) of the rest of the server.

 

Through the management processor, you can remotely control the server's power switch and TOC button, so you will be able to remotely force the system to make a crash dump and reboot, even if the server OS is totally hung.

 

GSP is the oldest type of management processor. Depending on exact version, it may allow only telnet connections, or telnet + web-console connections with poor encryption. These must be connected to a network segment that is protected from outsider traffic.

 

MP and iLO MP are newer management processors. They can support real SSL-secured web console connections and even SSH (an optional license code may be required to activate all features). Even so, exposing these management processors to Internet unprotected is still not recommended, as there have been firmware bugs that can cause the MP to lock up when port-scanned or otherwise probed, possibly denying the console access when you really need it.

 

GSPs must always be initially configured and enabled using a serial connection to the local system console port; MPs may use DHCP by default, so you may able to have someone plug a network cable in and then connect using a default password. (The default passwords are well-known, so you should always change them if you connect the GSP/MP to network.)

 

Either the Installation Guide or the User Guide for your server model(s) should include the GSP/MP cabling instructions and set-up steps.

 

For older HP-UX hardware, you may need an external device for making the system console port network-accessible: some advanced network KVMs may offer this functionality, or you can buy dedicated "serial device servers" specifically for this purpose. I've sometimes used Moxa NPort serial device servers: they work well, but are somewhat expensive. You may be able to find cheaper equivalents (recommendations, anyone?).

 

MK
Bill Hassell
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

Serial console server products are available from:

 

Avocent
Cyclades
Digi International
Lantronix
Logical Solutions
MRV Communications
Raritan Computer
 
I've used Cyclades and Raritan. But these boxes are only for systems such as the T, K, or D-series where no LAN console exists. Otherwise use LAN-based console connections.
 
I strongly support Matti's recommendation about an isolated subnet. These maintenance ports are not HP-UX, they are fixed code in small memory-based environments, seldom updated (even when there are fixes available) in production systems. I would expand the isolated network to every appliance (routers, switches, tape changers, etc) console. Don't connect them to a general network. Put a bridge system in the middle with lots of security to provide access. Linux or HP-UX are ideal in this role.
 
I would not recommend using a Windows box and remote desktop access. The terminal licensing error is from the Windows environment and remote desktap/terminal services is 100x more complicated (network traffic) than ssh or telnet access. I would revisit the issues that prevent you from using a simple text access method. The console is the last step in getting a problem server running -- it should be the simplest and most reliable.


Bill Hassell, sysadmin
coollllllllllll
Regular Advisor

Re: Access hpux remotely

Hi ,

 

Only Mr. Torsten has understood my requirement :-)

We do have lan console enabled for all of our servers.

 

Ssh client u mean cygwin or something right ? or any specific client which will meet my requirement .

Bill Hassell
Honored Contributor

Re: Access hpux remotely

The most common ssh and telnet client is PuTTY:    PuTTY download

 



Bill Hassell, sysadmin