Using a laptop as an external monitor and keyboard for a server

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Is there a way to use an old laptop as an external keyboard and monitor for my rack servers?

Best Answer

From a hardware perspective, there is no straightforward way to do that. The video ports on most laptops are outputs, not inputs, and you can't reverse that. The keyboard/mouse ports are inputs, not outputs. Most USB controllers inside your server and laptop will fight over devices connected to the same bus, so attaching them via a hub is also not practical.

  1. Use some remote desktop/vnc/X-terminal (but of course, why do you even need to be in the server room?)
  2. If your system has a serial port and a boot management processor (like iLO) you can connect directly to the BSP, which will then generally let you get a terminal session on the server. This is true for both *nix-ish and Windows systems. HP Integrity servers tend to have this capability.
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