[TriLUG] machine comparing... possibly OT

[Lee Fickenscher]

On Jul 13, 2006, at 1:00 PM, David McDowell wrote:

> Your virtual machine idea is a keen one... though I don't "yet" have
> the resources for doing such... I will before the year is out.  My
> only problem is location... it has a 9pin serial connection to the
> physical system it monitors... sounds like COM1 will work in the
> virtual machine scenario, but I won't have any hardware close enough
> to it that could do that and other things as well (so as not to waste
> the hardware).  *sigh*

I'm not sure about the actual spec, but I know I've used some pretty  
long serial connections, somewhere up to a couple hundred feet long.  
Now, running a cable for that might be a PITA, though if you have  
cat5 run to that location they make cat5 to serial adapters... just  
make sure you don't plug the other end into your switch :)
You could also use something small, like a VIA EPIA board if you are  
worried about wasting hardware.

-Lee