VNC + Boot w/o keyboard, video & mouse

[NoOp]

Brian Fahrlander wrote:
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> Clive Menzies wrote:
>> On (14/02/07 16:18), NoOp wrote:
>>> I have several customer located servers (database, print, intranet etc)
>>> located at customer sites. For security purposes & so the customer
>>> employees don't mess with them these machines do not have any keyboards,
>>> video, or mice attached to them. To access the machines I VNC across a
>>> secure VPN (both remotely and locally when on site). They are currently
>>> running Windows, but I am in the process of converting them over to linux.
>>>
>>> In order to make the conversion to linux (Ubuntu) I've been testing a
>>> couple of machines locally & have found that I cannot boot 6.061 without
>>> an attached keyboard or mouse. I can of course boot with a keyboard &
>>> mouse attached and then disconnect them. But that defeats the purpose of
>>> being able to keep the systems isolated from curious hands.
>>>   On the Windows machines if I do an update, I can reboot the machines
>>> remotely via VNC & have them come back up in the proper configuration. I
>>> cannot do this in 6.061.
>>>
>>> I have figured out how to overcome the problem of the 640x480 60hz video
>>> screen default when no video monitor is attached[1], and now wonder if
>>> anyone has any suggestions for doing the same with no keyboard & mouse.
>> 
>> Use ssh to administer the machines from the command line.  There's
>> probably no need to run X on the servers.  You may need to post a bit
>> more about what packages your running on the servers.  
>> 
>> The few programs you are running the easier it is to keep them secure.
>> 
> 
>     Yeah, that's what I do all the time.  Don't forget the "Y" though:
> 
>     ssh -Y username at remotehost
> 
>     When you want to run root-privileged apps, use "sudo appname"
> instead of "sudo -i;appname" because the details won't be right for X.
> 
>     Enjoy!
> - --

Folks, the question is not how I run VNC or access the machine afer it
is booted; it is "how can I boot the machine without an attached
keyboard & mouse".