Category: Hardware

Hardware

Funny: Change the HP Laserjet ‘ready’ message

To change the 'ready' message of a HP Laserjet, you can use the following script.

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
 
unless (@ARGV) { print "usage: $0 <ip address> \"<message>\"\n" ; exit }
 
my $ip = $ARGV[0];
shift(@ARGV);
chomp $ip;
 
use IO::Socket;
my $socket = IO::Socket::INET->new(
	PeerAddr  => $ip, PeerPort  => "9100",
	Proto     => "tcp", Type      => SOCK_STREAM
	) or die "Could not create socket: $!";
 
print $socket "\e%-12345X\@PJL JOB\n\@PJL RDYMSG DISPLAY=\"@ARGV\"\n\@PJL EOJ\n\e%-12345X\n";

I've used this at the office, with a lot of hilarious reactions from my colleagues. Messages like:

  • Please insert kitten in tray 1
  • Please insert [name of colleague] in tray 1
  • Virus detected
© GeekLabInfo Funny: Change the HP Laserjet 'ready' message is a post from GeekLab.info. You are free to copy materials from GeekLab.info, but you are required to link back to http://www.geeklab.info

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Hardware

Review: Belkin KVM Omniview 5216K

A few months ago I got myself quite an expensive new device: a Belkin Omniview 5216K, model no F1DP216G. With this device, I'm supposed to be able to access the KVM of up to 16 servers. I can install them servers remotely (over PXE or virtual media), configure the system BIOS. All without going to the data center.

This way I can offer a better service on my servers from anywhere in the world.

The specs according to Belkin

  • High-Performance Remote Access Access, switch, view, and control faster than before. Switch from one remote server to another instantly. Quicker performance over Internet and congested networks.
  • Web Browser-Based The Switch allows you to access your KVM switch and all connected servers from any computer connected to the LAN, WAN, or Internet using Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
  • Out of Band--BIOS-Level Access The Switch allows you to remotely access the basic input/output system (BIOS) of your servers to make changes and perform reboots, regardless of network connectivity or server condition.
  • User-Friendly Interface The web-based interface allows you to set up and change the Switch functions quickly and easily through your web browser, without having to install additional software onto your servers.
  • Remote Serial Access The Switch provides support for up to two serial devices, such as a managed power distribution unit (PDU), so you can remotely perform hard reboots of your servers.
  • Virtual Media Technology The Switch provides virtual media support for up to two servers. This allows remote users to copy files for their USB or CD-ROM drive to a target server that may be anywhere in the world.
  • Enhanced Security The IP device provides 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) authentication and password protection to prevent unauthorized access to your servers and protect data transferred over the Internet.
  • Scalable Centralized Management Additional Switches can be added as your data center grows and the entire inventory can be managed under the Belkin Central Access Appliance 5000HQ.
  • Video Resolution The Switch supports video resolutions of up to 1600x1200@75Hz for both local and remote consoles.
  • Flash-Upgradeable Flash upgrades allow you to obtain the latest firmware updates for your Switch. These firmware updates ensure that the Switch is compatible with the latest devices.

My experience with the device

Crashes

Well, let's just say I'm happy I got myself an Ingrasys iPoman 1201 remote power switch as well.

Before I upgraded the KVMs firmware, the devices wasn't usable at all. After the upgrade to the newest firmware, the device got a little better. But still, the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is literaly just minutes. In the last 2 hours, I had to switch off the power several times. And there hasn't been a single time in these 2 hours that I could use the KVM switch for more than 5 minutes without it crashing.

I actually made a shell script to reset the KVM switch. When resetting the switch, I'm pinging it to see if I can reach it again. On the last reset I just did, the device stayed available for only 14 seconds(!!).

Linux
Of course, the device can't handle Linux clients. So I have to run a Windows instance in VMWare player to access the device.

Keys stuck

Update: I almost forgot to mention that I really can't type one sentence without having a key stuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. ARGH!

Conclusion

It's crap. Don't buy one. The idea of KVM-over-IP is great, but if the device locks me out by crashing so often, it's absolutely worthless.

I'm calling Belkin and/or the store as soon as the holidays are over to see if I can return the device.

Update: The thing has now officially died. While starting up, the lights walk to indicate it's initializing. Since yesterday, the initializing never stops. I can't reach it over IP anymore, nor locally by connecting a monitor to the VGA connector...

Update: More news on my broken KVM switch

© GeekLabInfo Review: Belkin KVM Omniview 5216K is a post from GeekLab.info. You are free to copy materials from GeekLab.info, but you are required to link back to http://www.geeklab.info

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Hardware

Find the Dell Service Tag Remotely

Windows with VNC/RDP

If you can login to the computer over VNC or RDP, you can use wmic to find the service tag:
start > run > cmd
On the command line, enter:
wmic bios get serialnumber

Windows without VNC/RDP

If you cannot login to the computer over VNC or RDP, you can still use wmic to find the service tag:
start > run > cmd
On the command line, enter:
wmic /node:computer-name-here bios get serialnumber
You may need to use /user:yourusername and /password:yourpassword to get access to the remote computer. Running wmic /? gives a pretty good manual on what wmic can do.

Other uses of wmic

wmic is a very useful tool for a lot of stuff. For instance wmic csproduct can tell you exactly what model the computer is and wmic nic list shows useful information about your network.

Linux

Under Linux, you can run dmidecode -s system-serial-number to get the serial number. This can be done locally or over ssh.

© GeekLabInfo Find the Dell Service Tag Remotely is a post from GeekLab.info. You are free to copy materials from GeekLab.info, but you are required to link back to http://www.geeklab.info

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...