Users Guide

● All the individual keys (not a combination of different keys, but a single key stroke) are always sent to the managed system.
This includes all the Function keys, Shift, Alt, Ctrl key and Menu keys. Some of these keys affect both management station
and managed system.
For example, if the management station and the managed system is running Windows operating system, and Pass All Keys is
disabled, when you press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, the Start menu opens on both management station and
managed system. However, if Pass All Keys is enabled, then the Start menu is opened only on the managed system and not
on the management station.
● When Pass All Keys is disabled, the behavior depends on the key combinations pressed and the special combinations
interpreted by the operating system on the management station.
Java based virtual console session running on Linux operating system
The behavior mentioned for Windows operating system is also applicable for Linux operating system with the following
exceptions:
● When Pass all keystrokes to server is enabled, <Ctrl+Alt+Del> is passed to the operating system on the managed system.
● Magic SysRq keys are key combinations interpreted by the Linux Kernel. It is useful if the operating system on the
management station or the managed system freezes and you need to recover the system. You can enable the magic SysRq
keys on the Linux operating system using one of the following methods:
○ Add an entry to /etc/sysctl.conf
○ echo "1" > /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq
●
When Pass all keystrokes to server is enabled, the magic SysRq keys are sent to the operating system on the managed
system. The key sequence behavior to reset the operating system, that is reboot without un-mounting or sync, depends on
whether the magic SysRq is enabled or disabled on the management station:
○ If SysRq is enabled on the management station, then <Ctrl+Alt+SysRq+b> or <Alt+SysRq+b> resets the management
station irrespective of the system’s state.
○ If SysRq is disabled on the management station, then the <Ctrl+Alt+SysRq+b> or <Alt+SysRq+b>keys resets the
operating system on the managed system.
○ Other SysRq key combinations (example, <Alt+SysRq+k>, <Ctrl+Alt+SysRq+m>, and so on) are passed to the managed
system irrespective of the SysRq keys enabled or not on the management station.
Using SysRq magic keys through remote console
You can enable SysRq magic keys through the remote console using any of the following:
● Opensoure IPMI tool
● Using SSH/Telnet or External Serial Connector
Using opensource IPMI tool
Make sure that BIOS/iDRAC settings supports console redirection using SOL.
1. At the command prompt, run the SOL activate command:
Ipmitool –I lanplus –H <ipaddr> -U <username> -P <passwd> sol activate
The SOL session is activated.
2. After the server boots to the operating system, the localhost.localdomain login prompt appears. Log in using the
operating system user name and password.
3. If SysRq is not enabled, enable using echo 1 >/proc/sys/kernel/sysrq.
4. Run break sequence ~B.
5. Use the SysRq magic key to enable the SysRq function. For example, the following command displays the memory
information on the console:
echo m > /proc/sysrq-trigger displays
Configuring and using virtual console
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