Scenario: Consoles for multiple systems or partitions

Your company owns an IBM® i product, and you want to use the PC to manage your system. You need to manage multiple systems or partitions from one console. You have a secured network that you can configure your console on.

For this scenario, configure a local console on a network.

Advantages

• You can configure a single PC to be the console for several different systems or partitions as long as they are connected to the service connection network. A maximum of 26 consoles can be active at a time, but you might have a virtually unlimited number of configurations.
• The administrator does not need to be physically near the system to manage the console.
• Security features are available to protect your console connections.
• A local console on a network is the connectivity of choice for partitions in an LPAR environment.
• Multiple PCs can be configured as a console to a system or partition, but only one PC can act as an active console at a time.

Disadvantages

• No console is available when a network failure takes place unless a backup console is available. Configure a twinaxial console for backup.
• Your system requires a separate LAN card to be used by the console or other service tools.