Serial over LAN

One of the powerful tools in IPMI is SOL, which provides serial line access over the management LAN. The BMC micro-controller embedded on the server system board does this by redirecting information destined for the serial port over to the LAN. With SOL console redirection, system administrators can remotely view the text-based console on their remote servers from anywhere and perform any task that does not require a GUI.

Transporting serial data over IP networks using telnet, serial over IP, SOL and the likes is the way forward for server serial communications. Just as the KVM function in embedded service processors is displacing the need for external KVM appliances, so the SOL capability of BMCs and console redirection in service processors is reducing the need for serial console servers for server console management.