[geeks] Looking for a simple user-interface device

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Thu, 25 Apr 2002, David Cantrell wrote:

> > If you've ever used a Cobalt microserver, you know that about the only
> > good feature of the boxen is the LCD/button interface on the front or rear
> > of the unit to facilitate impromptu powerdowns and IP address changes...
> 
> Why not use sudo?

I'm trying to make an Unix newbie-proof system.  That's probably a really
really stupid idea, but I think I can make it work.  I think, though, that
I can insulate the administrator from the nitty-gritties of ipf without
insulting his/her intelligence.  I don't intend on anyone editing ipf
rules through a 7-button LCD interface, but it's part of the overall feel
of the device.

The idea behind the LCD is that $firewall might be located in a colo.  
Now, no offense to Bill's company, but I would -never- -ever- give an
account to the folks[1] in charge of maintaining the customer side of the
NOC there.  That goes double for any account that can power off my system
or do other nasty things and triple for a system that's in charge of
keeping nasties out of my network.

However, rules are rules, and they got to keep a key to the rack.  This
makes the LCD interface useful.  I can tell them to open my rack, and
reboot the server labeled "vhost4.$company.net".

--Jonathan
[1] Except for Matt and Frank, who possess a staggering amount of clue
    for people in what really amounts to tech support / customer service.