> Maybe I missed it, but what device is on the other end of the COM connection? His router? The plan was to use a Raspberry Pi to access the two PCs (via USB-t

> Maybe I missed it, but what device is on the other end of the COM connection? His router? The plan was to use a Raspberry Pi to access the two PCs (via USB-to-serial adapters), though he hasn't made it to that point yet ("I have not used it for this project yet, but it is still in my plans."). Right now, the two PCs are just connected to each other, back-to-back. > What's the reason against SSH'ing from the gateway to the servers instead of the physical COM connection? I would assume that he does just use SSH -- under normal circumstances. It's when SSH access isn't available that access via the serial console would be used -- such as the network connection being down or b0rked, when the kernel (or required) modules failed to boot/build/load properly, a bad firewall change has locked you out, and so on. This method even provides access to the bootloader. If your BIOS supports "console redirection" (to a serial port), you also gain access to the BIOS, can watch the startup (POST) process, or even change the boot device -- in order to fire off a kickstart installation, for example. He mentioned that his PCs don't have ILO/DRAC/IPMI, so this is his backup solution. -- remember that his machines are headless.