Operations

What is Out-of-band console?

Also known as: VNC console, KVM console
Definition

An out-of-band console attaches to a virtual machine's display and keyboard independently of its network connection. It is how a firewall mistake, a broken SSH configuration or a boot failure gets fixed without a support ticket, and how custom ISO installation is performed.

Why Out-of-band console matters

It is how a firewall mistake, a broken SSH configuration or a boot failure gets fixed without a support ticket, and how custom ISO installation is performed.

Out-of-band console in practice

When the network stack is the thing that's broken, you open the out-of-band console and see the machine as if you were sat at a physical display. You look at the boot log, drop to a root shell, edit /etc/network/interfaces or iptables rules, and reboot without ever touching the network path. Get it wrong, and the console itself might be the only way back in; the server may as well be a brick.

What people get wrong about Out-of-band console

People assume the out-of-band console is just a slow remote desktop, and ignore it until the network dies. Correction: it is your independent recovery path, not a convenience. When SSH and the panel's VNC share the same interface, you have no out-of-band access at all.

Out-of-band console — common questions

What is the out-of-band console for?

It's for when your machine won't talk to the network. Boot failures, broken SSH configs, iptables mistakes. You get a VNC console tied to the hardware virtualisation, not the guest's network, so you can see the boot process and fix things from outside.

How do I access the out-of-band console?

From the control panel. Log in and open the console for that instance. It's presented as a VNC session into the virtual display. No SSH needed. You get the same view a physical monitor would show.

More from operations

SLA
An SLA is a contractual commitment to a service level, usually availability, with defined compensation when it is missed.
Custom ISO
Custom ISO support lets you upload an installer image and boot the instance from it, rather than choosing from a fixed template list.
Terraform
Terraform declares infrastructure in configuration files and reconciles the real environment against them.
Seedbox
A seedbox is a server dedicated to downloading and seeding torrents at high speed, typically with large storage and a fast uplink.
Control panel
A control panel is a web interface for administering servers, websites, mail and databases — cPanel, DirectAdmin, CyberPanel and similar.
Provisioning
Provisioning is the process of creating, configuring and delivering a server so that it is ready to use.