Broadberry CyberServe AM104S review

The card is virtually unique and not for the best reasons as it doesn't support KVM over IP and can't be accessed via a web browser. Instead, you need to load the TSO (Tyan system operator) software, which comprises two components. The TSO manager provides a conduit between the IPMI card of the managed system and the TSO console which is used to access and manage the server. Tyan removed the in-band Windows agent from v2.0 of TSO.

Having spent much of our time being pampered by HP's iLO2 and Systems Insight, Dell's DRAC and Management Console and IBM's RSA and Systems Manager, we found TSO very short on features. Once you've logged in via an out of band connection, the console displays details of the motherboard sensors and provides a basic event log that can't be linked to email alerts.

Remote power controls are provided so you can switch the server off and on, and reset and cycle it while console redirection allows you to use the SOL (serial over LAN) screen. The only other options are access to the IPMI card's user and password list, and the ability to place managed servers in different groups.

The AM104S offers plenty of hardware for the price, including a good helping of RAID protected SATA storage. Power consumption's reasonably low, but if you want the full works for remote server management then you need to look elsewhere.

Author: Dave Mitchell