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Comment by amelius | Hacker News Reader

I have a nice project idea: build a replacement for HP's iLO (integrated lights out) system. Basically, all it needs to do is provide remote power and reset buttons for a server. An advanced version could also provide a remote keyboard, mouse, video, and port for an USB stick. The main reason why I'd want this is because HP's support system is a mess, iLO is expensive, and restricted to HP servers.

I think it could be done with a Raspberry Pi, and hopefully with minimal soldering inside the server itself.

View on HN

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/658903329/remoteboot-wi...

https://www.crowdsupply.com/ben-wang/remoteboot

I've created a successful Kickstarter project doing exactly this ;)

Uses a ESP8266 chip and has the basic version of what you described

That's nice.

However, I'd need it to be open-source, because connecting it to a HP Proliant server is probably not trivial (these beasts have two power supplies). Also, I need it to work over ethernet.

Not Ethernet but open-source: https://github.com/festlv/esp-power-control

The minimal version doesn't even require a CPU. All you'd need is a way to tap the audio from a phone and a DTMF decoder, a couple of latches for the PIN and two 5V reed relays to activate the buttons. If you want to do it using a CPU you could probably get by with a PIC chip, a simple AD converter and the two reed relays.

A Raspberry Pi would be so overpowered it is almost comical, but then again, for the money it is still a great solution.

Can't you do this with the notorious Intel ME?

My understanding is that Intel ME has security issues.

IPMI implementations also have issues.

Ideas have little value.

every valuable project starts with an idea though.

So does every worthless project. Valuable projects always have some initial action taken to make the idea a reality.

Initial action, like sharing the idea with a knowledgeable community in an appropriate moment (like here, now), to gather feedback on both usefulness to other people and viability of the proposed path of execution.

Talk is cheap, executing is valuable/hard/scary.

Before investing in execution, why wouldn't you weight it up with cheap talk? You think people should dive into execution straight away without forethought?

I would? I never said not to do that. I'm agreeing with GP that ideas are not very valuable.

Ok, so all projects start with an idea. What is your point then?

That it's easy to have an idea, and I wouldn't count it as when I started a project.

The post you originally responded to didn't seem to "count" anything, so what is your point in mentioning this? It was a idea with not much worth, as yet, but your own response has as little worth, but less potential.

It seems you just negged them for no reason.

Just keep discussing ideas, exploring and sharing them, working through the feedback etc.

Good luck!

Your post?

> every valuable project starts with an idea though

It's a tautology which adds nothing to the understanding of the reader: of course every valuable project starts with an idea, just like every great human being started with an ejaculation. I wouldn't let someone use that fact to justify cranking their hog, much less telling me all about it.

I apologise for making you feel like I was attacking that post for no reason. I intended to point out that I thought it was an empty statement which brought me no insight or enlightenment and didn't help me change my mind on the worth of ideas (in a vacuum).

All idle dreaming starts with an idea too.

Execution beats talking about ideas for sure, but having ideas beats having nothing at all.

True, they make you feel good.

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