Member Avatar for satimis

Hi folks,


Any advice on setup of remote hard reboot/reset on colocated server. TIA


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satimis

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Short summary and practical plan for a colocated "hard" reboot (power-cycle): 's suggestions cover graceful, in-OS restarts and the Windows remote-management route, which work when the OS is responsive. For a true hard reboot (server not responding, hung kernel, NIC down, etc.) rely on out-of-band hardware control — a server BMC (iLO/DRAC/IPMI), a network-switched PDU, or an IP‑KVM with switched power. If none of those exist, arrange guaranteed remote-hands with the colo provider.

Quick setup checklist before relying on remote power control:

  • Confirm the presence of a dedicated management interface or a switched PDU outlet and document its IP/outlet name.
  • Put management gear on a separate management network or VLAN and give it a static address.
  • Use strong, unique credentials and restrict access by source IP or VPN. Don’t embed plaintext passwords in scripts.
  • Test remote-console (SOL/remote KVM) and a controlled power-cycle during a maintenance window. Label outlets and keep the colo emergency contact updated.

How to perform the hard reboot safely:

  • Always try a graceful restart first (as discussed above). If the OS refuses, use the BMC or the PDU to do a power-cycle so the machine loses and regains AC power. Example (replace placeholders and avoid storing secrets in cleartext):
    ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -U <user> -P <pass> power cycle

    If using a switched PDU, use its web/SNMP/SSH interface to toggle the specific outlet.

Cautions and troubleshooting notes:

  • Forced power-cycles can cause filesystem corruption, trigger RAID rebuilds, or leave the box halted at POST/BIOS. Have remote-console access to watch boot, and keep a local contact for hands-on tasks the hardware can’t do remotely. Log every power-cycle, monitor for repeat hangs, and investigate temperature/PSU/ECC and firmware issues if problems recur.

Minimum recommended configuration for colocated servers: one BMC-enabled NIC (or equivalent remote console) + one switched PDU outlet + documented remote-hands plan with the colo provider.

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Member Avatar for Michael_Knight

Id suggest getting

Or if you don't want to buy a product, create a shortcut on the server with this path SHUTDOWN /L /R /T:10 /Y /C - then on the other machine, map a network drive to that shourcut on the server. When you want to reboot, just double click the shortcut.

The server will reboot in 10 seconds, for a longer time change T:10 to T:30 for 20 seconds. You might want to create another shortcut to cancel the reboot too, same steps as above except the shortcut path will be SHUTDOWN /A.

To create a shortcut, right click the desktop and select New > Shortcut. Path SHUTDOWN /L /R /T:10 /Y /C click Next > Finish.

Or the easiest way...

1. Right-click My Computer and select Manage.

2. On the Action menu, press Connect to another computer ....

3. Double-click a computer in the list or enter IP address (you will need to log in when prompted)

4. Right-click Computer Management (<Name>) and press Properties.

5. On the Advanced tab, press Startup and Recovery.

6. Press the Shut Down button.

7. Select an Action:

Log off Current User

Shut Down

Restart

Power down (if supported)

8. Select a Force Apps Closed action and press OK.

Member Avatar for John A

I'm going to go ahead and move this thread to the Window Tips 'n' Tweaks forum, as it seems to fit better there. If you think there's a better location, let me know -- I can move it again.

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