After a couple of first tests, it appeared that vergeltung.ffii.org was running pretty well already. However, as it seems, there still have to be some tests with the GPIO functionality. The cable which was attached to the reset button may cause major problems when power is switched on via gpioctl. This can be solved by the use of a resistant.
The purpose of vergeltung.ffii.org is to create a remote reset and console solution for the server vic.ffii.org, which was meanwhile upgraded to Debian Etch. The proceeding is about the following:
If something goes wrong on vic, it should be possible to ssh into vergeltung and get a serial console. Using this console, it should also be possible to modify BIOS settings et al. However, there is still a lack of a remote reset solution.
This solution is provided by GPIO. GPIO provides a simple interface to short-circuit a jumper on demand, exactly like a reset button. Thus, one can ssh into vergeltung and do a quick
% gpioctl 1 1; sleep 1; gpioctl 1 0
This will have the effect of pushing the reset button: vic.ffii.org will be rebooted. At the same time, the booting problem will also be resolved: vic.ffii.org didn't boot with the old kernel unless the serial port FIFO was filled from the terminal side. Thus, one always had to type ahead in order to get through the kernel boot.