Network Console on Acid

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The Network Console on Acid (NCA) connects a pseudo terminal to the consoles' virtual terminals (/dev/tty0, etc.) on Unix-like platforms, allowing an administrator to remotely login and troubleshoot directly on the system console. It uses a version of OpenSSH that is modified so that one can securely connect to the server. Preferably 'nca' should be started very early in the OS' boot up sequence, as so configured (according to the homepage) "It's the next best thing to a serial console for fixing boot-time problems remotely."

This is used for out-of-band management, where an administrative IP network is available rather than an RS-232 serial link.