Note:

Create Serial Console Access for Oracle Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure

Introduction

We are pleased to announce the general availability (GA) of the virtual machine (VM) serial console access for Oracle Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure. Customers can enable a serial console connection to each individual virtual machine, access the virtual serial console via SSH (proxy and hypervisor), and terminate the serial console when the required actions have been completed.

Note: This feature is intended for accessing the serial console of the VM in case a need arises for emergency debugging. Use cases include accessing GRUB to fix boot issues or accessing the VM when SSH access is unavailable. Typical reasons for this access include accidentally changed or deleted keys, killed or stuck processes, firewall issues on the VM, and so on.

Objectives

Prerequisites

Task 1: Create a Serial Console Connection

  1. Log in to the OCI Console, navigate to Oracle Database and Oracle Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure.

    Image showing OCI Console Navigation

  2. Select the Region and Compartment that contains your VM cluster.

  3. Click Exadata VM Clusters and the name of the VM cluster that contains the virtual machine for which you want to create the serial console connection.

    Image showing Selected VM Cluster

  4. Under Resources, click Virtual Machines.

    Image showing Virtual Machines

  5. Click the name of the virtual machine to open the virtual machine details page. Each virtual machine has its own details page.

    Image showing selected virtual machine

    The virtual machine details page displays information about the selected virtual machine.

    Image showing virtual machine details page

  6. Under Resources, click Console connection and Create console connection.

    Image showing vm cluster details page

  7. In the Create serial console connection window, add your SSH key to facilitate user access to the virtual serial console of the virtual machine and click Create console connection.

    Image showing Create console connection page to Add SSH key

    The console connection will now be provisioned. When the console connection has been created and is available, the state changes from Creating to Active.

    Image showing console connection state of creating

    Image showing console connection state of active

Task 2: Access the Serial Console Connection using SSH

  1. Once the serial console connection is created and available, copy the SSH string. To copy the SSH string, click the Actions menu (three dots), and select one from the available options.

    Image showing console connection copy SSH string options

    The serial console is now ready for your use. You can connect by pasting the generated SSH string directly in your local client terminal window.

    Image showing serial console connection access on terminal

Task 3: Delete the Serial Console Connection for a Virtual Machine

  1. In the virtual machine details page: Under Resources, click Console connection. To delete the serial console connection, click the Actions menu (three dots) and Delete.

    Image showing the option to delete serial console connection

  2. Click Delete and confirm.

    Image showing the option to delete serial console connection

    Image showing the option to delete serial console connection

Acknowledgments

More Learning Resources

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