I am interested installing Windows 2003 on a headless server (Dell PowerVault 715N) with no CD-ROM drive and want to know if RIS will work for me. The server redirects the BIOS output to a serial port until the OS or PXE image starts the boot process. Once the boot process starts the redirection gets turned off and I will have no I/O access to the server until Windows is installed. I have experiance making fully unattended CDs but never used RIS before.

Assuming you can press F12 to boot and replace startrom.com, you should be OK. I'd still recommend using the ILO board if you have one, otherwise it'll be tricky.

I have a lower end Dell PowerVault (I forget the model but it sounds similar). There are two PS2 ports on the back and I have it hooked into a Compaq 8 way KVM. It's billed as a "headless" NAS device, but I think that really just means that it's capable of running headless and Dell intends for you to manage it via the web package they run with IIS. Mine came with Windows 2000 for Appliances, which is essentially Windows 2000 Advanced Server.

Anyhow, it'll PXE boot just fine. I actually had to do that once in order to restore it to it's original state when it crashed beyond repair. What you may want to do is get Windows 2003 loaded up into a RIS image and experiment some with VMware first. Then when you get it how you want it, give it a whirl on the PowerVault.

I wish I could use a DRAC card but there isn't one available for this unit. The 715N was Dell's first Windows based appliance and I guess thay didn't realize how important a local console is (the only ports on this unit is a serial port and 2 ethernet ports). The next model (725N) has PS/2, VGA, and bootable USB ports.

The usual method for reinstalling is to download a floppy image with ghost and network support.

Does the BIOS have an option for console redirection over the serial port permanently, or is it just for the BIOS boot process? If it's the latter, it seems really silly...

I realize that this is a long shot, but do you happen to have KVM over IP capability?