Sidecar · Out-of-band management
Alive even when the host isn't.
Servers solved this decades ago: an independent management controller that answers even when the machine it manages cannot. Field equipment almost never gets that. The Sidecar brings the same principle to kiosks, terminals, and cabinets, over long-range radio.
The idea
The conversation continues when Windows doesn't.
With independent power and a few hardware signals, the Sidecar keeps watching conditions that do not depend on the operating system or the application. If the host locks up completely, Front Desk can still ask, and still act.
RADIO alive? YES Host heartbeat? NO Power present? YES Host current? PRESENT > HOST_RESET
A watchdog notices the missing heartbeat. The operator sees exactly what failed, not a guess, and can trigger a hardware-level reset or, where wired, control a power relay. The machine reboots, reconnects, and the full Front Desk session resumes.
What it can watch
Signals that don't need an operating system.
- Power-good
- Host heartbeat
- Cabinet door
- Tamper input
- UPS alarm
- Equipment fault
- Modem state
- Relay state
- External sensors
Watchdog
The host proves it is alive with a periodic heartbeat. Silence is a signal, one that reaches you over radio even when nothing else can.
Host reset
A wired reset line or power relay gives Front Desk a last-resort recovery that no crashed operating system can block.
Honest power answers
"Is it plugged in and drawing current?" ends a whole category of guessing before anyone drives to find out.
If you know iDRAC or IPMI from the server room, this is the same job with a different radio: out-of-band management for equipment that lives in the field instead of a rack. Hardware-level actions are configured per installation; your policy decides what the radio may touch.