USB or Firewire console

[no_hope]

Is it possible to get something like a serial console but by using USB or Firewire instead of serial null modem?

I need to be able to log in to stand-alone machines (no monitor, no keyboard). Trouble is that my laptop doesn't have a serial port and I don't want to spend money on a converter. Something like a cross-over cable won't work because the machines need to be constantly connected to the network. Remote network management won't work either because the computers are on a private VLAN.

Any suggestions?

[alex.blackbit]

AFAIK firefire has some networking capabilities. you should be able to assign a ip address to the card and then use ssh.