How do I set up the COM2 port on a PowerHawk as a second console?


To enable the COM2 remote port on the back of the PH620/PH640 system, perform the following steps:

1.  Connect the terminal device to the COM2 port with the standard console cable.

2.  Configure the device nodes in /etc/conf/node.d/cons:

    Uncomment the four lines which have a '1' in the "Minor" column.  For example: 

    #cons    tty1    c       1       0       7     622       2
    #cons    tty01   c       1       0       7     622       2
    #cons    remote  c       1       0       7     622       2
    #cons    COM2    c       1       0       7     622       2

    Just remove the '#' from the front of the line, then run idmknod to create the devices:

    # /etc/conf/bin/idmknod -M cons
    # ls -l /dev/tty01 /dev/tty1 /dev/remote /dev/COM2

    The ls -l should show the character device nodes.

3.  Change the first line in /etc/ap/chan.ap to use minor number -1 instead of 0 when
    pushing the ldterm and ttcompat streams modules:

    # major minor   lastminor       modules
       1     0        0            ldterm ttcompat

    becomes:

       1    -1        0            ldterm ttcompat

4.  Save /etc/inittab to a backup file.  In /etc/inittab there is a startup line for the
    console:

    co:12345:respawn:/usr/lib/saf/ttymon -g -v -p "Console Login: " -d /dev/console -l console

    Copy and paste it with the following changes:

    c2:12345:respawn:/usr/lib/saf/ttymon -g -v -p "COM2 Login: " -d /dev/COM2 -l console

5.  Save the master inittab /etc/conf/init.d/kernel to a backup file.  Change the
    kernel file to add the same line as added to the /etc/inittab file in item 3.
    The kernel file is the master inittab file which updates /etc/inittab when the
    kernel is rebuilt.  If you don't change /etc/conf/init.d/kernel, rebuilding
    and rebooting a new kernel will overwrite /etc/inittab without the "c2" line.

6.  Run "init q" to reread the /etc/inittab file.  The "COM2 Login:" prompt should appear
    on the second console.  If it doesn't, reboot the system to reread the chan.ap file.

If you want the COM2 console to run with a higher baud rate than 9600, you must
use the setup mode on the terminal to change it, then select a different argument
to the ttymon -l option.  This argument points to the line in /etc/gettydefs which
sets the line disciplines and baud rate for the port.  If you want the terminal to
run at 19200 baud, for example, use "19200NP" instead of "console" as the -l argument.

See ttymon(1M), autopush(1M), gettydefs(4), inittab(4), termio(7), ldterm(7), and ttcompat(7)
for more details.