Hi all,

Is there a way to get a (text) console on the X4200 when using the
ILOM card?  I know I can use the web doohickey to get a graphical
console (I've used it a few times), but is there an ILOM equivelent
of ALOM's "console [-f]" command?  In other words, is it possible
to ssh into the ILOM, and from there get a console login prompt?
The docs are kinda quiet about this, and I haven't found much from
my poking around, so I guess not.  But it would be nice if someone
could confirm this one way or another.  (As useful as it is at times,
firing up a browser just to get a console login doesn't strike me a
very convenient...)

I can sort of get what I want by running "start /SP/console", but
apart from seeing the messages while the machine is booting, I
can't get it to do what I want.  (Running start /SP/console while
the machine is up does nothing after telling me to hit ESC ( to
stop.)  The last thing that appears in the window while the machine
is booting is the message
from the kernel:

kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot
   [Multiboot-elf, <0x1000000:0x1468b:0x3941d>, shtab=0x104e258, entry=0x1000000]
module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive

So, no message about the hostname etc., and no login: prompt.

I even tried disabling the X login stuff, using dtconfig -d, but that
didn't help.

Is it even possible to do what I want on these machines (have I been
spoiled by ALOM)?

TIA,

-- 
Rich Teer, SCNA, SCSA, OpenSolaris CAB member

President,
Rite Online Inc.

Voice: +1 (250) 979-1638
URL: http://www.rite-group.com/rich

Found this snippet at the online docs[1] (as I'm looking to get an
X4100 soon) :

" 4. Type ILOM Service Processor commands to monitor and configure your
server.

For example, to display status information about the motherboard in
your server, type the following command:

-> show /SYS/MB

To start the serial console, type the following commands:

cd /SP/console

start

Note - You can switch back to the ILOM SP command-line interface (CLI)
from the serial console by entering the Escape-( key sequence. "

Is this what you're looking for ?

-Mark

[1]=http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/hardware/docs/html/819-1160-11/sp_initial_setup.html

Doh. Didn't get the full text of your message - I see you've already
tried that :(

Rich Teer <rich.teer@rite-group.com> writes:

> I can sort of get what I want by running "start /SP/console", but
> apart from seeing the messages while the machine is booting, I
> can't get it to do what I want.  (Running start /SP/console while
> the machine is up does nothing after telling me to hit ESC ( to
> stop.)  The last thing that appears in the window while the machine
> is booting is the message
> from the kernel:
> 
> kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot
>    [Multiboot-elf, <0x1000000:0x1468b:0x3941d>, shtab=0x104e258, entry=0x1000000]
> module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive

If the console is going to the framebuffer (and then the Java viewer)
it looks like it cannot also be going to /SP/console over ssh (which
is likely a redirection of the serial port) at the same time.
Well, at least for certain parts of the boot process?

Caught me out for a while because Solaris 10HW2 and 10U1 have
different defaults for where the console is pointing to for different
parts of the boot process (DCA, blue-screen secondary boot, GRUB).

More details in my earlier post in response to one of yours a few
weeks ago:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sun.hardware/browse_frm/thread/c0205e0fc304b4fa

> Is it even possible to do what I want on these machines (have I been
> spoiled by ALOM)?

Not that I have found.  Yes, I'm missing ALOM too!  

Nigel

-- 
Nigel Whitaker,  DeltaXML: "Change control for XML, in XML"
nigel.whitaker@deltaxml.com    http://www.deltaxml.com
Free Online XML Comparison service:  http://compare.deltaxml.com

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006, Nigel Whitaker wrote:

> > Is it even possible to do what I want on these machines (have I been
> > spoiled by ALOM)?
> 
> Not that I have found.  Yes, I'm missing ALOM too!  

Bummer.  Seems like a major design flaw to me.  :-(

-- 
Rich Teer, SCNA, SCSA, OpenSolaris CAB member

President,
Rite Online Inc.

Voice: +1 (250) 979-1638
URL: http://www.rite-group.com/rich

On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 21:02:22 GMT Rich Teer <rich.teer@rite-group.com> wrote:
> Is there a way to get a (text) console on the X4200 when using the
> ILOM card?  I know I can use the web doohickey to get a graphical
> console (I've used it a few times),

I assume this is how you installed the OS?  My guess is that jumpstart
assumed you'd have the VGA console (I assume that's what is redirected
by the web doohickey).  I installed 10u1 on an x4100 using the serial
console and had no problems afterward getting a serial login.

-frank

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006, Frank Cusack wrote:

> I assume this is how you installed the OS?  My guess is that jumpstart

Yep.

> assumed you'd have the VGA console (I assume that's what is redirected
> by the web doohickey).  I installed 10u1 on an x4100 using the serial
> console and had no problems afterward getting a serial login.

Ah, interesting.  Would you mind posting your "eeprom" commmand output?
Meanwhile, I'll play with various settings of the console parameter
to see if I can get any joy.

-- 
Rich Teer, SCNA, SCSA, OpenSolaris CAB member

President,
Rite Online Inc.

Voice: +1 (250) 979-1638
URL: http://www.rite-group.com/rich

On Tue, 7 Feb 2006, Rich Teer wrote:

> Ah, interesting.  Would you mind posting your "eeprom" commmand output?
> Meanwhile, I'll play with various settings of the console parameter
> to see if I can get any joy.

Got it sussed!  By setting the console parameter to ttya (using the eeprom
command) and resetting the machine, "start /SP/console" now does what I want.
Hurrah!

Perhaps Sun should make this more clear in their ILOM docs.

-- 
Rich Teer, SCNA, SCSA, OpenSolaris CAB member

President,
Rite Online Inc.

Voice: +1 (250) 979-1638
URL: http://www.rite-group.com/rich