Using a PS/2 keyboard on a Sparc workstation through the serial port
We have recently migrated an application that used to run on a PC, to now run on a Sparc Workstation. This is a SunBlade 1500, running Solaris 8. The application is running in a dedicated console which has a fitted keyboard and trackerball that have PS/2 connectors and cannot be changed.
We need a way of connecting the PS/2 keyboards to the serial ports of the Sparc workstation. We already have a piece of software that will read ascii values from the serial port so we definately want to go through the serial ports.
Can someone please suggest what converters will be required to get the output of the keyboard and trackerball as ascii input to the serial port.
[686 byte] By [
bezza] at [2007-11-26 7:16:58]
# 1
Hi,
Don't know of PS/2 to serial converters per se, but here is a link to PS/2 to USB for connecting a PS/2 keyboard and mouse to a USB host. Maybe your software or system can be reconfigured to read from the USB instead of the regular serial port.
http://www.ultraspec.com/pcatalog.asp?pID=5169
# 3
If you are just using them as a keyboard and mouse, then you won't need any special software or anything. Just plug them in. There are keycode emulations to mimic special Sun keys found on Sun keyboards so you can do Stop-A and all those nice things...
I can't imagine what you would use a keyboard and mouse for otherwise (but I would be interested to hear about it if you are doing something off the wall)
# 4
This is a weird way of doing it, but you could use a PC as the converter. Plug the keyboard and ball into the PC, and have it run code which outputs ASCII onto the serial port, which you then connect to the Sun port.Perverse but possible.
# 5
Actually, that's not a bit perverse, at all.
Jonathan's suggestion is a standard method of connecting to a server.
(null cable between the computer serial ports)
... see the Solaris man pages.
man tip
TeraTerm and Hyperterminal are customarily used on a PC running some dialect of Windows.
The 'tip' command is all that's necessary between Solaris systems.
PS/2 is not a serial connection, but is a keyboard/mouse interface 'invented' by IBM when they offered their XT-class PS/2 line of desktop systems, back in the 1980's.
I found this next link by using Google:
http://members.chello.at/theodor.lauppert/computer/ps2/
The smaller DIN ports were more compact than the AT-class keyboard ports and the mouse moved from a serial port to a dedicated mouse port.
Serial communication devices are not keyboards, per se,
and keyboards are not serial communication devices.
You need other hardware in between to translate what the human being sends, and another computer is a common method to accomplish that translation.
Having said all that ...
Since you cannot change the dedicated console hardware,
I suggest you go to the manufacturer of that console equipment
and have them suggest some sort of serial-to-serial interface lash-up.
# 6
Sorry for my english (its very shitty ;) ).
It's not a big problem. Try to build a simple DIY terminal. You must get some microcontroller (MCS51, PIC, AVR or maybe ARM :) ) + software and TTL to RS232 converter (MAX232 or DS275) . PS2 is a synchronous serial interface (simply to implement) to RS232 asynchronous serial (every microcontroller has a hardware serial interface). If you can't build it yourself try to someone else.
