Login on Console and VGA
Hello,
I have a X4100 where I'm required to be able to login via ttya console AND on the VGA attached to the VGA-connection of the Server.
At the moment this is only alternating possible, depending on how I set the value in the eeprom. (->eeprom console-ttya or ->eeprom console-text)
Can anyone tell me how to have the possibility to login on both?
--> Background
I would like to be able to login via console using the service processor from remote and using a KVM switch in the server room to login via VGA/Keyboard.
Kind regards, Bjoen
[591 byte] By [
BjoernHHa] at [2007-11-27 5:22:57]
# 1
I'm less familiar with the x64 hardware, but on SPARC your "console" can only be pointed at one device (either serial port or screen).
So you leave it in one location, and you start up a login process on the other device.
On SPARC, setting the eeprom to ttya, but leaving the kbd/screen plugged in would still launch a dtlogin in multi-user mode allowing user logins. Since I don't have an x64 machine, I'm not sure what prevents the dtlogin from running when you configure the console to be on ttya.
--
Darren
# 2
Hi Darren,on i386, when you direct the console to ttya the vga screen remains black after the GRUP menu. I tried a lot of key combinations, but I get no prompt or even a response.Perhaps someone else has an idea.Maybe it's just nor possible to get both.Bj鰎n
# 3
> Hi Darren,
>
> on i386, when you direct the console to ttya the vga
> screen remains black after the GRUP menu. I tried a
> lot of key combinations, but I get no prompt or even
> a response.
Yes. I would expect that until 'dtlogin' ran. At that point, it should try to start an X server on the console. Perhaps the dtlogin service has a log file with more information.
--
Darren
# 4
I've checked this again. dtlofin is not the problem. When I do "/etc/init.d/dtlogin start" the x-window system starts and I can use it over the monitor.
The problem is, that we do not want x11 running on the server, as we can use the memory for x11 better for other applications.
We only want to have a text based login at the VGA.
# 5
You didn't mention that originally, and most folks want graphical logins.
While you might be able to generate a separate tty for the kbd/screen device, I don't know of any way to do so.
Normally the kbd/screen rides on the 'console' tty.
So an alternative might be to allow the console to use the kbd/screen, then you can start login shells on other serial ports.
This is an old reference for configuring terminals. It should work, or there might be better ways of doing it now.
http://www.sunhelp.org/stokely/2xmodem.html#67053
--
Darren
# 6
Hi Darren,
Sorry, but I must have forgotten to mention that.
I tried with you link and it worked. The only problem it, that it is not the console on ttya but a shell.
I have to think about it, if this is practicable for me.
For now I say "Thank you for the Help"!
Bye, Bjoern
# 7
Right. There's only on console.
The limitation is that Solaris does not normally generate a tty for the screen/keyboard devices (because it often uses the /dev/console device).
We had a conversation about this many years ago in comp.unix.solaris about what it would take to use the tty drivers for kbd/screen on a SPARC machine. Unfortunately, I can't find it in the google archive.
If that piece were present, it would be much easier to use that device (as a text console) and redirect the console to a serial port. However I don't think it's something that is missed by too many people to worry about.
--
Darren
