Bug#420820: no console set IBM p5 server
On Monday 14 May 2007 17:33, Rolf Brudeseth wrote:
> I got the login prompt after I modified /etc/inittab (via a linux
> install I had on another disk).
OK, your report did not really make that clear. It was probably not really
necessary to include the login prompt then. I understood that that is
what you saw when it appeared to be hanging.
> > How exactly did you boot the installer (with what parameters)?
>
> I tried both 'install64' and 'expert64'.
So you did not add any 'console=...' parameter?
Did the installer itself correctly use the serial console despite that?
> Nothing else was echo'ed to the screen. At the time, I did not realize
> that with Etch the sshd server is not enabled by default.
Correct, it is not. Unless you use the network-console component of the
installer which enables you to do the main part of the installation over
ssh. In that case sshd is installed.
> I later understood that the system was up an running just fine, except
> for this serial port console issue.
OK.
> Yes there was and it was commented out.
Right. All this means that the installer, even though it may have been
using serial console (I'd still like that confirmed), did not recognize
that fact and thus did not set up the installed system for it, which
explains the problems on the reboot.
> By other systems you mean Apple computers or prior generation IBM
> workstations? What has changed on IBM System p5 servers is that the
> serial ports or console on the HMC is virtualized via the onboard
> service processor.
No, I mean HPPA and SPARC systems mostly as that is what I have experience
with for serial console installs.
So, the next step is to find out why the installer does not recognize that
you are on serial console.
Can you please boot the installer again and activate a debug shell (there
is an option in the installer's main menu, or alternatively you can use
that network-console component).
Please provide the output of 'cat /proc/cmdline'.
Next, run 'nano /usr/lib/finish-install.d/90console'; this will start an
editor for that file:
- add a line 'set -x' below 'set -e'
- delete all lines between (not including) 'ttyterm="$TERM"' and ';;'
- save and exit
And then run the script and provide the full output. If you load the
optional openssh-client-udeb, you can scp a file to another system.
TIA,
FJP
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