Re: Serial console on IPX (Was: Sparc serial port pinout?)
On Sat, 6 Nov 1999, Walter Keeler wrote:
> Here's a basic question:
>
> What happens when you unplug the serial cable and then power up the IPX?
> Does it spin up and make disk access noises?
Unplugged cable, powered on IPX. Disk spins up.
>
> If so, it sure sounds like a cabling issue of some sort.
>
> It would make the debugging job a whole lot easier to fire up the IPX with
> a head, if only to make sure it runs properly to begin with.
Adding a head would put me back about $150 unless I could find a less
expensive supplier for the keyboard and video converters, and then I
wouldn't need serial console.
Maybe that would be a better track?
Sun sells a ps2 keyboard and mouse converter for $75, and Blackbox has a
13W3/VGA converter for about $45. I would love a head on this thing if it
wouldn't be quite so expensive.
Oh, and I have no desk/counter/shelf space for a second keyboard and
mouse at this time.
However, I did finally chase up a pinout for the serial port, and I might
have ended up with either the wrong cable (might need a modem cable
instead of a printer cable) or I might need a straight instead of a null
modem cable. Unfortunately I wont be able to test any of those for the
next two or three days.
-- Ferret no baka
>
> --Walter Keeler
>
>
> wkeeler@acm.org *******************************
> Walter Keeler * If my words did glow... *
> San Francisco, CA *******************************
>
> On Sat, 6 Nov 1999 ferret@phonewave.net wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Okay, following reccomendations and my own best guessing I went out and
> > purchased a 'Mac to serial printer' cable and a null-modem adapter. I plug
> > the cables in, fire up minicom on the Lintel (set to 9600N81 as I remember
> > seeing in the IPX firmware), and turn on the IPX. Power comes on, the
> > drive spins up, but I get nothing.
> >
> > Now, what comes to mind is:
> >
> > Wrong cabling.
> >
> > Wrong serial port settings on the Lintel.
> >
> > Bad serial ports on the IPX.
> >
> > IPX not using serial console.
> >
> >
> > The null-modem adapter is a standard Laplink-comatible cable. The mac
> > cable is a Fellowes part # 99519 (no idea about the pinout on it)
> >
> > I have no 'normal' console on the IPX so I can't change settings unless I
> > get serial console working at this point. If I can rule out the serial
> > cabling I'll probably go ahead and get the keyboard and video adapters
> > instead.
> >
> > Oh yeah, I assume the serial cable should go in port 'A', but I tried it
> > in 'B' anyway and didn't get anything there either.
> >
> > On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, Will Lowe wrote:
> >
> > > > > One more question. If it doesn't have a keyboard and monitor plugged in,
> > > > > will it put the console out the serial port automagically?
> > > >
> > > > It should. I know Suns do that automagically, and I know solaris does, and
> > > > I know Debian is supposed to, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't
> > > > say for certain under Debian.
> > >
> > > yes, this works. It's a sun hardware thing, rather than a software
> > > issue, methinks.
> > >
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