Console Redirection After Boot

[Gary Rogers]

Here's the script I use to get the console re-directed to the DRAC4  
in my x850's (RHEL4). You'll need the OpenManage tools for it to  
work, and I'd suggest that you set your grub.conf your self. You  
really need to look out for the DRAC virtual CD-ROM as well, as this  
script WILL hang the system if you don't have the ide-scsi lines in  
grub.conf so that it's safe to disconnect the virtual CD-ROM.

Works pretty well though, especially when ssh-ing to the DRAC and  
connecting to com1.

#!/bin/bash

set_securetty() {
         cd /etc
         backup_file securetty
         echo "ttyS0" >> /etc/securetty
}

set_inittab() {
         cd /etc
         backup_file inittab
         echo "co:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty -h -L 57600 ttyS0 vt100"  
 >> /etc/inittab
}

set_grub() {
         cat /boot/grub/grub.conf | perl -e '{ $value = join  
"",<STDIN>; $value =~ s/splashimage=\(hd0,0\)\/boot\/grub\/ 
splash.xpm.gz/#splashimage=\(hd0,0\)\/boot\/grub\/splash.xpm.gz 
\nserial --unit=0 --speed=57600\nterminal --timeout=5 console serial/ 
g; $value =~ s/root=LABEL=\//root=LABEL=\/ console=tty0  
console=ttyS0,57600/g; print $value }' > /tmp/grub.conf
         cd /boot/grub
         backup_file grub.conf
         mv /tmp/grub.conf /boot/grub.conf
}

set_drac() {
racadm getconfig -f /root/raccfg.bak
cat << EOF > /root/drac.conf
[cfgSerial]
cfgSerialBaudRate=115200
cfgSerialConsoleEnable=1
cfgSerialConsoleQuitKey=,./
cfgSerialTelnetEnable=1

[cfgRacTuning]
cfgRacTuneHostCom2BaudRate=57600

[cfgRacVirtual]
cfgVirMediaDisable=1
EOF

racadm config -f /root/drac.conf
racadm racreset
}

set_inittab
set_securetty
set_grub
set_drac

On Nov 1, 2006, at 4:39 AM, Jerry Yu wrote:

> I believe Brian's question is on 'bios redirect after boot' as in  
> 'os boot'. Dell PE series have BIOS redirect builtin and you can  
> enable it from BIOS to select serial port (ttyS0 or ttyS1), baud  
> rate (115200 or 57600 or 9600), and whether to have 'bios redirect  
> after boot'. I always have to turn off 'bios redirect after boot',  
> since it interferes with the agetty/mgetty listening on the same  
> serial port (CentOS 4 or RHAS 4).
>
>
> On 11/1/06, Gordon Henderson < gordon at drogon.net> wrote:
> On Tue, 31 Oct 2006, Brian A. Seklecki wrote:
>
> > All:
> >
> > What's the deal with this feature?  Was it intended to be used  
> for any
> > relatively modern OS?
> >
> > It seems to work with DOS and Memtest86+, and perhaps then even  
> some of
> > the bootable FreeDOS based utils available from Dell.
> >
> > But forget about using it for anything that "does not use the  
> BIOS for
> > console I/O."
> >
> > All the Dell Linux docs I find suggest not using it; use the DRAC
> > VGA->VNC feature instead,  but Dell really bungled that with the new
> > DRAC5 and the ActiveX dependency (imagine that, an embedded Linux  
> device
> > that serves an ActiveX applet -- the irony is painful)
>
> I can't answer your question about using BIOS for console IO, so  
> this may
> not help, but I do use "console over serial" in many (remote) Linux
> installations I have (None Dell, but I see no reason why it won't  
> work in
> a Dell). You can make lilo use the serial line (and I'm sure grub  
> too),
> and it's a compile & command-line feature for the linux kernel (but  
> I'd be
> surprised it if wasn't included in the standard Dell/RH kernels,  
> and you
> just needed to activate it somehow - eg. in the grub config file)
>
> In lilo.conf it's as simple as putting:
>
>   serial=0,57600n8
>
> in it somewhere, and to make linux use it, you need something like:
>
>   append="console=ttyS0,57600n8"
>
> in the same file. I'm sure grub does it in a similar fashion, but I  
> don't
> use grub so can't comment there. I do it this way on another  
> vendors mobos
> which have a BIOS over serial switch, so if required I can connect  
> to a
> servers serial line (cisco terminal concentrator thingy) power  
> cycle it,
> and from then on, do bios "stuff", then boot lilo and do lilo  
> poking, then
> into linux (with extra command-line "stuff", if required, and it  
> all "just
> works".
>
> There is also a comple-time version of memtest to make it work over a
> serial-line too (rather than rely on the console redirection, I guess)
> I've used this too (but also have the non-serial line version of
> memtest86+ installed too!)
>
> Gordon
>
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--------------------
Gary Rogers
Sr. Application Administrator
University of Northern Iowa
gary.rogers at uni.edu
"Nothing but turtles all the way down."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down


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