Re: [BLUG] Managing a server via serial port (anyone have a spare serial cable?)

Thank you Jordan, Jeremy and David for your offers. I'll need a serial
cable in the future, so I might as well buy my own. I'll check IU
Surplus first.

Thank you Steven for possibly saving me a lot of grief and another trip
to the store. Hopefully the surplus cables have been marked by their
previous owners. I'll try minicom first, as it seems less of a hack than
using screen. Fortunately most of my machines have serial ports, so I
won't need a special adapter.

-Barry

Steven Black wrote:
> You *will* need a Null-Modem cable. If you're getting cables second
> hand, try to look for one that someone has written "NULL" on as they
> do make pass-through 9-pin serial cables that are female on both ends.
> (These cables were fairly common when using older KVM switches. 9 pin
> pass-through cables were required for serial mice connections.)
>
> Without the hand-writing it is frequently impossible to tell a
> null-modem cable from a pass-through cable, so I recommend you use a
> sharpie if you buy a cable new.
>
> If the available computers nearby don't have a serial port, you'll want
> to get a USB to Serial adaptor. I think at this point most of them are
> supported by Linux, but I've managed to avoid needing them.
>
> You should have full access to the BIOS/CMOS from the serial port. It is
> a fun experience watching a machine perform POST over the serial port.
>
> Minicom works well for serial access. I would go that route first, and
> avoid the stty/screen bit if possible. Also, expect the 115k bit rate.
> If it doesn't work, drop down to a lower speed. The BIOS is likely
> configured for just one bit rate, though the console login may be
> configured to accept multiple.
>
> I suggest letting it boot up then playing around with the bit rate and
> pressing 'enter' until the login prompt shows up. The getty shouldn't
> change bitrates on you unless you send break (CTRL-A F in Minicom).
>
> Cheers,
> Steven Black
>
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 10:48:16AM -0400, David Ernst wrote:
>
>> You might also try the IU surplus store. I finally went there a month
>> or so ago, and among the weird collection of stuff they have is a pile
>> of cables for (iirc) $1 each. Doesn't matter what the cable is, it's
>> the same price.
>>
>> http://www.indiana.edu/~surplus/
>>
>> I also might have such a cable if none of these other leads are making
>> it. But I'd rather not even dig through my cable box unless I know
>> that you'll need it. :)
>>
>> david
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 10:42:34AM -0400, Jordan Thevenow-Harrison wrote:
>>
>>> PC Max sells them. If they, for some insane reason, are out, I have one I
>>> can lend you. I've never used screen for that, but have had success with
>>> minicom :)
>>> --
>>> Jordan Thevenow-Harrison
>>> jtth@jtth.net
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jul 16, 2009, at 10:37 AM, Barry Schatz wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I figured I should ask the list for some advice.
>>>>
>>>> A couple weeks ago a company next door to mine was moving, and giving
>>>> away a lot of outdated computer equipment. I grabbed a 2U VA Linux
>>>> server. After all, it's free (gratis) rackmount server and a piece of
>>>> Linux history. However, I soon found out that there's no way I can
>>>> actually get access to the darn thing. The BIOS is set to boot from
>>>> the
>>>> hard drive first, and the VGA hardware is turned off. My only hope is
>>>> console access via the serial port.
>>>>
>>>> So here's the problem: I don't have a 9-pin serial cable. I don't know
>>>> where I can get one short of ordering from Newegg or driving up to
>>>> Fry's
>>>> in Indy. I also don't know if I need a null modem to make the
>>>> connection
>>>> work. Do any of you on the list in the Bloomington area have such a
>>>> cable?
>>>>
>>>> Also, I'm aware that I can use screen to interface with the serial
>>>> port.
>>>> If I recall, Kevin mentioned this bit of goodness:
>>>> stty 9600
>>>> screen /dev/ttyS0
>>>>
>>>> Any other bits of advice to help me root this box? I really just want
>>>> to
>>>> dban the drive and install a recent distro to make myself a
>>>> fileserver.
>>>>
>>>> Oh and one more thing: the hard drive is Ultra2 SCSI LVD. I can't
>>>> easily
>>>> plug it into another machine to tamper with it.
>>>>
>>>> -Barry
>>>>
>
>
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