- Added USR V.34 Dip Switch Settings
- Added Solaris x86 COM2 port info
[Document Top]
[Revision History]
[Introduction]
Lawyer Section
Copyright © 1995-2001 Stokely Consulting.
Permission to use, copy, and distribute this documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies, that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, that this document is not modified, and that the name of Stokely Consulting not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Stokely Consulting makes no representations about the suitability of this documentation for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty. All other product names are copyrighted by their various owners.
[Document Top]
[Lawyer Section]
[Which Modem Should You Use?]
Introduction
You must execute the commands as root and you will probably have to reboot the machine. So, plan the system's downtime accordingly.
You may distribute this information to anyone who wants it, as long as you never attempt to copyright it in any way. If you find errors in it, or have suggestions for changes in future revisions, please let me know via email. Go for it--you can do it!
Setting up modems and terminals under Unix is often painful. If you had modem and terminal connection down to a science in SunOS 4.x, you're probably having trouble understanding it in Solaris 2.x. Solaris 2.x uses the SYSV-ish approach instead of the SunOS 4.x BSD approach. BSD uses getty and friends to spawn login, while SYSV uses port monitors and new friends.
If this is your first attempt at hooking up a modem or terminal to a Unix machine, I'll give you a sound strategy to use and walk you through it. It's not really hard once you learn a few basics.
The Sun manuals and Answerbook have had a few incorrect back quotes in vital places. Following their instructions probably won't give you error messages, but they may not work, either. However, Answerbook will explain all the details of port monitors, if you want to understand them in detail.
Sun's admintool Serial Port Manager works for many simple modem and terminal setups. But when it doesn't work, you need to know how to run the various setup commands by hand.
WARNING: I have very strong feelings about modems and serial ports, their uses, their manufacturers, and their support. My clients ask me to make their modems work and keep working, so I tend to use only modems that are robust, highly configurable, fast, and well-supported. They're not cheap, but neither is a System Administrator's time. I use cheap modems for doorstops and bookends.
[Document Top]
[Introduction]
[Celeste's Strategy for Configuring Modems and Terminals]
Which Modem Should You Use?
Hundreds of Hayes-compatible, asynchronous modems are on the market today. Most of them can be made to work on a Sun for dial-out. Many can work for dial-in. Several will work gracefully for bidirectional (dial-in and dial-out) use. Fewer still will bring a smile to a sysadm's heart.
If you're trying to connect a non Hayes-compatible modem to your Sun, this article won't work for you.
This article covers the basic setup for many common serial port usages, such as:
- Dial-in only access for human login accounts.
- Dial-out only access for humans and programs using
tip. - Dial-in and dial-out setups for UUCP (email, Usenet NetNews, file transfer)
- Bidirectional modem use - dialing in and out on the same port.
- Basic dumb terminal connection, (
dumb terminal== vt100, Wyse-50, and other plain, character-based terminals.)
This article specifically does not cover the following issues:
- Setting up PPP or SLIP. See this site's PPP and SLIP FAQs and how-tos.
- Using your modem to send FAXes. See this site's FAX and Unix section.
- Communicating with a pager. See this site's Pagers with Unix Connections section.
- X Terminal setup.
In general, you get what you pay for. A $49 modem will cost you a fortune in the time it takes to get it running. A $499 modem can often be configured and running in under 20 minutes and give you little grief in day-to-day use.
Types of Modem Usage
Match your modem to your intended use for it. Don't buy a cheap 2400bps modem to transfer all your company's mail and netnews. If your Internet service provider offers your UUCP connection only over Telebit WorldBlazers, you should strongly consider buying a Telebit WorldBlazer and dedicate it to that use. If they're not a Telebit site and plan on staying that way, there are faster, more widely-compatible modems available for a LOT less money.
My current favorite is the USRobotics Courier V.Everything. Next month, who knows what will be the darling? I have so many "former favorite" modems in my office that it's starting to look like a modem museum.
If you have to support a lot of dial-in users with a wide collection of random modems, then you need something which can happily work with all the possible user modems. That means you need one that will run at least 28800bps. The 56K modem manufacturers have finally agreed on a single standard, so these modems will become great for your users, in time. Plan on spending $250-$600 for a solid, production-quality modem.
Modem Programming
In deciding which modem to buy, a key consideration is how you can program the modem. Some modems use DIP switches, some are programmed by connecting to the modem and setting software registers, some use both methods. You get more programming flexibility with software registers, and this is important when you'll be connecting to a lot of different modem types.
If a modem has only DIP switches available, it probably will be hard to make it do everything you need for lots of different connections. It's probably also an old, slow modem. I call these "cheap PC modems" and avoid them like Internet spam get-rich-quick schemes.
Modem Speed
One of the most important features to look for is the modem's ability to run
at split speeds. You really want to run the Sun-to-modem connection at a
fixed speed (the DTE rate or serial rate) all the
time, and let the modem negotiate the modem-to-modem speed (DCE rate
or line speed) independently.
Beware, because many inexpensive modems can't do this. If your modem doesn't do this, you and your users will have to hit the <break> key until the speeds sync up. This drives users (and you) crazy!
You should try to run the Sun-to-modem (DTE) connection at 9600bps, 19200bps, or 38400bps. A Sun can NOT run the CPU serial port at 14400bps. But, that's ok because all the 14400 modems I've ever seen can run at 19200bps DTE speed. You can also run at slower speeds, but why bother? Buy a faster modem than you think you need; you'll get more use out of it in the long run.
A few kernel hacks are available to run the Sun CPU serial ports at higher speed. Use them at your own risk. I do NOT recommend them--they're too unstable for most purposes. The Sun CPU serial ports and their drivers are bad enough without hacking on them yourself.
Note: Sun Ultra 2 and newer machines are reported to be able to run the cpu serial ports faster than 38400bps with Solaris 2.6 and greater. Your line speed may vary.
If you crave more speed than 38400bps, you need to look into SBUS serial port expander cards with DMA, or even network-connected terminal servers, and modems which are even MORE expensive. If you need a lot of high-speed serial connections, network terminal servers are probably the way you should go.
Flow Control and Parity
When you run at higher speeds (9600bps and above), you MUST worry about flow control. Ideally, you want hardware flow control where the Sun and modem play the right games with the RTS/CTS lines to say "shut up" and "give me more"
Historically, the Sun CPU ports have not been able to use incoming hardware flow control, only outgoing. Sun has released some patches to enable incoming flow control. For Solaris 2.4, use Patch # 102845, available to Sun Support contract customers from http://sunsolve.sun.com. Sometimes, the patch just doesn't work. Sometimes it does. It's worth a try for 2.4. If it doesn't work and you must have hardware flow control, look into the higher-end SBUS-based serial port expander cards. I don't know if this problem is fixed in later versions of Solaris.
If the patch doesn't work for you, you can consider using software (XON/XOFF) flow control. But, NEVER use software flow control with UUCP/PPP or the protocol will go nuts from the unexpected XON and XOFF characters. If you can't use hardware flow control with UUCP/PPP, it's better to use no flow control at all and let UUCP/PPP do its own packet throttling.
If hardware flow control is a must-have (and it's becoming that way for most of us), then buy a DMA-type serial port card with hardware flow control from a reputable vendor. I do not recommend Sun's SPC card for this use. There are some suggestions for vendors on the Unix Serial Port Resources site.
I run my own communications server without port-level flow control on my 13 UUCP connections at 38400bps and all the mail and NetNews gets delivered just fine.
Try to always run your ports and modems at 8 bits, no parity. Parity on serial port transmissions is an outdated concept when you're using modern, error-correcting modem protocols. By default, many Sun CPU ports run at 7 bits, even parity (7E1). I'll explain how to run them at 8 bits, no parity (8N1). If you've got a legitimate use for odd, mark, or space parity, I want to hear from you!
[Document Top]
[Which Modem Should You Use?]
[Tip and /etc/remote]
Celeste's Strategy for Configuring Modems and Terminals
This strategy gives you flexibility and maintainability in your serial port configurations. It will work for nearly all configurations.
Important Rule: Add and configure only 1 modem or terminal at a time. Get it working, then move on to the next one. Any other approach will result in madness. I've been there, done that. Trust me.
There are actually very few steps.
- To configure the port for a terminal, set up the port monitor, then configure the terminal.
- To configure the port for a modem, get tip working, program the modem, make sure your logical port devices have the proper permissions, then enable a bidirectional port monitor.
- Then, if you only want to use the modem port for incoming connections, disable tip for everyone but root.
- Or, if you only want to use the modem port for outgoing connections, remove the port monitor and turn off auto-answer on the modem.
Purists may argue that this modem-port configuration has extra, unneeded steps or leaves the port monitor in bidirectional mode for incoming-only connections. I find that if a sysadm sets up a port for only dial-in or dial- out, someday he or she will want the port to be bidirectional. Setting things up for this in the beginning means you'll have easier success in the future. And, it doesn't hurt anything.
Ok, So What Do I Do?
To use a port for dial-out only:
- Configure
/etc/remotefortip. (See the section Tip and /etc/remote.) - Set up the word length and parity for the port. (See the section Setting Serial Port Modes.)
- Program the modem. (See the section Basic Modem Programming.)
- Remove any port monitor which may be on the serial port. (See the section, Enabling Solaris For A Dial-out-only Modem.)
To use a port for dial-in only:
- Configure
/etc/remotefortip. (See the section Tip and /etc/remote.) - Set up the word length and parity for the port. (See the section Setting Serial Port Modes.)
- Program the modem. (See the section Basic Modem Programming.)
- Configure the port monitor to spawn a login correctly. (See the section Enabling Solaris For a Bidirectional Modem.)
- Make
/bin/tipowner-executable only. Don't delete it, you'll need it someday. And, remember to leave it setuid-uucp!
To use a port for bidirectional operations - both dial-in and dial-out use:
- Configure
/etc/remotefortip. (See the section Tip and /etc/remote.) - Set up the word length and parity for the port. (See the section Setting Serial Port Modes.)
- Program the modem. (See the section Basic Modem Programming.)
- Configure the port monitor to spawn a login correctly. (See the section Enabling Solaris For a Bidirectional Modem.)
To configure a dumb terminal on a port instead of a modem:
- Ignore tip (That should be easy!)
- Set up the word length and parity for the port (See the section Setting Serial Port Modes.)
- Configure the port monitor to spawn a login correctly. (See the section Setting Up A Terminal on Solaris 2.x.)
- Configure the terminal itself, setting up the baud rate, word length and parity, and flow control.
If you want to use UUCP or PPP, you must configure it as well. This article will tell you about setting up parity and flow control in UUCP, but doesn't cover all the other UUCP file changes. For that, get the O'Reilly and Associates book Using and Managing UUCP, by Ed Ravin, Tim O'Reilly, Dale Dougherty and Grace Todino, if you can find it. It's out of print. (5/05 note - The title will eventually be released online under a Creative Commons license). For PPP FAQs and how-tos, see this site's PPP section.
Simple, huh? Find the parts of this article that do the pieces you want, modify the scripts as needed, and go for it!
[Document Top]
[Celeste's Strategy for Configuring Modems and Terminals]
[Basic Modem Programming]
Tip and /etc/remote
You may hate tip and love kermit or pcomm. I understand. But, do this via tip to keep it simple, ok?
Decide which serial port you want to use. (One with no cable already plugged in is often a good bet.) The port will be labeled "A" "B" "A/B" or could even be "C" or higher.
If you use one labeled "A/B" and have no Y-type splitter cable plugged into it, you'll have access only to port A. With the splitter, you'll get ports A and B on separate sockets of the splitter cable. The pinout of the splitter cable can be found at this site's Sun Serial Port and Serial Cable Pinouts section.
The Sun serial port device driver splits each physical port into two logical
devices, /dev/term/a or /dev/term/b for incoming transmission, and
/dev/cua/a or /dev/cua/b for outgoing transmission.
The speed referred to in this section is the DTE or Sun-to-modem speed. It
is NOT the modem-to-modem speed. A 14400bps modem may have a 19200bps DTE
speed.
Make sure you have your serial port permissions right. uucp should own the
outgoing side, and root should own the incoming side.
Execute these commands as root, substituting your port name (a, b, c, or d) where needed:
prompt# chown uucp /dev/cua/a; chgrp tty /dev/cua/a prompt# chown root /dev/term/a; chgrp tty /dev/term/a
- Edit the tip configuration file,
/etc/remote, and find the entry beginning with "hardwire:". This entry is the one you use to program the modem, and is not usually used for dialing out directly, unless you enjoy AT commands. (If this is the second modem you're adding, clone the entire hardwire entry and label the new entry "hardwire2".) Change it from an entry like:hardwire:\ :dv=/dev/????/?:br#????:el=^C^S^Q^U^D:ie=%$:oe=^D:to one set to your port (like
/dev/cua/a) and baud rate (like 9600):hardwire:\ :dv=/dev/cua/a:br#9600:el=^C^S^Q^U^D:ie=%$:oe=^D: - Run tip:
NOTE: Never run tip from a cmdtool. Use a shelltool, xterm, or some other window without scrollbars. The scrollbars may confuse tip's <carriage return> processing.
There are exceptions to this, but if you never run tip in a scrollbar-type window, you won't have to remember all the ways it does and does not work.
Now use your edited "
hardwire" entry from/etc/remoteand type:prompt# tip hardwire (or "tip hardwire2")
You should see "connected".
type:ATE1V1<carriage return>
(This will work for all Hayes-compatible modems, even cheapies.)
- You should see "OK".
Congratulations! You're talking with the modem!
Now, issue the appropriate AT commands to program the modem. (See the section called Basic Modem Programming. Don't forget to write the new settings out to the modem's NonVolatile RAM.
- If you don't see "OK", you are not communicating with the modem.
See if the modem is plugged in, verify the baud rate of the modem
and the hardwire entry in
/etc/remote, verify the modem cable.
- You should see "OK".
Congratulations! You're talking with the modem!
- Exit tip by typing:
<carriage return>~. (This means to type 3 separate keys, one at a time, of <carriage return> <tilde> <period> This will also exit rlogin, so if you're running tip through an rlogin, make that <carriage return>~~. (<carriage return> <tilde> <tilde> <period>) or you'll only exit rlogin.) - The cuaa entry (in the
/etc/remoteexample below) allows you to type "tip cuaa" and talk directly to a modem on port A at 19200bps, using 7 bits, even parity. - The cuab entry (in the example below) allows you to type "tip cuab" and talk directly to a modem on port B at 9600bps, using 8 bits, no parity.
- "tip some_phone_number" looks for the tip0 entry
and uses that
definition to dial "some_phone_number". (In the
/etc/remoteexample below, it will use tip0, which points to UNIX-19200, which sets up a dialup 19200bps 7 bits even parity Hayes compatible modem. UNIX-19200 points to diala, which references/dev/cua/a. Convoluted, eh?) - "tip mysystem" (below) looks up the
mysystementry, and dials the number 14155551234 via a 19200bps 7 bits, no parity connection on/dev/cua/a.
/etc/remote example
The following sample /etc/remote file is set up for:
- port a, 19200bps Hayes-compatible modem, 7 bits even parity (It's 7E1 because there is no "p8" entry)
- port b, 9600bps Hayes-compatible modem, 8 bits no parity (It's 8N1 because there is a "p8" entry)
See the remote(4) man page for all the possible options.
cuaa:dv=/dev/cua/a:br#19200:
cuab:dv=/dev/cua/b:p8:br#9600
mysystem:pn=14155551234:tc=UNIX-19200:
hardwire:\
:dv=/dev/cua/b:p8:br#9600:el=^C^S^Q^U^D:ie=%$:oe=^D:
tip0|tip19200:tc=UNIX-19200:
tip9600:tc=UNIX-9600:
UNIX-9600:\
:el=^D^U^C^S^Q^O@:du:at=hayes:ie=#$%:oe=^D:br#9600:tc=dialb:
UNIX-19200:\
:el=^D^U^C^S^Q^O@:du:at=hayes:ie=#$%:oe=^D:br#19200:tc=diala:
diala:\
:dv=/dev/cua/a:
dialb:\
:p8:dv=/dev/cua/b:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The attributes are:
dv device to use for the tty
du make a call flag (dial up)
pn phone numbers (@ =>'s search phones file; possibly taken from
PHONES environment variable)
at ACU type
ie input EOF marks (default is NULL)
oe output EOF string (default is NULL)
cu call unit (default is dv)
br baud rate (defaults to 300)
tc to continue a capability
[Document Top]
[Tip and /etc/remote]
[Enabling Solaris For a Bidirectional Modem]
Basic Modem Programming
Dust off your modem manual and have it handy. Use tip to connect to the modem and program the modem registers. Be sure to write out the modem's registers to NonVolatile RAM when you're done. Program the modem with the following settings:
- Hardware DTR, Normal DTR, or Reset When DTR Toggles. When the Sun drops DTR, the modem should hang up the phone line and reset the modem to NonVolatile RAM settings.
- Hardware Carrier Detect or Normal Carrier Detect. The modem should raise Carrier Detect (known as CD or DCD) only when there is an active carrier signal on the phone connection. You'll setup the port monitor so that when CD goes active, the Sun will spawn a login. When carrier drops, either when the other end of the connection terminated or if the phone connection is broken, the Sun will be notified and act appropriately. The CD signal is also used for coordinating dial-in and dial-out use on a single serial port.
- Respond with numeric result codes, if this is for tip's use. (Usually
this is
ATV0.) If you're setting the modem for UUCP/PPP dialout, then program the modem to use English result codes (like CONNECT). (Usually, this isATV1.) If you're using the modem for both tip and UUCP, set it up with numeric result codes, and have UUCP's chat script set it to English result codes for the duration of the UUCP connection. See the O'Reilly and Associates' out-of-print book _Using and Managing UUCP_ for the nitty-gritties. - Send BASIC result codes ONLY.
Tip only wants to see result codes 0
through 4. If it sees other result codes, it calls them an error.
(Sometimes this is
ATX0orATQ0.) - Do not echo commands. (Usually this is
ATE0.) - Modem is locked at a single speed setting between the Sun and the modem. The speed may vary as needed between local and remote modem, but should remain constant between the Sun and the modem.(If your modem can't do this, use it for a paperweight and buy one that allows split speeds. If your boss won't let you do this, ok, but you should whine loudly.)
- If this modem is used for dial-in, turn on Auto-Answer.
(Sometimes this is
ATS0=1.) If the modem is not used for dial-in, turn off Auto-Answer. (Sometimes this isATS0=0.) - Set the modem to your parity and word length requirements. Use 8 bits, no parity if you can.
- Set the modem to your flow control scheme. Use hardware flow control (CTS/RTS) if you can, software flow control (XON/XOFF) if you must, or no flow control if you just have to.
Useful Modem Register Settings
The USR Courier V.34 and Telebit Worldblazer modem setting are our own work. The USR V.Everything settings are courtesy of Doug Hughes at Auburn University. These settings have worked well in bidirectional, interactive dial-in, UUCP and PPP applications. Other modem settings can be found at this site's Modem Register Settings page.
It will probably take a few tries to get all the right settings into your modem. No, you don't need to set ALL the S registers this way. These have been tweaked for the client's application. Your mileage will definately vary, but the entries below on these modems, from the "B0 (or B1) C1" through the "S00=001" are very good ones to use, IMHO.
- USRobotics Courier V.32bis V.34 Fax Settings
B0 C1 E1 F1 M1 Q2 V0 X0 BAUD=38400 PARITY=N WORDLEN=8 DIAL=TONE ON HOOK TIMER &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H1 &I0 &K1 &L0 &M4 &N0 &P0 &R1 &S0 &T5 &X0 &Y1 %N6 S00=001 S01=000 S02=255 S03=013 S04=010 S05=008 S06=002 S07=060 S08=002 S09=006 S10=007 S11=070 S12=255 S13=000 S14=000 S15=000 S16=000 S17=000 S18=000 S19=000 S20=000 S21=010 S22=017 S23=019 S24=150 S25=005 S26=001 S27=000 S28=008 S29=020 S30=000 S31=000 S32=009 S33=000 S34=000 S35=000 S36=000 S37=000 S38=000 S39=000 S40=000 S41=000 S42=126 S43=200 S44=015 S45=000 S46=000 S47=000 S48=000 S49=000 S50=000 S51=000 S52=000 S53=000 S54=064 S55=000 S56=000 S57=000
Dip Switches: (UP=dip switch up, DN=dip switch down) 1 UP DTR normal 2 DN Numeric messages (a starting point for tip usage) 3 DN Display Result Codes 4 UP Modem does not echo commands 5 UP Modem answers on 1st ring, or DN for no auto-answer 6 UP CD indicates the modem is online and carrier signal is present 7 DN suppress result codes in answer mode 8 DN Normal AT command set recognition 9 DN on Escape code (+++) modem stays online 10 UP Power on loads registers from NFRAM - USRobotics Courier V.Everything
Settings
B0 C1 E1 F1 M1 Q0 V1 X7 BAUD=115200 PARITY=N WORDLEN=8 DIAL=HUNT ON HOOK TIMER &A3 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H1 &I0 &K3 &L0 &M4 &N0 &P0 &R2 &S0 &T5 &X0 &Y1 %N6 #CID=0 S00=003 S01=000 S02=043 S03=013 S04=010 S05=008 S06=002 S07=060 S08=002 S09=006 S10=007 S11=070 S12=050 S13=000 S14=001 S15=000 S16=000 S17=000 S18=000 S19=000 S20=000 S21=010 S22=017 S23=019 S24=150 S25=005 S26=001 S27=000 S28=008 S29=020 S30=000 S31=000 S32=005 S33=000 S34=000 S35=000 S36=000 S37=000 S38=000 S39=000 S40=000 S41=000 S42=126 S43=200 S44=015 S45=000 S46=000 S47=000 S48=000 S49=000 S50=000 S51=001 S52=000 S53=000 S54=064 S55=000 S56=000 S57=000 S58=000 S59=000 S60=000 S61=000 S62=000 S63=000 S64=000 S65=000 S66=000 S67=000 S68=000 S69=000 S70=000 - Telebit WorldBlazer Settings
B1 E1 L1 M0 Q2 T V0 X0 Y0 &C1 &D3 &G0 &J0 &L0 &Q0 &R3 &S4 &T4 &X0 S000=1 S001=0 S002=43 S003=13 S004=10 S005=8 S006=2 S007:90 S008=2 S009=6 S010=14 S011=70 S012:255 S018=0 S025=5 S026=1 S038=0 S041:1 S045=0 S046=0 S047=4 S048=0 S050=0 S051:253 S056=17 S057=19 S058:2 S059:15 S060=0 S061:0 S062=15 S063=0 S064:1 S068=255 S069=0 S090=0 S092:1 S093=8 S094=1 S100=0 S104=0 S105=1 S111:30 S112=1 S151=4 S155=0 S180=2 S181=1 S183=25 S190=1 S191:6 S253=10 S254=1 S255=255
[Document Top]
[Basic Modem Programming]
[Enabling Solaris For A Dial-out-only Modem]
Enabling Solaris For a Bidirectional Modem
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- All single quotes in these directions are BACK QUOTES, not FORWARD QUOTES, except where specifically noted.
- Be sure and execute these commands as root, from a BOURNE shell (sh), not ksh, tcsh, or csh. (If you use a Bourne shell script, that's good.)
- If, after following these instructions, you get modem failures, or if
the add_modem script gives an error message about "
ttyadm: -V: invalidparameter", then make sure that root's default shell is/sbin/shand notcsh. - You want to have a maximum of one port monitor running on a given port. If you accidentally have two or more running on the port, your machine will probably panic.
- There is much disagreement over whether these eeprom settings are required. They are not used, once a port monitor is running. Just use them and it won't hurt anything.
- Login as root and type:
prompt# eeprom ttya-ignore-cd=true [this means use HW carrier detect] prompt# eeprom ttya-rts-dtr-off=true - Reboot the system by typing:
prompt# init 6
(Is it critical to reboot now? No. But, you'll need to reboot at some time.)
- Make sure the modem is properly connected to your port and already programmed. Make sure the cable is ok. Your cable needs at least lines 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 20, all straight through, with none crossed. A 25-pin cable, wired "straight through" is fine. A Null Modem cable will NOT work.
- Is the Solaris 2.x port monitor, ttymon, configured and running?
Login as root and type:
prompt# sacadm -l -t ttymon
- If you get a message like:
"
Invalid request, ttymon does not exist" then the ttymon port monitor is not configured. - If you get a result like:
PMTAG PMTYPE FLGS RCNT STATUS COMMAND zsmon ttymon - 0 ENABLED /usr/lib/saf/ttymon
- If you get a message like:
- Configure an instance of ttymon called zsmon:
prompt# sacadm -a -p zsmon -t ttymon -c /usr/lib/saf/ttymon -v `ttyadm -V`
(Note: The string "
zsmon" is known as a PMTAG.) - Is there a service running on the zsmon port monitor?
Type:
prompt#
pmadm -l- If you got a result like:
PMTAG PMTYPE SVCTAG FLGS ID <PMSPECIFIC> zsmon ttymon ttya u root /dev/term/a I - .........Then you need to remove the existing service. Issue this command and insert the PMTAG and SVCTAG found in the previous command by typing:
prompt# pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya ^ ^ (PMTAG) (SVCTAG) - If you don't see your port (like /dev/term/a) listed, then you're ok.
- If you got a result like:
- Make a script that removes any existing port monitor and
creates a new bidirectional port service.
Putting this information in a script is a Very Good Idea because if you make a mistake, you can easily fix the problem and rerun the script. Don't try to do this without a script--there are too many typing errors waiting to be made in these commands.
Type the following script into a file (for instance,
/sbin/add_modem), make it executable, then run it.
add_modem shell script
Download add_modem as text file
#!/sbin/sh # add_modem shell script. Must be run as root from bourne shell # Change these parameters as needed for your particular needs. # # PARAMETER MEANING # --------- ------- # PORT Port you want to set up. "a" or "b" # TTYSPEED Speed setting, from /etc/ttydefs # LOGINMSG The login message which will be displayed. # -p zsmon PMTAG, name of this port monitor # -s ttya SVCTAG, modem is on ttya. you may want ttyb # -d /dev/term/$PORT Actual port device. # -l contty5H Ttylabel, defined in /etc/ttydefs file. (speed # setting. contty5H=19200 baud) # -b Flag for bidirectional port use # -S n Turn software carrier off (modem supplies # hardware carrier detect signal) # "dial in/out on serial port" This is a comment you'll see on pmadm -l ######################################################################## LOGINMSG="Always be nice to your sysadm. You may now login. " # set PORT = either a or b PORT="a" #---------------------------------------- # choose your speed setting. See /etc/ttydefs for more, or build your # own from the examples in the rest of this article. # contty5H = 19200bps, 7 bits even parity, as supplied by Sun # conttyH = 9600bps, 7 bits even parity, as supplied by Sun TTYSPEED="contty5H" #---------------------------------------- # change ownership of outgoing side of port to user uucp, group tty. # change ownership of incoming side of port to user root, group tty. chown uucp /dev/cua/$PORT; chgrp tty /dev/cua/$PORT chown root /dev/term/$PORT; chgrp tty /dev/term/$PORT #---------------------------------------- # Remove any existing port monitor on this port. # You can ignore any error messages from this next command. # If you see the message "Invalid request, ttya does not exist under zsmon", # You may be trying to remove a port monitor which does not exist. /usr/sbin/pmadm -r -p zsmon -s tty$PORT #---------------------------------------- # Create the new port monitor /usr/sbin/pmadm -a -p zsmon -s tty$PORT -i root \ -v `/usr/sbin/ttyadm -V` -fu -m "`/usr/sbin/ttyadm \ -p "$LOGINMSG" -d /dev/term/$PORT -s /usr/bin/login -l $TTYSPEED -b \ -S n -m ldterm,ttcompat`" -y "dial in/out on serial port" ############ end of add_modem script ###################################
Make the script executable by typing:
prompt# chmod 700 /sbin/add_modem then run it with:
prompt# /sbin/add_modem For more information, see the section, Tip and /etc/remote.
[Document Top]
[Enabling Solaris For a Bidirectional Modem]
[Setting Up A Terminal on Solaris 2.x]
Enabling Solaris For A Dial-out-only Modem
If there is no port monitor running on the port, then the Sun will not try to spawn a login. So, you have to remove any port monitor on the port. There is much disagreement over whether these eeprom settings are required. They are not used, once a port monitor is running. Just use them and it won't hurt anything.
- Login as root and type:
prompt# eeprom ttya-ignore-cd=true [this means use HW carrier detect] prompt# eeprom ttya-rts-dtr-off=true - Reboot the system by typing:
prompt# init 6
(Is it critical to reboot now? No. But, you'll need to reboot at some time.)
- Make sure the modem is properly connected and already programmed. Make sure the cable is ok. Your cable needs at least lines 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 20, all straight through, with none crossed. A 25-pin cable, wired "straight through" is fine. A Null Modem cable will NOT work.
- Is there a service running on the zsmon port monitor?
Type:
prompt# pmadm -l
- If you got a result like:
PMTAG PMTYPE SVCTAG FLGS ID <PMSPECIFIC> zsmon ttymon ttya u root /dev/term/a I - /.....then you need to remove the existing service. Insert the PMTAG and SVCTAG tokens with the output of the command above.
prompt# pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya ^ ^ (PMTAG) (SVCTAG)If you haven't already programmed the modem, go to the section, "Tip and /etc/remote".
- If you see nothing listed for the port you're dealing with, then the Sun will not spawn a login on that port.
- If you got a result like:
[Document Top]
Enabling Solaris For A Dial-out-only Modem
[Setting Serial Port Modes]
Setting Up A Terminal on Solaris 2.x
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- All single quotes in these directions are BACK QUOTES, not FORWARD QUOTES, except where specifically noted.
- Be sure and execute these commands as root, from a BOURNE shell (sh), not ksh, tcsh, or csh. (If you use a Bourne shell script, that's good.)
- If, after following these instructions, you get terminal failures, or if
the add_terminal script gives an error message about
"
ttyadm: -V: invalid parameter", then make sure that root's default shell is /sbin/sh and not csh. - You want to have a maximum of one port monitor running on a given port. If you accidentally have two or more running on the port, your machine will probably panic.
- Is the Solaris 2.x port monitor, ttymon, configured and running?
Login as root and type:
prompt# sacadm -l -t ttymon
- If you get a message like:
"Invalid request, ttymon does not exist"
then the ttymon port monitor is not configured.
- If you get a result like:
PMTAG PMTYPE FLGS RCNT STATUS COMMAND zsmon ttymon - 0 ENABLED /usr/lib/saf/ttymon
- If you get a message like:
- Configure an instance of ttymon called zsmon:
prompt# sacadm -a -p zsmon -t ttymon -c /usr/lib/saf/ttymon -v `ttyadm -V`
(Note: The string "zsmon" is known as a PMTAG.)
- Is there a service running on the zsmon port monitor?
Type:
prompt# pmadm -l
- If you got a result like:
PMTAG PMTYPE SVCTAG FLGS ID <PMSPECIFIC> zsmon ttymon ttya u root /dev/term/a I - .........Then you need to remove the existing service. Issue this command and insert the PMTAG and SVCTAG found in the previous command by typing:
prompt# pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya ^ ^ (PMTAG) (SVCTAG) - If you don't see your port (like /dev/term/a) listed, then you're ok.
- If you got a result like:
- Set up the terminal
- Set the terminal for the speed you want. (The add_terminal script below assumes you are using 9600 baud.)
- The only lines you really need in the terminal-to-Sun cable are 2, 3, and 7. Be sure to cross lines 2 and 3 in your cable. A Null Modem cable will work well for this.
- Set the terminal for XON/XOFF flow control.
- Set the terminal for 7 bits, Even Parity. (1 stop bit, if you have that setting.) If you want a different parity or word length, see the section Setting Serial Port Modes.
- Enable Solaris for the terminal
- Edit and save the following script as
add_terminal - Make the script executable with "
chmod 700 add_terminal" - Edit
add_terminalto meet your particular needs - Execute
add_terminalas root - If the terminal doesn't give you a login when you hit <return>, try rebooting the machine once.
- Edit and save the following script as
add_terminal shell script
Download add_terminal as text file
#!/sbin/sh # add_terminal shell script. Must be run as root. # This script invokes pmadm with the following parameters. # Change these parameters as needed for your particular needs. # # PARAMETER MEANING # --------- ------- # PORT Port you want to set up. "a" or "b" # TTYSPEED Speed setting, from /etc/ttydefs # LOGINMSG The login message which will be displayed. # -s tty$PORT Terminal is on tty$PORT # -d /dev/term/$PORT Actual port device. you may want # -l $TTYSPEED Speed/stty setting from /etc/ttydefs. choose a # $TTYSPEED entry that meets your needs # -T vt100 Your default terminal type for this port. This # is a terminfo terminal type # -i 'terminal disabled' Message sent to the tty port if the port is # ever disabled # -S y Turn on software carrier ########################################################################## LOGINMSG="Always be nice to your sysadm. You may now login. " PORT="a" #---------------------------------------- # choose your speed setting. See /etc/ttydefs for more settings, # or build your own from the examples in the rest of this article. # conttyH = 9600bps, 7 bits even parity, as supplied by Sun TTYSPEED="conttyH" #---------------------------------------- # change ownership of outgoing side of port to user uucp, group tty. # change ownership of incoming side of port to user root, group tty. # (Yes, I know you're not using the outgoing side of the port, but if you # do this now, it will be ready when you someday put a modem on the port.) chown uucp /dev/cua/$PORT; chgrp tty /dev/cua/$PORT chown root /dev/term/$PORT; chgrp tty /dev/term/$PORT #---------------------------------------- # Remove any existing port monitor on the port # You can ignore any error messages from this next command. # You may be trying to remove a port monitor which does not exist. /usr/sbin/pmadm -r -p zsmon -s tty$PORT #---------------------------------------- # Create the new port monitor. # QUOTE-ALERT: The single quotes delimiting the port-disabled message # [terminal disabled] are FORWARD QUOTES /usr/sbin/pmadm -a -p zsmon -s tty$PORT -i root -fu \ -v `/usr/sbin/ttyadm -V` -m "`/usr/sbin/ttyadm -l $TTYSPEED \ -p "$LOGINMSG" -d /dev/term/$PORT -T vt100 -i 'terminal disabled' \ -s /usr/bin/login -S y`" ############ end of add_terminal script ###################################
Make the script executable by typing: prompt# chmod 700 /sbin/add_terminal
then run it with: prompt# /sbin/add_terminal
[Document Top]
[Setting Up A Terminal on Solaris 2.x]
[Configuring Serial Ports for UUCP]
Setting Serial Port Modes
Sun doesn't supply all the serial ports modes you're likely to want as stock
entries in /etc/ttydefs. (Sun seems to think that the whole world wants to run as 7 bits, even parity.) I'll show you how to set up the entries
in /etc/ttydefs to match your own needs.
Serial port modes (the terminal I/O options found in stty(1)) are set in the
file /etc/ttydefs. The name of the serial port mode (like contty5H) is used
as the argument to the "-l" option in the "ttyadm" portion of the "pmadm -a"
command. (This is the "speed" setting you use when you add a new port
monitor.) See the stty man page for all the available terminal I/O options.
The format of the entries in ttydefs is defined as:
ttylabel:initial-flags:final-flags:autobaud:nextlabel
- ttylabel
- The string ttymon tries to match against the TTY port's ttylabel field in the port monitor administrative file. It often describes the speed at which the terminal is supposed to run, for example, 1200.
- initial-flags
- Contains the initial termio(7) settings to which the terminal is to be set. For example, the system administrator can specify what the default erase and kill characters will be. initial-flags must be specified in the syntax recognized by the stty command.
- final-flags
- final-flags must be specified in the same format as initial-flags. ttymon sets these final settings after a connection request has been made and immediately before invoking a port's service.
- autobaud
- If the autobaud field contains the character "A" autobaud will be enabled. Otherwise, autobaud is disabled. ttymon determines what line speed to use to set the TTY port to by analyzing the carriage returns entered. If autobaud has been disabled, the hunt sequence is used for baud rate determination.(This works intermittently for me, so use this at your own risk.)
- nextlabel
- If the user indicates that the current terminal setting is
not appropriate by sending a <break>, ttymon searches for a
ttydefs entry whose ttylabel field matches the nextlabel
field.
If a match is found, ttymon uses that field as its ttylabel
field. A series of speeds is often linked together in this
way into a closed set called a hunt sequence. For example,
4800 may be linked to 1200, which in turn is linked to 2400,
which is finally linked to 4800.
If you have been clever enough to buy a modem which can handle split baud
rates, then you and your users will never have to hit
<break>again in order to match up the baud rate between modems.
WARNING: These stty modes are processed from left to right within each set of "initial-flags" or "final-flags" So, the order of the modes in each entry is significant.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When setting the mode to 8bits, do NOT enter it as "... -parity ... sane", but as "... sane... -parity" because "sane" resets the port to 7 bits.
/etc/ttydefs examples
These examples should make you comfortable with the basics. I've been advocating the use of 8 bits, no parity and the "38400bps, 8bits, no parity example" (below) shows you how to set that up. (Each entry should be on 1 line. Some are split here just so this document will print correctly.)
- 19200bps, 7bits, even parity example
contty5H, as supplied by Sun, is 19200bps, 7 bits even parity
contty5H:19200 opost onlcr:19200 hupcl sane::contty6H
This is equivalent to:
contty5H:19200 evenp opost onlcr:19200 sane evenp hupcl::contty6H
or
contty5H:19200 parenb -parodd opost onlcr:19200 sane parenb -parodd hupcl::contty6H
- 19200bps, 7bits, no parity example
To change contty5H to "7 bits, no parity" (-parenb):
contty5H:19200 -parenb opost onlcr:19200 sane -parenb hupcl::contty6H
- 19200 7bits, odd parity example
To change contty5H to "7bits, odd parity" (parenb parodd, or oddp):
contty5H:19200 parenb parodd opost onlcr:19200 sane parenb parodd hupcl::contty6H
or
contty5H:19200 oddp opost onlcr:19200 sane oddp hupcl::conttyH
- 38400bps, 8bits, no parity example
To make a "38400bps, 8 bits no parity, hardware flow control" entry with no chance of selecting another DTE rate--my own personal favorite:
contty6H:38400 -parity opost onlcr:38400 sane -parity crtscts hupcl::contty6H
- Unmodified /etc/ttydefs from Solaris 8
Note the higher speeds Solaris 8 can use, if you have an Ultra 10 or better. (Perhaps the Ultra 5 can do these speeds, I'm not sure.)
# VERSION=1 460800:460800 hupcl:460800 hupcl::307200 307200:307200 hupcl:307200 hupcl::230400 230400:230400 hupcl:230400 hupcl::153600 153600:153600 hupcl:153600 hupcl::115200 115200:115200 hupcl:115200 hupcl::76800 76800:76800 hupcl:76800 hupcl::57600 57600:57600 hupcl:57600 hupcl::38400 38400:38400 hupcl:38400 hupcl::19200 19200:19200 hupcl:19200 hupcl::9600 9600:9600 hupcl:9600 hupcl::4800 4800:4800 hupcl:4800 hupcl::2400 2400:2400 hupcl:2400 hupcl::1200 1200:1200 hupcl:1200 hupcl::300 300:300 hupcl:300 hupcl::460800 460800E:460800 hupcl evenp:460800 evenp::307200 307200E:307200 hupcl evenp:307200 evenp::230400 230400E:230400 hupcl evenp:230400 evenp::153600 153600E:153600 hupcl evenp:153600 evenp::115200 115200E:115200 hupcl evenp:115200 evenp::76800 76800E:76800 hupcl evenp:76800 evenp::57600 57600E:57600 hupcl evenp:57600 evenp::38400 38400E:38400 hupcl evenp:38400 evenp::19200 19200E:19200 hupcl evenp:19200 evenp::9600 9600E:9600 hupcl evenp:9600 evenp::4800 4800E:4800 hupcl evenp:4800 evenp::2400 2400E:2400 hupcl evenp:2400 evenp::1200 1200E:1200 hupcl evenp:1200 evenp::300 300E:300 hupcl evenp:300 evenp::19200 auto:hupcl:sane hupcl:A:9600 console:9600 hupcl opost onlcr:9600::console console1:1200 hupcl opost onlcr:1200::console2 console2:300 hupcl opost onlcr:300::console3 console3:2400 hupcl opost onlcr:2400::console4 console4:4800 hupcl opost onlcr:4800::console5 console5:19200 hupcl opost onlcr:19200::console contty:9600 hupcl opost onlcr:9600 sane::contty1 contty1:1200 hupcl opost onlcr:1200 sane::contty2 contty2:300 hupcl opost onlcr:300 sane::contty3 contty3:2400 hupcl opost onlcr:2400 sane::contty4 contty4:4800 hupcl opost onlcr:4800 sane::contty5 contty5:19200 hupcl opost onlcr:19200 sane::contty 4800H:4800:4800 sane hupcl::9600H 9600H:9600:9600 sane hupcl::19200H 19200H:19200:19200 sane hupcl::38400H 38400H:38400:38400 sane hupcl::2400H 2400H:2400:2400 sane hupcl::1200H 1200H:1200:1200 sane hupcl::300H 300H:300:300 sane hupcl::4800H conttyH:9600 opost onlcr:9600 hupcl sane::contty1H contty1H:1200 opost onlcr:1200 hupcl sane::contty2H contty2H:300 opost onlcr:300 hupcl sane::contty3H contty3H:2400 opost onlcr:2400 hupcl sane::contty4H contty4H:4800 opost onlcr:4800 hupcl sane::contty5H contty5H:19200 opost onlcr:19200 hupcl sane::conttyH
[Document Top]
[Setting Serial Port Modes]
[File format: /etc/saf/{pmtag}/_pmtab and /etc/saf/_sactab]
Configuring Serial Ports for UUCP
Parity in UUCP
People often get confused about running UUCP in 7 bits vs. 8 bits vs. even vs. odd parity. Here's what's really going on and how to deal with it. Both the caller and receiver must agree on parity (even, odd, none) during the login sequence. 7 or 8 bit word length often doesn't matter, if you "do the right thing" with parity.
Once the uucico processes are running, UUCP's own protocol handles all these issues for you, but you need to be concerned with it during login.
You can set up four parity-related options during the login chat:
- P_ZERO - 8 bits, no parity
- P_EVEN - 7 bits, even parity
- P_ODD - 7 bits, odd parity
- P_ONE - 7 bits, "1" or Mark parity
It is usually safest to set up parity on a per-system-to-call basis in the /etc/uucp/Systems file, but it can also be set for all uses of the port in /etc/uucp/Dialers file.
UUCP Parity-per-system example: To set up a port within UUCP to run with 8 bits, no parity, on a per-system-connect basis:
In the file /etc/uucp/Systems, include P_ZERO in the chat script, as in:
outhost Any ACU 9600 5551212 "" P_ZERO ogin: mylogin ssword: mypass
This means that when you first start trying to contact the machine "outhost" uucp expects nothing ("") and sets P_ZERO (8 bits, no parity or 8N1).
UUCP Parity-for-all-systems example: To set up a port within UUCP to run with no parity, for all uses of this port:
(This example assumes you are using the "tbfast" entry in your /etc/uucp/Devices file)
In /etc/uucp/Dialers:
tbfast =W-, "" P_ZERO "" \dA\pA\pA\pTE1V1X1......
Flow control with UUCP
With UUCP, either use hardware flow control or no flow control. Please remember that there is no incoming hardware flow control on Sun CPU serial ports, only outgoing hardware flow control. (There is no such limitation on non-CPU ports which claim to have hardware flow control.)
Sun has released a patch for some releases of Solaris 2.x to enable hardware flow control on some systems' CPU serial ports. It may work on your system, but it may not.
The lack of incoming hardware flow control is not a problem with UUCP, usually, because the UUCP protocol is robust enough to request retransmission of packets when the data isn't correct.
Using a good modem that has built-in UUCP protocol support (also known as spoofing) may also help your throughput. (This is a good use for a Telebit WorldBlazer.) If all else fails, slow down the connection between the Sun and the modem to what you can support in your environment.
The string "STTY=crtscts" tells UUCP to use hardware flow control. It's
usually better to set this up on a per-port basis, rather than on a
per-system basis, but UUCP will let you configure it however you want.
- UUCP HW flow for all systems: To set up a port with UUCP to
use hardware flow control for all uses of this port: (Preferred way)
(This example assumes you are using the "tbfast" entry in your /etc/uucp/Devices file)
In /etc/uucp/Dialers, add "
STTY=crtscts" after theCONNECT:tbfast =W-, "" \dA\pTE1.... \EATDT\T\r\c CONNECT STTY=crtscts
- UUCP HW flow for some systems: To set up a port with UUCP to
use hardware flow control, on a per-system-connect basis. (Do this if
you feel you must, but there are very few good reasons for it.)
In the file /etc/uucp/Systems, include "
STTY=crtscts" in the chat script, as in:outhost Any ACU 9600 5551212 ogin: mylog ssword: mypass "" STTY=crtscts
[Document Top]
[Configuring Serial Ports for UUCP]
[Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.0-2.3)]
File format: /etc/saf/{pmtag}/_pmtab and /etc/saf/_sactab
Sometimes, it's easier to just edit the _pmtab file directly and restart the port monitor, rather than fussing with pmadm. (This is not for the faint of heart or those not feeling confident about their ability to recover from trashing their Solaris system.)
If you're comfortable with hacking the file yourself, you'll need to know the format of the _pmtab file. Many thanks to Andrew Miller (amiller@snm.com) for providing this dissection! I haven't exhaustively tested this, but I trust Mr. Miller's work. Refer to the pmadm(1M) man page for more discussion of these fields.
/etc/saf/*/_pmtab:
{svc_tag}:{flags}:{id}:reserved:reserved:reserved:
{device_path}:{tty_flags}:{return_count}:{service_path}:{timeout_seconds}:
{tty_def}:{streamio_modules}:{login_prompt}:{disabled_msg}:{term_type}:
{softcar_yn}:# {comment}
/etc/saf/_smtab:
{pm_tag}:{pm_type}:{flags}:{restart_count}:{monitor_path args} # comment
This is one of my own /etc/saf/zsmon/_pmtab lines. (This is really one line, but you'll get the idea.):
ttya:u:root:reserved:reserved:reserved:/dev/term/a:b::/usr/bin/login ::contty5H:ldterm,ttcompat:Please login and be nice. :::n:#dial in/out on serial port a
And here's my own /etc/saf/_sactab
tcp:listen::999:/usr/lib/saf/listen tcp # zsmon:ttymon::0:/usr/lib/saf/ttymon #
[Document Top]
[File format: /etc/saf/{pmtag}/_pmtab and /etc/saf/_sactab]
[Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.4 and higher)]
Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.0-2.3)
Solaris versions 2.0-2.3 and Solaris 2.4-higher differ in how they set up the pre-login message. These instructions are for Solaris 2.0-2.3. For Solaris 2.4-higher, see the section "Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.4-higher)".
You can change the message displayed when login executes by using the "-p"
flag of ttyadm. This can be used to display a fixed string ("Login please"),
to display the contents of a file ("`cat /etc/myloginmsg`"), or to run a
text-producing program ("`uname -n` login ").
In fact, Sun's default /etc/inittab produces the console login prompt with a combination of a fixed string and a program's output:
co:234:respawn:/usr/lib/saf/ttymon -g -h -p "`uname -n` console login: " -T sun -d /dev/console -l console -m ldterm,ttcompat
WARNING: I haven't tested this completely. There is probably a maximum amount of text that can be displayed. Use caution. And, let me know if you find other good tricks to use with the login message.
- Setting the login prompt to a fixed string:(as seen in this documents' add_modem
and add_terminal scripts):
#!/sbin/sh LOGINMSG="Welcome to ACME Widget Corp. Please login. " /usr/sbin/pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya /usr/sbin/pmadm -a -p zsmon -s ttya -i root -v \ `/usr/sbin/ttyadm -V` -fu -m "`/usr/sbin/ttyadm \ -p "$LOGINMSG" -d /dev/term/a \ -s /usr/bin/login -l conttyH -b -S n -m ldterm,ttcompat`" -y "comment"
- Setting the login prompt to the contents of a file:(/etc/myloginmsg)
#!/sbin/sh LOGINMSG="`cat /etc/myloginmsg`" /usr/sbin/pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya /usr/sbin/pmadm -a -p zsmon -s ttya -i root -v \ `/usr/sbin/ttyadm -V` -fu -m "`/usr/sbin/ttyadm \ -p "$LOGINMSG" -d /dev/term/a \ -s /usr/bin/login -l conttyH -b -S n -m ldterm,ttcompat`" -y "comment"
- Setting the login prompt to the output of a program and a fixed string:
#!/sbin/sh LOGINMSG="Please login to the `uname -n` machine: " /usr/sbin/pmadm -r -p zsmon -s ttya /usr/sbin/pmadm -a -p zsmon -s ttya -i root -v \ `/usr/sbin/ttyadm -V` -fu -m "`/usr/sbin/ttyadm \ -p "$LOGINMSG" -d /dev/term/a \ -s /usr/bin/login -l conttyH -b -S n -m ldterm,ttcompat`" -y "comment"
[Document Top]
[Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.0-2.3)]
[Solaris x86 Issues]
Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.4-higher)
Solaris versions 2.0-2.3 and Solaris 2.4-higher differ in how they set up the pre-login message. These instructions are for Solaris 2.4-higher. For Solaris 2.0-2.3, see the section "Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.0-2.3)".
The contents of the file /etc/issue are displayed before the login prompt of
all incoming serial port dial-in and telnet connection by the program
"login". /etc/issue is a plain, ascii file and can be edited with any text
editor.
Example: If /etc/issue contains the following information:
This is the contents of the /etc/issue
file on sunhost.
Then a user initiating a telnet session to sunhost (telnet sunhost) would see the following output:
Trying 192.9.200.2 ...
Connected to sunhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
UNIX(r) System V Release 4.0 (sunhost)
This is the contents of the /etc/issue
file on sunhost.
login:
[Document Top]
[Customizing the login message (Solaris 2.4)]
Solaris x86 Issues
Solaris x86 2.0-2.5 and COM2
By default, versions of Solaris x86 prior to 2.6 enable only COM1. If you are adding an internal modem to an existing system with two COM ports, be sure to set the modem to a valid COM setting and non-conflicting interrupt, or disable COM2 in the system and configure the modem to standard COM2 settings (io=2f8 irq=3). See Sun's X86 Device Configuration Guide for further details.
- Boot Solaris 2.x x86 and log in as root.
- Edit the asy.conf file.
(for Solaris 2.4 x86)# vi /kernel/drv/asy.conf
(for Solaris 2.5 x86)# vi /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.conf - Uncomment second entry for COM2.
(The following is for Solaris 2.4 x86)Download asy.conf as text file
# # Copyright (c) 1992 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. # #ident "asy.conf 1.6 94/05/17 SMI" name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,4 reg=0x3f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x3f8; # # Note: To enable COM2 uncomment the following entry, and it may require # reconfiguration of SMC device if you are using SMC Enet with # default configuration (which also uses IRQ 3). (See smc.conf file.) # #name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,3 reg=0x2f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x2f8; ^ Remove this comment sign (#)
- Save and exit the file.
- Enable reconfiguration reboot.
# touch /reconfigure - Reboot the system.
# sync ; reboot
Solaris x86 2.6 and COM2
A serial or modem device is not automatically recognized by Solaris. Normally, Solaris 2.6 will find the COM1 and COM2 ports for a system and enable them by default. If you have a COM3 or COM4, some or all of the ports may not be recognized by Solaris. This can even happen with some serial devices at the standard COM1 and COM2 settings with all other serial devices in the system disabled.
The ultimate cause of this recognition failure may be fixed in a future Driver Update, so only try this if the latest Driver Update from http://access1.sun.com or the SunSoft Compuserve forum has been applied and you are still experiencing the problem.
Do not share IRQs from an ISA device, like a serial port, with any other device. If you are adding a COM3 or COM4 device, as is typical for a plug-in modem card, use an IRQ (5 is often available) that is not being used by another card in your system.
If it is not possible to set it to a non-standard COM port IRQ, you may have to disable one of the built-in COM ports for your system. At boot time, Solaris probes COM1 for a mouse and COM2, if enabled in asy.conf, for a modem. This probe can cause problems with a lot of modems. It certainly causes problems with any UPS installed on COM2. If using an internal modem on COM2, disable the onboard COM port in the BIOS to avoid IRQ conflicts.
For Solaris x86 2.5.1 and earlier, these problems were handled by editing the asy.conf file. While Solaris 2.6 does not come with such a file, it does honor it just as the previous versions did. Note that our example one has COM2 disabled by default. You should only enable devices that actually exist on your system.
If you use this technique, save your existing asy.conf as asy.conf.orig in the /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv directory.
- Boot Solaris 2.6 x86 and log in as root.
- Locate the /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.conf/asy.conf file and save it.
# cp /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.conf /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.conf.orig
- Replace /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.conf with the following
asy.conf file.
Download asy.conf as text file
# # Copyright (c) 1992 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. # #ident "asy.conf 1.7 96/12/18 SMI" name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,4 reg=0x3f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x3f8; ignore-hardware-nodes=1; # # Note: To enable COM2 uncomment the following entry, and it may require # reconfiguration of SMC device if you are using SMC Enet with # default configuration (which also uses IRQ 3). (See smc.conf file.) # #name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,3 reg=0x2f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x2f8; # COM3: # In order to enable COM3, the following entry must be uncommented and # possibly edited. # You must ensure that the "interrupts" "reg" and "ioaddr" values # correspond to your hardware. See the section on configuring additional # serial ports in your x86 device configuration manual or answerbook for # further details. # # # This entry uses its own unique interrupt (IRQ5) #name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,5 reg=0x3e8,0,0 ioaddr=0x3e8; # COM4: # In order to enable COM3, the following entry must be uncommented and # possibly edited. # # You must ensure that the "interrupts" "reg" and "ioaddr" values # correspond to your hardware. See the section on configuring additional # serial ports in your x86 device configuration manual or answerbook for # further details. # # This entry uses its own unique interrupt (IRQ9) #name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,9 reg=0x2e8,0,0 ioaddr=0x2e8;
- Edit asy.conf and uncomment second entry for COM2.
#name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,3 reg=0x2f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x2f8; ^Remove this comment sign (#)
- Save and exit the file.
- Enable reconfiguration upon reboot.
# touch /reconfigure
- Reboot the system.
# sync ; reboot
Further information is available from Sun's access1.sun.com site, in How to add a serial port at a non-standard IRQ and Adding new Plug-N-Play devices to Solaris 2.6
Solaris 7-8 x86 (2.7-8) and COM2
(This section, added in February 1999, and updated in June 2001, would not have been possible without the help of many of our readers. Contributors include Cagri Yucel (cyucel@is.ku.edu.tr), Jim (puppy@biosys.net). Thanks, folks!)
Choose either the automatic or more manual methods below, depending on how much you like fussing with files versus point-and-click.
Automatic Method, using Device Configuration Assistant:
-
Boot your machine, and press the
ESC(escape) key to enter the Device Configuration Assistant during the boot. - Choose Add Device or View/Edit Devices and add a Serial Port with the IO=2F8 and IRQ=3.
- Continue with the reboot and Solaris automatically performs a reconfigure boot. The new port should magically appear.
More manual method, using Device Configuration Assistant:
- Make sure the com port the internal modem corresponds to is DISABLED in the BIOS.
- Boot the system, login as root, and add these lines to
[Solaris 7]/platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/asy.confor
[Solaris 8]/kernel/drv/asy.confname="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,4 reg=0x3f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x3f8; ignore-hardware-nodes=1; name="asy" class="sysbus" interrupts=12,3 reg=0x2f8,0,0 ioaddr=0x2f8;
- In a window, type
reboot - While the system is booting, press
ESCto enter the Device Configuration Assistant. - Press
F2to scan system bus. PressF4to select Device Tasks. - Select View/Edit Devices then press
F2again to see a list of system devices and cards. Look for something that slightly resembles an internal modem, like this for a modem on cua/b - com 2:PnP ISA ETT0001 port 2F8-2FF IRQ3
- Confirm that the I/O address matches a com port (either 2f8 for COM1 or 3f8 for COM1) and the interrupt request is ok (3 for COM2 or 4 for COM1).
- Press
F2to continue, pressF3for back, pressF2to continue again. - On the next screen, select the default boot device (marked with a "*")
and then press
F2to boot the kernel. - When the machine is booted, login as root, go to Application Manager, then to Admintool.
- In Admintool select Browse, then select Serial Ports. Then, at last, you can set up your Internal Modem as you so desire.
PC serial ports and internal modems
(This section was contributed in October 1998 by Jay Ts of Metran Technology. Jay Ts is a Linux and Unix consultant with many years of experience in system administration and programming. He can be reached at jayts@bigfoot.com, http://jayts.cx, 1-888-282-0549.)
The design of the PC architecture includes up to four "standard" serial ports using interrupts (IRQs) 3 and 4, and different I/O Ports:
COM# IRQ I/O Port ---- --- -------- COM1 4 0x3f8 Look at those numbers carefully; COM2 3 0x2f8 they're not exactly intuitive. ;-) COM3 4 0x3e8 COM4 3 0x2e8
Usually, modern PC motherboards will have two serial ports included on the motherboard, with a default configuration of COM1 and COM2. This configuration, along with many other hardware parameters, and the date and time, are stored in a small area of battery-backed RAM (separate from main memory), sometimes referred to as "CMOS" because early implementations (at least) were done with CMOS static RAM. Another term used for the hardware parameters is "BIOS settings" because they are set using the system's builtin (ROM) firmware, the BIOS setup program. ("BIOS" stands for "Basic Input/Output System" and was originally used by MS-DOS to perform low-level hardware access, and controls the initial boot procedures when the system is powered on or reset.)
There are a large number of PC motherboard manufacturers, and more than one company that develops BIOS ROMs (notably, AMI, Award and Phoenix), all with a plethora of revisions, so the details of how the setup program works varies considerably from one motherboard model to another. However, there are some common functions. When you boot the computer, there will usually be a message reporting how to enter the BIOS setup program. Once you have done that, you will need to use the setup program's menu selections to find the screen where you have options regarding how to configure the serial ports. Sometimes, you may only be able to enable or disable them, and in other cases, you may be able to configure each to be COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4 or disabled.
Now, about those internal modems. Typically, they are implemented to look like one of the standard serial ports, probably COM2 by default (because COM1 is almost always used for the mouse).
There are some exceptions to this, notably the USR WinModem, which is a cost-reduced design that moves much of the modem's functions out of hardware, and into software that is provided with the product, and only runs under Windows. My advice is that if your system has a WinModem, you remove it from the system, return it for a refund if possible, and if not, chuck it into the trash, and get yourself a real modem. So far, I do not know of one single case of a WinModem working with any version of Unix. Likewise, if you have a modem that is not implemented to act like a serial port, your best option is probably to replace it with one that has a more standard implementation.
If your internal modem is configured as COM2, you'd better make sure that neither of the "normal" serial ports on the motherboard is also configured as COM2. That would be an obvious hardware conflict, which shouldn't be expected to work. Often (always?) this conflict will be detected by the BIOS during system bootup, and you will be asked to enter the setup program to correct it. In any case, either reconfigure the conflicting motherboard serial port, or just disable it.
Another conflict may happen if one of the motherboard's serial ports shares an IRQ with the modem. Note in the above listing that COM1 shares IRQ4 with COM3, and COM2 shares IRQ3 with COM4. This is a notorious source of difficulty. Theoretically, it is possible to have devices sharing an interrupt, as long as they use different I/O ports, but in practice, the implementations of specific motherboards and operating systems may prevent them from actually working together. The result of an incompatibility can be as minor as a flaky serial port, or as major as a system crash or lockup.
You might think that it would be safe to configure the "extra" serial port on the motherboard as COM3 or COM4 and not plug anything (terminal, external modem, whatever) into it. Or only use it when the internal modem's not in use. But it can still be a problem.
If you want to be safe, make sure that COM1 is enabled for the mouse, COM2 is reserved for the modem, and that no serial port in the system is configured as COM3 or COM4. Check your modem card to see if there are jumpers to allow you to configure the COM port that it uses. And of course, make sure that no other hardware in the system is using the same IRQ as the modem.
If none of this works, I can make the following suggestions:
- Try different BIOS settings, even if they are not what I recommend. (And be prepared to to reboot your system without using the mouse, if necessary.)
- Try a different modem.
- Contact the motherboard vendor, and see if they have an update for the BIOS ROM chip(s).
- Try a different motherboard.
- Find a patch that updates the operating system's serial port driver.
- Give up. :-)
Serial device naming in Solaris x86
The kind folks at Progressive Systems have alerted us that the serial device naming scheme is different in Sparc Solaris and X86 Solaris, for Solaris 2.6-2.7. For Solaris 8 (2.8), the x86 device names match the Sparc names. So, make changes to this article's add_modem and add_terminal scripts as necessary.
Sparc name x86 name x86 name (all releases) (Solaris 2.6-2.7) (Solaris 8) -------------- ----------------- ----------- /dev/term/n /dev/ttynn /dev/term/n /dev/ttyn /dev/ttydn /dev/ttyn /dev/cua/n /dev/cuan /dev/cua/n
Celeste Stokely is an outspoken and pro-user Information Technology Management and Project Management consultant who has been trying to make the world safer for Unix System Administrators since 1983.
She lives in Austin, Texas and runs Stokely Consulting with her husband, Peter, 3 bouncy cats named L.B., Sparcy and Spot, and an ever-increasing number of cheerful tropical fish. Celeste can be reached via email at celeste@stokely.com.