FreeBSD, Intel Motherboards and Portmaster Serial Console - How?

[Marc G. Fournier]

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004, Samuel Clements wrote:

> The RJ-45 should be pinned exactly like the cisco RJ-45's. If you can 
> get a console to a cisco router off of one of your PM ports, you should 
> be able to plug it into the serial B be header on the server and be able 
> to talk to it. The second problem of management (watching POST and 
> kernel messages) should be easily remedied by telling the machine to 
> redirect POST messages to Serial B as well as do ACPI re-direction to 
> Serial B (done in the BIOS). This should get you all the way through 
> kernel messages, then if you want to allow logins on Serial B, you 
> should just be able to 'turn on' ttyd1 in /etc/ttys.

Oh, most cool .. so I wouldn't even be using FreeBSDs serial console, but 
doing it at the hardware level?  By 'watching POST', would this also give 
me remot access to the BIOS itself?


> -Sam
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marc G. Fournier" <scrappy at hub.org>
> To: <freebsd-questions at freebsd.org>
> Cc: <freebsd-hardware at freebsd.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 1:03 PM
> Subject: FreeBSD, Intel Motherboards and Portmaster Serial Console - How?
>
>
>> 
>> I just picked up a PM25 for our colo facility, so that I can do remote 
>> admin on the FreeBSD boxes ... our two Tyan servers are a piece of cake, as 
>> they have DB9 Serial, like I'd expect ... but the Intel motherboards have 
>> "External RJ45 serial, internal serial header" on all of there boards, from 
>> what I can tell ... but what I can't figure out is how to make use of them 
>> ...
>> 
>> The servers are remote, so adding a 9pin serial port onto the 'internal 
>> header' is a bit difficult, so am wondering about using the 'external 
>> RJ45'.  The PM25 cables end in an RJ45 jack, and we had to purchase 
>> adapters to go from RJ45->9pin ... can those RJ45 adapters be used to plug 
>> into the RJ45 serial directly?
>> 
>> Also, from what I've been able to read so far, the RJ45 == Serial B, not 
>> Serial A ... so, I'd need to change how FreeBSD works as far as serial 
>> console is concerned, to look at Serial B, no?
>> 
>> Help?
>> 
>> Thanks ...
>> 
>> 
>> ----
>> Marc G. Fournier           Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org)
>> Email: scrappy at hub.org           Yahoo!: yscrappy              ICQ: 7615664
>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
>
>
>

----
Marc G. Fournier           Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org)
Email: scrappy at hub.org           Yahoo!: yscrappy              ICQ: 7615664