Solaris 10 Installation Guide for IBM BladeCenter Servers

Setting Up a Serial Over LAN Connection (Post Installation)

This section includes information about setting up a serial over LAN connection to manage systems remotely. Perform the following procedure after you have completed the Solaris OS installation. The BladeCenter Management Module (MM) command-line interface provides access to the text console command prompt on IBM BladeCenter servers through an SOL connection. If you want to manage systems remotely, you must first set up this connection. More information about the BladeCenter systems MM can be found at http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/journal/rd/496/brey.html.

ProcedureHow to Set Up a Serial Over LAN Connection

  1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

    Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

  2. Change the values in the /etc/ttydefs as follows:


    console:19200 hupcl opost onlcr:19200::console
  3. In the /boot/solaris/bootenv.rc file, change the ttyb-mode and console values as follows:


    setprop ttyb-mode 19200,8,n,1,h
    setprop console 'ttyb'
  4. To eliminate the splash image and use ttyb at 19200, change the following information in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file:


    #splashimage /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
    title Solaris 10 1/06 s10x_u1wos_19a X86 SOL
    kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot -B console=ttyb
  5. If you are installing either the Solaris 10 1/06 or the Solaris 10 6/06 release on the HS40 BladeCenter server, add the following line to the asy.conf file:


    name="asy" parent="isa" reg=1,0x2f8,8 interrupts=3;

    Note –

    The IBM HS20 BladeCenter server has a BIOS update that addresses the missing COM2 port. If this port is not displayed by the BIOS, you can use the preceding workaround. Or, you can download the latest BIOS update from the IBM web site.


  6. Reboot the system and run the devfsadm command.

    Rebooting the system and running the devfsadm command ensures that the /dev/ttyb file has been created.

  7. Initiate the SOL session by following these steps:

    1. Telnet to the IP address of the BladeCenter Management Module.


      # telnet management-module-ip-address
      
    2. Log in and type the following command:


      console -T system:blade[xx]
      

      where xx is the bay number of the blade on which you want to initiate a session.

      If the SOL connection is working, you should now have access to the text console command prompt.

      If the connection is not working, the following error message is displayed:


      SOL is not ready

      If the serial over LAN connection is not established, verify that the values you modified in Steps 2, 3, and 4 are correct. If necessary, repeat Steps 6 and 7 to establish the SOL connection.