Chapter 8 Managing Terminals and Modems With Serial Port Manager

This chapter describes how to set up and maintain modems and terminals by using the Solstice Serial Port Manager and its corresponding command-line equivalents. This is a list of the step-by-step instructions in this chapter.

• "How to Start Serial Port Manager"

• "How to Configure Multiple Ports Using Serial Port Manager"

• "How to Add a Terminal"

• "How to Add a Modem"

• "How to Initialize a Port Without Configuring"

• "How to Disable a Port"

• "How to Delete a Port Service"

Serial Port Manager configures the serial port software to work with terminals and modems by calling the pmadm command and supplying the appropriate information. It features:

• Displays of serial port information

• Templates for common terminal and modem configurations

• Multiple port setup, modification, or deletion

Serial Port Manager Features

The Serial Port Manager enables you to configure or remove terminals and modems used with your serial ports. This tool also enables you to configure multiple ports at the same time.

The Seral Port Manager consists primarily of two windows: the Serial Port Manager main window and the Modify window.

The Serial Port Manager main window displays the serial ports for the system that you are currently logged managing.

In this window, three pull-down menus enable you to:

• Select the port that you wish to modify

• Delete modems and terminals

• View serial ports for different hosts

The three pull-down menus consist of the following:

The option that is most commonly used is the Modify option in the Edit pull-down menu. This option opens the Modify window.

In this window, you have many options to choose from, including templates for commonly used terminal and modem configurations. The templates can be viewed by selecting the Template button, which enables you to choose one of the following template options:

• Terminal - Hardwired

• Modem - Dial in Only

• Modem - Dial out Only

• Modem - Bidirectional

• Initialize Only - No Connection

You can select the desired option level using one of the Detail buttons described in Table 8-1. Each button displays a different level of options, as shown in the previous screen display. (Each level is separated by a thin line.)

Command-Line Equivalents of Serial Port Manager

Table 8-2 lists the commands that provide the same functionality as Serial Port Manager and can be used without running OpenWindows or Motif CDE. Many of the Serial Port Manager procedures in this chapter provide corresponding examples using the command-line equivalents.

Files Modified by Serial Port Manager

Table 8-3 describes the files that are modified by Serial Port Manager on the system where you are modifying the serial port services.

Using Serial Port Manager

By using serial port manager, you can accomplish a number of tasks. The following procedures describe each of these tasks.

How to Start Serial Port Manager

1. Verify that the prerequisite steps described in Chapter 1, Introduction, are met.

2. Type solstice & from a Command or Shell Tool prompt and press Return.

3. Click the Serial Port Manager icon.

   The Serial Port Manager main window is displayed.

   

4. (Optional) Choose Host from the View menu.

   1. Select the host you wish to access using Serial Port Manager.

      You can also type in the name of the host in the selection field.

   2. Click on OK to access the host using Serial Port Manager.

How to Configure Multiple Ports Using Serial Port Manager

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Select the ports that you would like to modify.

   You can select more than one port by single-clicking on each port listed in the Serial Port Manager main window.

3. Select the Modify option from the Edit pull-down menu.

How to Add a Terminal

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Select the port or ports that will be used with a terminal in the Serial Port Manager main window.

3. Choose Modify from the Edit menu.

   The Modify window is displayed in the Basic Detail mode. (For additional details, click on More or Expert.)

4. Choose Terminal - Hardwired from the Template menu.

5. Change values of template entries if desired.

6. Click on OK to configure the port.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Adding a Terminal

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to enable a terminal connection to port /dev/term/a.

# admserialmod -e -p hw a

In this command,

How to Add a Modem

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Select the port or ports that will be used with a modem from the Serial Port Manager main window.

3. Choose Modify from the Edit menu.

   The Modify window appears in the Basic Detail mode. (For additional details, select either the More or Expert Detail modes.)

4. Choose the modem configuration from the Template menu that meets or most closely matches your modem service.

   The modem template choices are described here.

   Modem Configuration	Description
   Modem - Dial In Only	Users may dial in to the modem but cannot dial out.
   Modem - Dial Out Only	Users may dial out from the modem but cannot dial in.
   Modem - Bidirectional	Users may either dial in or out from the modem.

   See the Reference online help for the default values of each template. If a UUCP service will be used to dial in to your modem on a Solaris 2.x system, see "How to Configure a Modem for Use With UUCP" for the rest of the procedure.

5. Change values of template entries if desired.

6. Click on OK to configure the port.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Adding a Modem

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to enable a modem to port /dev/term/b.

# admserialmod -e -p bi -b 38400 b

In this command,

How to Configure a Modem for Use With UUCP

UUCP sends information using seven bits and even parity. Solaris software modem configurations use eight bits and no parity for internationalization purposes. To set up your modem service to work with UUCP, follow these instructions.

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. From the Serial Port Manager main window, select the port or ports that will be used with a modem.

3. Choose Modify Service from the Edit menu.

   The Modify Service window appears in the Basic Detail mode. (For additional details, select either the More or Expert Detail modes.)

4. Choose the modem configuration from the Template menu that meets or most closely matches your modem service.

5. Select Other from the Baud Rate menu.

6. Enter a baud rate value from the /etc/ttydefs file that provides seven bit, even parity service and click on OK.

   In this example, the 9600E baud rate was selected. This provides a service with a 9600 baud rate, seven bits, and even parity.

7. Change values of other template entries if desired.

8. Click on OK to configure the port.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Adding a Modem

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to enable a modem (for use with UUCP) to port /dev/term/b.

# admserialmod -e -p bi -b 9600E b

In this command,

How to Initialize a Port Without Configuring

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Choose Modify from the Edit menu.

   The Modify window appears in the Basic Detail mode. See the Reference online help for default values of the Basic, More, or Export Detail modes.

3. Choose Initialize Only - No Connection from the Template menu.

4. Click on OK to initialize the port.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Initializing a Modem

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to initialize port /dev/term/b.

# admserialmod -e -p init b

In this command,

How to Disable a Port

Be careful that when disabling a port that you do not disable the port used for the console because when you reboot, no console would be available to you.

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Select the port or ports that you want to disable from the Serial Port Manager main window.

3. Choose Modify from the Edit menu.

4. Select the Service Enable item in the Modify window to disable the port.

   The other items in the Modify window will turn gray when the port service is disabled.

5. Click on OK to disable the port.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Disabling a Port

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to disable port /dev/term/b.

# admserialmod -d b

How to Delete a Port Service

Be careful that when deleting a port that you do not delete the port used for the console because when you reboot, no console would be available to you.

1. Start Serial Port Manager from the Solstice Launcher, if not done already.

   See the procedure on "How to Start Serial Port Manager" for information about starting Serial Port Manager.

2. Select the port or ports with a service you want to delete from the Serial Port Manager main window.

3. Choose Delete from the Edit menu. A window is displayed asking you to confirm that the service should be deleted.

4. Click on OK when you are ready to delete the service.

Example of a Command-Line Equivalent for Deleting a Port Service

The following example is the equivalent of using Serial Port Manager to disable port /dev/term/b.

# admserialdel b