The following console features improve your ability to troubleshoot Oracle Solaris remote systems:
The consadm command enables you to select a serial device as an auxiliary (or remote) console. Using the consadm command, a system administrator can configure one or more serial ports to display redirected console messages and to host sulogin sessions when the system transitions between run levels. This feature enables you to dial in to a serial port with a modem to monitor console messages and participate in init state transitions. For more information, see sulogin(1M) and the step-by-step procedures that follow.
Although you can log in to a system using a port configured as an auxiliary console, it is primarily an output device displaying information that is also displayed on the default console. If boot scripts or other applications read and write to and from the default console, the write output displays on all the auxiliary consoles. But the input is only read from the default console. For more information, see Guidelines for Using the consadm Command During an Interactive Login Session.
Console output now consists of kernel and syslog messages written to a new pseudo device, /dev/sysmsg. In addition, rc script startup messages are written to /dev/msglog. Previously, all of these messages were written to /dev/console.
Scripts that direct console output to /dev/console need to be changed to /dev/msglog if you want to see script messages displayed on the auxiliary consoles. Programs referencing /dev/console should be explicitly modified to use syslog() or strlog() if you want messages to be redirected to an auxiliary device.
The consadm command runs a daemon to monitor auxiliary console devices. Any display device designated as an auxiliary console that disconnects, hangs up, or loses carrier is removed from the auxiliary console device list and is no longer active. Enabling one or more auxiliary consoles does not disable message display on the default console; messages continue to display on /dev/console.
The consadm daemon does not start monitoring the port until after you add the auxiliary console with the consadm command. As a security feature, console messages are redirected only until the carrier drops or the auxiliary console device is deselected. Therefore, the carrier must be established on the port before you can successfully use the consadm command.