Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 20:40:09 +0100 From: Nick Barnes <Nick.Barnes@pobox.com> To: stable@freebsd.org Subject: serial console Message-ID: <59175.989869209@thrush.ravenbrook.com>
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I have received several individual replies to this message, asking for more details of setting up a serial console. I haven't actually done this myself since 2.2.5 (or maybe 2.2.8), and the procedure has changed a little since then. I refer people to the relevant section of the handbook: <URL: http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO_8859-1/books/handbook/serialconsole-setup.html>; It's easy, and I strongly recommend it for remote FreeBSD machines, assuming you can get at least _some_ other hardware colocated. For instance, you can get a terminal server: a little black box which converts a number of serial lines into TCP/IP connections. That lets you drive serial console for a number of boxes at once, without having to remember that console on foo is cuaa0 on bar, etc. I have used a 16-port "Digiboard Portserver" (now gathering dust) for this purpose in the past. It goes without saying that you should choose good-quality kit for remote located machines. For instance, don't use anything which doesn't come up reliably first time from a power cycle. Nick B > From: Nick Barnes <Nick.Barnes@pobox.com> > To: "stable@freebsd.org" <stable@FreeBSD.ORG> > Subject: Re: Running Stable on remote production server > Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 09:48:46 +0100 > Message-ID: <12552.989830126@thrush.ravenbrook.com> > > If you have more than one machine at the same remote site, then I > recommend setting up each as the serial console for the other. That > way you can go single-user, drive fsck, etc etc. > > Nick B > > At 2001-05-13 20:36:40+0000, Juha Saarinen writes: > > On Sun, 13 May 2001, Mike Smith wrote: > > > > > It's entirely unnecessary to go single-user when updating a machine; just > > > rebuild the world, optionally run mergemaster, and reboot. > > > > > > Exceptions to this rule do occur, but they're *extremely* rare. > > > > Having rebuilt a number of machines remotely in the last couple of weeks, > > I have to concur... > > > > The most important thing is to pay attention to mergemaster, PLUS doing a > > final check of vital rc and other conf files in /etc BEFORE rebooting. > > > > On one site I had the local "admin" unplug the network cable after the box > > was shifted into the server room -- I was trying to figure out what I had > > done wrong until it occured to me to ask if the system was connected to > > the LAN. His answer was priceless... "why do you have to have a network > > connection? Can't you get at the box remotely?" ;-D > > > > -- > > Regards, > > > > > > Juha > > > > PGP fingerprint: > > B7E1 CC52 5FCA 9756 B502 10C8 4CD8 B066 12F3 9544 > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > > with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message
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