Re: serial console device, and installboot vs. /boot.cfg

At Thu, 8 Feb 2024 09:31:27 -0800, Steve Rikli <[email protected]> wrote:
Subject: Re: serial console device, and installboot vs. /boot.cfg
>
>
> Well, what I really want :-) is to be able to switch between a COM serial
> port and a Pc keyboard without re-configuring NetBSD, and that's what I
> was hoping for with auto.

Do you mean (also) for boot, or just for normal logins?

Personally I find having a permanent serial console ideal, and I then
configure logins on Kbd+VGA for normal use when in front of the physical
machine (if the machine has such hardware).

However I do have my serial ports "permanently" connected to a terminal
server (which are then managed by conserver), so I always have logs of
everything on the console (as well as easy access to the console port
via any other local system on my LAN).

This is also what I used to do with my older Sun and DEC Alpha systems
as well, i.e. those that also had a framebuffer and keyboard.

Terminal servers were ultra-cheap back when small ISPs were either
turning off their modem banks, and/or being absorbed by giant ISPs.
There are still lots available on eBay, for example, but they're not
quite as low-priced as they were when the market was flooded.

> "auto" activates the serial console in my config, but the Pc keyboard+VGA
> sees no boot messages or menus, which feels like "auto" and "com0" are
> effectively the same in my setup. More experiments warranted.

See x86/boot_console(8).

Auto tries to use the first working COM port, and if they all fail it'll
resort to "consdev=PC".

--
					Greg A. Woods <[email protected]>

Kelowna, BC     +1 250 762-7675           RoboHack <[email protected]>
Planix, Inc. <[email protected]>     Avoncote Farms <[email protected]>

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