Category: Hardware

Ah, the good old console server. Can't say that I get a lot of chances to work on one, and I will tell you that when I do get a chance I can never remember how to get them setup without referring to my notes.

One of the things that I find most annoying is the command structure and how incredibly user-unfriendly the command line is.

No matter how old and antiquated you consider the console server to be I am sure that you have at least one around somewhere, and I cannot say that they are the worst thing to have at your desk for quick console access to a Sun box.

First thing that you need to know is the difference between the set and the define command.

set    # Immediate but not permanent (effective only until reboot).
define # Permanent but not immediate (effective only after reboot).

Then you need to know save, show, and list

save   # Transform a setting made with 'set' into a permanent setting.
show   # Displays current settings, both temporary and permanent.
list   # Displays settings scheduled to take effect after next reboot.

You are also going to need to know how to delete settings.
clear  # Deletes temporary settings immediately.
purge  # Deletes permanent settings, effective upon next reboot.

Basic Commands:

This will clear the label on a port, this is useful when you are changing the device connected to a port.

set service "service name" port <#> enable
Replace the port number with the port that you are working on, remember to use set so that the change is immediate. Then save your changes to make them permanent with the command , save service all

show port all/show port <port #>
The first command will let you see all your ports, while the second command allows you to view the settings of just one port.

set port <port #> access remote
Use this when setting up a port for remote access. Common on your Sun servers

set port <port #> flow none
Use the command above to set flow control to off

misc. commands
--------------
Local_33>> logout
Local_33>> logout port 2
Local_33>> finger # Good brief overview of all ports and status.
Local_33>> show ports all status # Verbose finger.
Local_33>> set port menu enable # Return to menu (from whence you came.)
Local_33> broadcast scsman "test ms"

I was recently tasked to re-ip a v210 that was using a terminal server for console connectivity.I was actually pleased to find out the the V210 has an SC.

The scadm command is located here : /usr/platform/SUNW,Sun-Fire-V240/sbin

This should not be a surprise for those who have used the command before. You can use the command to show the config for the SC.

bash-2.03# ./scadm shownetwork
IP Address: 0.0.0.0
Gateway address: 0.0.0.0
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Ethernet address: 00:03:ba:41:51:00

Use the "scadm set" command to setup the ALOM, using the format below.

#scadm set if_network true
#scadm set netsc_tpelinktest true
#scadm set netsc_dhcp false
#scadm set netsc_ipaddr x.x.x.x
#scadm set netsc_ipnetmask x.x.x.x
#scadm set netsc_ipgateway x.x.x.x

Note that you must reset the SC for the new settings to take affect.

I have had several opportunities as of late work with these Lantronix terminal servers. Usually I am connecting older Sun boxes… those without an SC. In this instance I am connecting to a LOM port on a SUN v120 using a straight through Ethernet cable.

First of log into the SCS480 using the sysadmin user id and its password. In this instance I am connected to port 23.

Typing help will show you a list of commands.

Typing direct and then the port number will connect you directly to the port, <ESC>A will disconnect you.

 Entering Direct mode…Server = DEVICE_23
(enter '<ESC>A' to exit, enter '<ESC>B' to generate a break.)

Type listdev to see all the ports, and their names. You should set the name so it corresponds with the server.

Type devices 23 to see how port 23 is configured.

sysadmin-DEVICE_23>devices 23
Enter accepts present value
D23: Enter device name                      | NAME: DEVICE_23>
D23: 0=2400 1=4800, 2=9600, 3=19200,
     4=38400, 5=57600, 6=115200             | BAUD RATE: 9600>
D23: 1=1, 2=2                               | STOP BITS: 1>
D23: 0=None, 1=Odd, 2=Even, 3=Mark, 4=Space | PARITY: NONE>
D23: 6=6, 7=7, 8=8                          | DATA BITS: 8>
D23: 0=OFF, 1=DCE, 2=DTE                    | EQUIP PORT TYPE: DTE>
D23: 0=XON/OFF, 1=RTS/CTS                   | FLOW CONTROL: XON/XOFF>
D23: 0=No, 1=Yes                            | INHIBIT BUFFERING IN DIRECT: No>

To configure the port I need to change the device name and change the EQUIP PORT TYPE to DCE. Click here for more info on DCE/DTE.

Using the devices command you can configure the port. See syntax below

devices –name=devname n
  Set name of device n to devname
 devices –baud=2400|4800|9600|19200|38400|57600|115200 n
  Set baudrate of device n to 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600,
              or 115200
 devices –baud=0|1|2|3|4|5|6 n
  Set baudrate of device n to 0=2400 1=4800, 2=9600, 3=19200,
              4=38400, 5=57600, or 6=115200
 devices –stop=1|2 n
  Set stop bits of device n to 1=1, 2=2
 devices –parity=None|Odd|Even|Mark|Space n
  Set parity of device n to None, Odd, Even, Mark, or Space
 devices –parity=0|1|2|3|4 n
  Set parity of device n to 0=None, 1=Odd, 2=Even, 3=Mark, or 4=Space
 devices –data=6|7|8 n
  Set number of data bits of device n to 6, 7, or 8
 devices –type=OFF|DCE|DTE n
  Set port type of device n to OFF, DCE, or DTE
 devices –type=0|1|2 n
  Set port type of device n to 0=OFF, 1=DCE, or 2=DTE
 devices –flow=XON|RTS n
  Set flow control of device n to XON/OFF, or RTS/CTS
 devices –flow=0|1 n
  Set flow control of device n to 0=XON/OFF, or 1=RTS/CTS
 devices –inhibitbuffer=No|Yes n
  Set inhibit buffering of device n to No, or Yes
 devices –inhibitbuffer=0|1 n
  Set inhibit buffering of device n to 0=No, or 1=Yes

Using this info I can now configure my port

<

p style=”font-size:11px;font-family:Trebuchet MS”>sysadmin-DEVICE_23>devices –name=myserver 24
alaudpnc004
Config files have been updated.
Updating hardware, please wait….  port: 24
Hardware has been updated.
sysadmin-DEVICE_23>devices –type=DCE 24
Config files have been updated.
Updating hardware, please wait….  port: 24
Hardware has been updated.

ILOM is the system Service Processor Sun includes with Sun x64 systems.ILOM, can also be accessed via an integrated HTTPS server, meaning that a user friendly graphical user interface is available. Currently the server models below use ILOM.
Sun Fire[TM]  X4100

Sun Fire[TM]  X4200

Sun Fire[TM]  X4500

Sun Fire[TM]  X4600

Sun Fire[TM]  X4100 M2

Sun Fire[TM]  X4200 M2

Sun Fire[TM]  X4600 M2

Sun Blade[TM] 6000

Sun Blade[TM] 8000

Sun Netra[TM] X4200 M2

Sun SPARC[TM] Enterprise T5120

Sun SPARC[TM] Enterprise T5220

The default root password for the ILOM is changeme. This is a Sun default and you should make sure that you modify this when you are setting up your new server.

Below I have outlined the procedure that you need to follow

1. Connect and Login to your Serial Management port.
2. cd /SP/users
3. type “set /SP/users/root password”, and voila

Changing password for user /SP/users/root…
Enter new password: ********
Enter new password again: ********
New password was successfully set for user /SP/users/root

Courtesy of a Sun v120.

Use the following to determine the mac addresses of each interface
ok>devalias

The command above returns the following
rootdisk                 /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@8/disk@0,0
lom                      /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ebus@c/SUNW,lomh@14,200000
dload                    /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1:,
net2                     /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@5,1
net                      /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1
{truncate}

Then you can cd to the path for either net or net2 and run the following command
ok> .properties

This command returns the following for mac address
local-mac-address        00 03 ba 96 38 c0

In this case I was working to troubleshoot a jumpstart install, so I needed to see what mac address was being presented externally.

ok>printenv

printenv reveals that local mac address is set to true which means that each network interface presents it own mac. Being that I was plugged into nic 0 on this box i am also able to boot like so.

ok boot /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1:dhcp – install

Being specific in this way, I am taking any way chance that I have the mac address incorrect, or am plugged into the correct ethernet port.

I can verify which port has my link by doing the following from the ok prompt

ok watch-net
Internal loopback test — succeeded.
Link is  — up
Looking for Ethernet Packets.
‘.’ is a Good Packet.  ‘X’ is a Bad Packet.
Type any key to stop.
…………

If I try this on net2 is see that this link is down

ok watch-net2
Internal loopback test — succeeded.
Link is  — down

The following post outlines how to configure the ALOM on a v240.

Option 1: Configure from serial console.

Configuring the ALOM from the serial console is probably the most common method of setting up the ALOM on a box. First connect to the box’s serial port, using tip from solaris, minicom in linux, or hyperterm in windows.

Use the showsc command to print out the default ALOM variables to the screen.

sc> showsc
Advanced Lights Out Manager v1.0

parameter value
--------- -----
if_network true
if_modem false
if_snmp false
if_emailalerts false
sys_autorestart xir
netsc_tpelinktest true
netsc_dhcp false
netsc_ipaddr 0.0.0.0
netsc_ipnetmask 255.255.255.0
netsc_ipgateway 0.0.0.0
mgt_mailhost
mgt_mailalert
sc_customerinfo
sc_escapechars #.
sc_powerondelay false
sc_clipasswdecho true
sc_cliprompt sc
sc_clitimeout 0
sc_clieventlevel 2
sys_eventlevel 2
ser_baudrate 9600
ser_parity none
ser_stopbits 1
ser_data 8
netsc_enetaddr 00:03:ba:29:5e:34
sys_hostname
sys_enetaddr 00:03:ba:29:5e:2

Then use 'setsc' command to set the following 

sc> setsc if_network true

This command enables the NET MGT port.

sc> setsc netsc_tpelinktest true

This command enable/disables the link integrity test. 

sc> setsc netsc_dhcp false

This command should be set to false unless you want DHCP to obtain your network 
configuration, which is not part of this example.

sc> setsc netsc_ipaddr xxx.xx.xxx

This command sets the the unique IP address for the NET MGT port, 

sc> setsc netsc_ipnetmask 255.255.255.0

This command sets the netmask and will depend on the class of network. 

sc> setsc netsc_ipgateway 129.148.173.253

Now verify the settings with the "shownetwork" command.

sc> shownetwork
SC network configuration is:
IP Address:xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Gateway address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Ethernet address: 00:03:ba:29:5e:34

Option 2: Use the scadm command

Use scadm to configure your ALOM from inside a running Solaris OS.
I would think that this would be the better option for systems that are set 
to auto boot, and obviously already have a running OS installed and configured.
#scadm set if_network true

#scadm set netsc_tpelinktest true

#scadm set netsc_dhcp false

#scadm set netsc_ipaddr 129.148.173.27

#scadm set netsc_ipnetmask 255.255.255.0

#scadm set netsc_ipgateway 129.148.173.253