"timoid" <timoid@getonit.net.au> writes:

>Kralizec Craig wrote:
>> "Tim Warnock" <timoid@nospam.getonit.net.au> writes:
>>
>> >i recently got an E250 server to play with, but wasnt aware that i needed a
>> >special keyboard/mouse and screen.
>>
>> Yes you need a Sun keyboard and mouse if you want to use a local console
>> device on the machine.
>>
>> The other alternative is just use a serial terminal or another machine
>> running a terminal emulator. Use a standard 9600 bps configuration and
>> connect the serial terminal or other device to serial port A.
>>
>> When the OBP firmware sees there is no Sun keyboard connected it will
>> default to use the serial port as the console device.
>>
>> This is also very useful for diagnostic purposes since you can set the
>> machine to diagnostic boot mode and a terminal connected to serial port A
>> will receive and display all the hardware diag messages as the OBP firmware
>> runs the power-on self-tests.
>>

>ok i get stuff on the console on serial port A. The box also has an rsc
>card that no-one knows the password to.

>how can i get into the open firmware from the console, is there a
>command i can send? i want to tell it to boot from a cd.

Yes - if you're using a serial terminal for the console, send a 'break'
command (most terminals have a key dedicated to that) and that will tell the
running program (Unix kernel or OBP) to abort what it's doing and drop back
into the OBP's command mode. You can then type 'boot cdrom' to boot from a
CD.

If you have a Sun keyboard plugged in and working with a Sun framebuffer for
the console, you use the 'stop-A' key sequence to do the same thing. There's
no way to emulate that from a serial terminal so that's why sending a
'break' replicates the 'stop-A' input.

Regards,

Craig.
--
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