> 
> At 3:48 PM -0400 7/5/97, Mason Loring Bliss wrote:
> >Hi! I figured out that I needed to turn on the serial ports in /etc/ttys to
> >log in over a serial line. However, I still get the following:
> >
> >Jul  5 08:13:22 myname getty[137]: /dev/ttye0: Device not configured
> >
> >It doesn't stop me from logging in - it just spits itself out just after
> >the "login: " prompt is put up - but I'm curious as to what it means.

When you run with a serial console, the internal video console, ttye0,
is NOT configured. It's not set up. Your /etc/ttys still tries to
run a getty process on that port, and fails as the device isn't available.

> >Anyway, thanks in advance for the ideas. :) I'm going to head out as soon
> >as possible to find some of the recommended books.
> >
> 
> hmm, serial "console" is different than a regular serial line login (e.g.
> if you attached a dumb terminal to your printer port or something, and just
> want to use it in addition to the screen on the SE/30).
>
> To log in over a serial line, being a console rather than adding an entry
> in /etc/ttys, you need to change something in the booter to let you log in
> over the serial line. this would probably be what you want if the monitor
> on the machine didn't work, or a driver for the internal video on the
> machine hasn't been written yet.

Not quite. When you use a serial console, you still have to have a getty
process running on the console if you want to be able to log in. That's
why /etc/ttys has a getty on ttye0.

The difference (between different console locations) really comes when
booting, all the boot messages and the single-user console prompt go
to the console, and when something bad happens, and the debugger
gets fired up (if available).

> To make the printer or modem port another login screen for your SE/30, but
> not console, you want to replace "off" with "on" for either the /dev/tty00
> (modem port) or /dev/tty01 (printer port). You might want to change the
> secure/insecure entries if the terminal is going to be in a safe enough
> place to let you log in as root (i.e. whereever the tty is going to be,
> like another computer, or a dumb terminal), instead of logging in as a
> regular user and su'ing to root.  I think this is what you want to do. even
> though your machine may be headless, you still will get the login prompt at
> console (being the internal video) and over the serial line. you might even
> want this if your serial tty screws up, and you want to switch keyboards
> and login over console to kill the process or something...it's much less of
> a hassle than restarting, etc.

I second that advice. Just make tty01 a login port, and leave the console
on the internal video.

> As for your /dev/ttye0 not being configured, you might want to select
> "build devices" in the netbsd installer utility again (it won't hurt, even
> if you did do it before), but i think it's because you're attempting to run
> a serial console (option in the booter), and the internal video just sits
> there doing nothing. is that a bug or something?

No, the ttye0 device is probably there. The problem's just, as you describe,
that the video's doing nothing.

I think everything's behaving the way it should (it used to be that firing
up getty on ttye0 when intvid wasn't initialized paniced the kernel!).

Take care,

Bill