On 12/23/97, Peter Abrahamsen wrote:

> Simply find an old null modem cable.
[...]
> both ends look like what you'd plug into the
> modem/printer port, although I think it may be different in some way, so
> make sure it's a bonafied "null modem cable".

A regular old printer cable will work. (Lately, I wouldn't blink if told
that NetBSD had a driver for paper cups and string, but that's another
issue.) I've used some crufty old cables, and they've worked. A "hardware
handshaking" cable might be of some use, but I've never detected a
difference. The easiest way to make a connection is to edit /etc/ttys so
that you have something similar to:

tty00   "/usr/libexec/getty std.19200" vt100 on secure

Then, make the system re-evaluate /etc/ttys with (as root)

kill -1 1

and you're in business. (Rebooting isn't required.) This will give you
text-based access to your system, using a communications program of some
sort. (ZTerm works. Just make sure the serial port speed matches what you
have set in /etc/ttys.)

If you want to change your port speed, from the console, you probably want
to kill the old getty process after 'kill -1 1', since a new getty, using
the new settings, won't be spawned until the old one has been cleared out
and given its walking papers.

A good interim step, after getting a regular terminal connection going,
would be running something like SLiRP over that serial line, as it requires
less configuration work, IMHO. Once you're comfortable with that, it's not
*horribly* difficult transitioning to a proper network interface. SLiRP is
a SLIP/PPP emulator. I've had trouble getting PPP emulation to work on
NetBSD, but SLIP emulation works like a charm, and allows for things like
rebooting your Mac without losing your SLIP connection, if I remember
correctly.

Good luck, and have fun!

--
Mason Loring Bliss...mason@acheron.middleboro.ma.us...www.webtrek.com/mason
"In the drowsy dark cave of the mind dreams build their nest with fragments
 dropped from day's caravan."--Rabindranath Tagore...awake ? sleep : dream;