Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 13:27:00 +0100 From: Alex Zbyslaw <xfb52@dial.pipex.com> To: "Nicklas B. Westerlund" <nicklas@dinpris.no> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Interrupt Storm Dell PowerEdge 1850 Message-ID: <4315A214.7000504@dial.pipex.com> In-Reply-To: <43159B59.9010708@dinpris.no> References: <26D2B92B-4847-4DAD-A6BA-D3408B588D01@clickcom.com> <43104379.3080607@dinpris.no> <43134CAF.7000906@dial.pipex.com> <43137942.9080400@dinpris.no> <431599B7.5060402@dial.pipex.com> <43159B59.9010708@dinpris.no>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
This may be getting a bit Off Topic, but I always find it annoying when
archive thread peter out without any conclusion...
Nicklas B. Westerlund wrote:
>Alex Zbyslaw wrote:
>
>
>
>>What version of FreeBSD? AFAIU, FreeBSD only supports one console
>>keyboard, so if you plug in ukbd1 and make it the console, the DRAC on
>>ukbd0 shouldn't work. I'm sure I tried this and that it didn't work,
>>but I'd be happy to be wrong. Are you sure that both your DRAC and
>>USB work at the same time?
>>
>>
>
>
>Alex,
>
> On those machines we're running releng_5_4.
>But, as I said, I might be wrong. After all, it is quite some time since
>I tried this.
>
>I never tried using both at the same time, but I do know that I set ukbd
>to 1, to be able to use the console. Then, when I was done and put the
>machine into pre-production I used the DRAC. (Again, this is what I
>remember - so I'm not going to argue points before I get a chance to try
>it again).
>
>The question we should ask ourselves though is why anyone would have to
>use a 'normal' console keyboard, when there's the DRAC console.
>
>
I may have a chance to test this again, sometime, but the machine is
installed remotely now and I don't know if they have a USB keyboard or
not :-( If you made ukdb1 the console from the command line, then this
would have gone away when the machine was rebooted.
Why would you want to do this? 2 reasons I can think of:
1) There actually are sometimes staff at the remote location, and
having a keyboard next to the machine makes it easier to use the console
at the same time as doing hardware things like inserting CDs. (Note
that you can use a local keyboard if you are fiddling with the BIOS,
since it's just FreeBSD which forces one keyboard). The same issue
affects PS/2 keyboards as well as USB ones, btw.
2) The DRAC keyboard through the Java app is a bit funny. Below is
a quick message I wrote (not to this list) summarising my difficulties.
The lack of a \ is a pain as there is rarely one on-screen to
cut-and-paste. # less difficult since it's usually in some file which
has other comments in it already.
Neither of those *require* you to use a local keyboard, though.
--Alex
> Here is my experienced behaviour using the Java console applet.
>
> Sometimes, when the applet starts you get these key "mappings":
>
> \ -> #
> | -> ~
> ALT` -> |
> # -> f
> ~ -> F
>
> nothing produces \
>
> If you change the mouse acceleration mode you get these instead:
>
> \ -> \
> | -> |
> @ -> "
> " -> @
> # -> f
> ~ -> F
>
> nothing produces #
>
>
> However, BEWARE of changing the mode when in the BIOS, as it seems to
> make the keyboard stop working. When in FreeBSD with a mouse, you can
> copy some text with the white cursor, and that seems to make the
> keyboard work again. That option not available in the BIOS.
>
> --Alex
>
> PS No way to paste text as yet.
>
>
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?4315A214.7000504>