Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 19:30:52 -0600 (CST) From: Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> To: Mike Smith <msmith@freebsd.org> Cc: Kazutaka YOKOTA <yokota@zodiac.mech.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp>, freebsd-current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 4.0-20000307-CURRENT kern.flp keyboard probe questions Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0003101907050.8418-100000@ren.sasknow.com> In-Reply-To: <200003110106.RAA02153@mass.cdrom.com>
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Mike Smith wrote to Ryan Thompson:
> > > >Isn't there a better way to identify a serial console?
> > >
> > > I don't understand. What do you expect the boot loader to do?
> >
> > I'm not sure, that's why I asked the list :-) Really, what I was asking
> > is if there is a better way to detect a serial console.. Rather than the
> > current logic of "If there is no keyboard, there must be a serial
> > console". I can think of N reasons why a box would have no keyboard
> > attached, besides having a serial console.
>
> Actually, there aren't very many. If you don't have a keyboard, you need
> a console of some sort. If you don't have a console, you've made enough
> modifications to be undaunted by removing two bytes from /boot.config.
"Don't have a keyboard" != "No keyboard detected" != "Serial Console".
I understand the reasoning and rationale behind the logic used, and I
agree with it, to a point. Read below.
I have indeed disabled the keyboard probe in /boot.config when doing many
installs to avoid the problem that I mentioned... But I always yearned for
something a little less awkward, when I can otherwise still use install
disks from the distribution images.
> > I know very little about serial consoles, but can they not be probed
> > somehow to determine their existence? If that's not possible, at least,
> > what I'm suggesting below still sounds reasonable.
>
> No, they can't be probed, and no, if you think about it for a minute,
> what you're proposing is entirely nonsensical.
Ok, so they can't be probed. However, I HAVE thought about it for a
minute, and, to be honest, I still don't see why my proposal is entirely
nonsensical. :-) Would you mind explaning your argument? For clarity,
I'll explain mine again... Perhapas we're just not on the same wavelength:
From boot(8):
-P probe the keyboard. If no keyboard is found, the -D and
-h options are automatically set.
Instead of that behaviour, I am suggesting a more forgiving behaviour:
1. Probe for a keyboard.
2. Is there a keyboard?
Yes - Boot from the local console
No - Display "Keyboard not found. Using serial console in 10 seconds,
press any key to abort"
3. Was a key pressed in 10 seconds?
Yes - Boot from the local console
No - Display "Booting from serial console"
Boot from the serial console
Nothing is lost, besides an extra 10 seconds at bootup, and a smidgen of
the code segment. If no keyboard is detected, and there is indeed a
serial console, it will still be used automatically. If, however, there
was a temporary probing problem (i.e., the keyboard was not yet plugged
in), the installer can smack a key and continue on.
I'm open to the idea that I'm being nonsensical (I'll usually be the first
one to admit it), but, in this case, I just don't see your reasoning,
Mike. Please clarify.
--
Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com>
Systems Administrator, Accounts
Phone: +1 (306) 664-1161
SaskNow Technologies http://www.sasknow.com
#106-380 3120 8th St E Saskatoon, SK S7H 0W2
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