Netra X1, Corrupt text received via serial connection

Hi,

I have just got hold of a Sun Netra X1 and would like to install
Solaris 9 (or 10) onto it.

The problem I have is that when I connect to the serial console I get
the LOM prompt alright, but after typing some commands like "help" I
get back scrambled text with some parts recognizable. I am using a
Cisco serial cable which has the same pinout as the sun original cable
(I have also made up a cable as per the Sun spec in the netra manual).

I have also tried connecting to the server via a Linux server, a Sun
Sparstation 5 and a windows laptop (using a variety of software
hyperterm, kermit, etc). All have the same issue.

I'd be very grateful for any opinions, ideas, etc.

Thanks in advance.

James.

If some of it is (nearly) readable, I would suspect you have parity
set wrong on whatever terminal or emulator you're using to connect.

If none of it is readable, I would suspect the baud rate is wrong.

-- 
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam.  Our true address is of the form  XXXX@XXXXX.COM .

I'm using 9600 baud, no partity, 1 stop and 8 bit word (9600 8N1). All
as per Sun manual. it does seem to start out ok, but gets worse ... not
sure if that sounds like a buffer issue of some kind....

Check the LOM settings.  They might have been changed from the default
of 9600 8N1.

-- 
Rich Teer, SCNA, SCSA, OpenSolaris CAB member

President,
Rite Online Inc.

Voice: +1 (250) 979-1638
URL:  http://www.**--****.com/ 

I'm not sure about the UARTs in those systems but you might be overflowing 
the buffer on the sending or receiving end.  Try turning on hardware 
(RTS/CTS) flow control (although, given the speed of today's computers, it 
seems a bit strange that the receiving end cannot handle 960 cps without 
flow control, but it's possible).  It might also be the cable.  Is it 
shielded?  Is it a ribbon cable?

-Yves

Thanks Rich, I checked but the LOM settings are correct (9600 8N1)
..... :(

Hi Yves, I'll try changing the flow control. I'm using a Cisco Serial
cable which has the same pinout as the original Sun cable and should
work fine. The RJ 45 part of the cable is a ribbon and I assume is
shielded. I have also tried a cable which used standard cat5 cable and
that has the same issue.

Will let you know if the flow control makes a difference. Sun
recommends no flow control ...

Hi Yves,

I tried setting flow control to hardware and the console became
unresponsive. setting back to none or software gets response back but
the replies are still scrambled. I would add the commands I type are
recognized by the server, e.g. I can test the fault lights etc. it's
just the display that is semi-scrambled.

Thanks

Can you post some output?

-- 
Darren Dunham                                            XXXX@XXXXX.COM 
Senior Technical Consultant         TAOS             http://www.**--****.com/ 
Got some Dr Pepper?                           San Francisco, CA bay area
         < This line left intentionally blank to confuse you. >

Here is some output (from minicom on my Linux Server) ....

-- SNIP --

Welcome to minicom 2.1

OPTIONS: History Buffer, F-key Macros, Search History Buffer, I18n
Compiled on Oct  2 2003, 20:16:54.

Press CTRL-A Z for help on special keys


lom>h..?.?...?.....?.....-?k.)5....??.?5...\?..)5?..?
lom.
lo?
?
lom>help
faultoff?.+K.)5.??.)5.?.-)5.
help
poweron
pow.version
set
break
bootmode...)5..?5..?)5....?..)5...?.?5...?.)5...?
lom>

-- SNIP --


Thanks !

It sounds to me like you have an "stty sane" command in /etc/profile or
/etc/login.  Or as I like to call it "stty INsane", as it's a very old
stty setting that sets 9600, 7, E, 1 and wreaks general havoc on the
console screen.

But then again if you are seeing this at the LOM, perhaps not.  The
telltale sign of this is typically that the OBP output looks fine, but
as soon as Solaris starts up, the screen turns to garbage.

Well, anyway, just an idea.

> lo?
> ?
> lom>help
Perhaps it's time to check again and be certain that the cable you're
using is wired precisely like a Sun one -- I can imagine something like
what you're seeing if a couple of the handshake lines were crossed.

-- 
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam.  Our true address is of the form  XXXX@XXXXX.COM .

Hi Darren,

It starts out like that but does seem to get worse as it goes,
especially if I do "poweron" and boot the server. My problem is that I
don't have access to the os over the network as the machine is second
hand so I need to re-install the os.

I've checked the cable again and it matches the Sun spec....


I'm also able to connect to my sparc 5 with no issue (albeit with a
null modem cable and not the RJ45 -> DB9).

Thanks,

James.

I tried removing a line from /etc/profle on my linux server that
contained stty sane ... but no difference :( corruption is always on
the Lom prompt and gets worse if I poweron.

The server does respond to commands it just seems as if something is
corrupting the display that comes back to the console..

FWIW, we have had something similar on three T1/V120 systems (which are similar
to the X1). In each case the LOM output was fine, and the system seemed to
accept commands, but output from the OBP and the OS was corrupt, with occasional
meaningful strings of a few characters buried in lots of junk. We were able to
connect OK to similar systems using the same cable, so it was definitely the
system itself to blame. In each case Sun replaced the M/B.

John Howells