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Applies to:

Goal

This document describes how to redirect the system console from the default serial output to the Remote System Control (RSC) card. This document is applicable to the Sun Fire[TM] 280R, 480R, V490, V880, V890 and V880z servers.

Solution

Description

This document assumes that at least OBP 4.15.x or above is installed. Updating to the latest firmware patches gives improved error reporting, certain rare faults can be undiagnosable at the earlier OBP levels.

The latest OBP patch numbers are available for each platform from <Document 1003034.1>  Flash PROM patches / Minimum Solaris[TM] Operating System revisions for Sun systems

Steps to Follow
Troubleshooting Steps

Click Here For detailed installation instructions and product documentation. 

Click Here to download RSC 2.2.2

Click Here to Download RSC 2.2.3

To direct the console to the RSC Card

Temporary:

If you can reach the RSC prompt, the bootmode command with the -u option can be used to temporarily set the output from the serial port to the RSC.   The bootmode command allows the user to make changed to the boot parameters of the system for the next boot.   The settings are temporary, and expire after the next boot, or if not used in 10 minutes.   To temporarily set the input and output device to the RSC, type the following command:

You can then proceed to the next section to make these changes permanent.  See the RSC User's Guide for a more complete discussion of the bootmode command.

Permanent:

To use the RSC card the system administrator needs to redirect the console to the RSC. Certain faults are undiagnosable if the console log at the time of failure is not captured. Once the RSC is setup as the console device this vital data is captured automatically. In addition the system can be powered off and on remotely making remote management much easier.

After downloading and installing the RSC packages setup the RSC card from Solaris using the rsc-config command.

Confirm you are able to login to the RSC card via the RSC serial or the network connection. Once remote login to the RSC card is working you can setup the console redirection. From the ok prompt run the following commands, have a session open to the console on the RSC card as once you reset-all the POST output will be output to the console.

The same changes could be made from Solaris using the eeprom command, the changes would take affect at the next reboot.

To direct the console back to TTYA

If you need to redirect the console back to TTYA there are a number of options. Some are temporary which could be useful for an FE to perform work on site. 

Temporary:

• OBP 4.15.x introduced  Service mode, after shutting down the system turn the keyswitch to the diagnostics position and power on. The console will be redirected to the ttya serial port until the keyswitch is returned to normal and the system is reset with a reset-all. This was introduced to allow engineers sent on site to more easily work on the systems without requiring knowledge of the customer RSC passwords.  This method temporarily sets the nvram variables to:
  
  diag-switch?        =true
  diag-level          =max
  diag-script         =normal
  diag-trigger        =power-on-reset error-reset user-reset
  diag-passes         =1
  verbosity           =max
  input-device        =factory default
  output-device       =factory default
  auto-boot?          =false
• Power off the system with an init 5, then power the system back on again. Watch the front panel wrench LED; the wrench LED will start to flash rapidly during the POST process. When this occurs, press the front panel power button twice during this period(one-second delay in between presses). The ttya port should then become active. 
  
  NOTE: For a large configuration Sun Fire[TM] V880 server, set up to run max level POST, it can take up to 13 minutes before the rapid LED flashing occurs, at which point you can do the double press on the power button.
  
  
  

Permanent:

If a more persistent solution is required you can set the individual OBP variables back to the defaults:

If access to Solaris and the RSC card is not available as a last resort the RSC card can be removed. This will temporarily reset the console output to the TTYA port. Once the OBP has been started, the parameters will need to be reset appropriately until the RSC card has been configured.

Old OBP versions and the E250

In the older RSC user's guides (2.0, 2.1 and 2.2), the OpenBoot[TM] Prom (OBP) commands to redirect the console to RSC are different. These settings are still correct for the E250, but do not apply to the 480, 490, 880, 880z or 890 (assuming a recent OBP patch has been applied).

Other RSC Technical Instruction

<Document 1012454.1> Capturing errors via RSC

<Document 1006030.1> RSC Command Quick Reference Guide

<Document 1005997.1>  Navigating between the Operating System (OS) Level and the RSC (Remote System Controller) Card Level

<Document 1007570.1> What to do if Sun[TM] Remote System Control (RSC) is configured and the password is forgotten

Internal links to the RSC Related Products:

Sun Fire V880(Daktari) & V890(Silverstone) (Doc ID 1356949.1)

Sun Fire V480 (Cherrystone) Sun Fire V490 (Sebring) (Doc ID 1332356.1)

Sun Fire 280R (Littleneck) (Doc ID 1372345.1)

Previously Published As
49130

References

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