This page discusses three ways to access the ViewStation's Console
Window.
Access to the Console Window
The Console Window client can be displayed in three different ways;
more than one window may be active at any time, so you can have
simultaneous sessions. The ViewStation user might be looking at the
message log while the system administrator is examining the
ViewStation's network statistics from his own ViewStation.
The three methods of Console Window access are (discussed in
more detail below):
As a local display on the
ViewStation, by clicking on the Console Window box in Setup Mode.
From a remote location, by using rlogin or rsh (or
rcmd or remsh, depending on your host's syntax) from the remote host to
the ViewStation.
From a remote ASCII terminal connected
directly to the ViewStation's serial port.
Depending on your use of the Console Window, you can use one
or more of these types of display to run commands on the ViewStation or
analyze the ViewStation's behavior. For instance, if you want to see
whether the fontpath is loading correctly, you can do it from the
Console Window. These three types of display are discussed below.
Console Window as a Local Display
When you click on the Console Window box in Setup Mode, a
window appears. This is the console shell of the ViewStation and
accepts shell commands and displays the ViewStation's activity. It is an
ordinary HDSterm window and can be repositioned or iconified with your
window manager. You can display a list of supported commands by using
"h" or "help".
Console Window from a Remote Host
You can open the Console shell from another network device by
using an rlogin command to the ViewStation hostname. On a remote
device, either a host computer or another ViewStation, (or even on your
own ViewStation) just open an xterm window on your host, then issue the
command: rlogin<ViewStation hostname> (or
rsh or other syntax)
This puts the ViewStation console shell into the xterm window.
This xterm window may be on your own ViewStation or monitor it from
another device.
You can use rsh commands to the Console shell also, such as:
rsh hdsfx19 nvm dump > /tmp/nvmoutput.txt
This is a convenient way to generate a system configuration
file. You can configure one ViewStation the way you want (font
locations, nameserver settings, download files, etc.), and then simply
dump that ViewStation's NVM to a file, which can then be used for all
other ViewStations.
The rlogin and rsh commands are protected by normal system
security procedures. If a configuration password is set, sensitive
commands (such as burning flashPROM and displaying memory contents) to
the Console window with the rsh process may be run only with password
access.
For example, if you open a Console window (locally or on a
remote device), you can execute any of the unprivileged commands. But
if you want to use a privileged command, such as burning a FlashPROM,
you must first enter the password command, and enter the configuration
password: hds> password
hds> enter
Setup Configuration password:
(note that the window prompt changes from hds> to HDS> - which
indicates privileged mode) HDS> <privileged
command>
A system administrator might want to burn new firmware
versions into all the ViewStations on the network from his remote
location. This is possible using the remote shell commands and a list
of host names and passwords. If you want to use the rsh command from a
script to execute privileged commands in the Console window, you can
follow this example: rsh <fxname> sh -P < <password.script>
where <password.script> contains:
password
<fxname password>
<privileged command> (such
as: flash /hdssun5/bootfile/V30-D.hds)
exit
Diagnostic Messages from a Remote Terminal
You can connect a character-based terminal (a VT100 type) to one of
the ViewStation's serial ports. The ports are normally configured for a
printer, so you may need to use the terminal's printer port or use a
null modem cable; check the pin assignments in Serial
Port Settings. Set the communications settings as your terminal
requires. Then select the "Console" entry for the Serial Port Use field
in Setup Mode. This setting automatically opens the console shell of
the ViewStation for the serial terminal.
This method is
necessary if you are checking the start-up behavior of the ViewStation;
sometimes it can also be used to get information about the ViewStation
if the display is hung or the ViewStation seems to be dead. As it
starts up, the ViewStation displays various initialization messages,
such as the keyboard and mouse state, the nameserver suffix, etc.
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