====== Serial Consoles ======

===== Introduction =====

With a little configuration, it's possible to use a dumb terminal connected to a minix host. Alternatively, one could connect a PC to a minix host via a null-modem cable and run a terminal emulator program on the PC to act as a dumb terminal.

===== Configuring the Minix Host =====

On the minix host edit ///etc/ttytab//. The **tty00** and **tty01** lines should be edited to look like this:
<code>
tty00           vt100           getty           "stty 9600"
tty01           vt100           getty           "stty 9600"
</code>

You may want to change the above entries to "stty 115200" to set a higher baud rate. 

Then reboot the system with //shutdown -r//

===== Hardware Setup =====

Connect the terminal or null-modem cable to one of the serial ports on the minix host. Press //enter// a couple of times on the terminal and the login prompt should appear. Log in and have fun.

===== Using a Terminal Emulator =====

[[http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/|GNU Screen]] can be used as a terminal emulator on a Linux PC connected to a minix host via a null-modem cable with no setup needed.
<code>
screen /dev/ttyUSB0
</code>
In case you're wondering about //ttyUSB0//, it's a USB-to-serial adapter. Using ///dev/ttyS0// should also work.

You may also use

<code>
cu -s 9600 -l /dev/ttyUSB0
</code>

The '-s' option sets the baud rate, so you can change this to 115200 if you prefer.
 
===== Gotchas =====

  * Logging in via a serial console is handled slightly differently than logging in normally with a keyboard. The user you are logging in as must have a password set. Trying to log into an account without a password will not work.
  * Serial connections are slow. If you're doing a //make world// or something with a lot of output that you don't care to read, you can redirect **stdout** to ///dev/null// like this: 
<code>
make world 1> /dev/null
  * Don't set 'ctty 0' for serial debugging.
</code>