Save console output device settings in NVRAM

[Miguel Silva Rentes]

Hello!

I'm trying to select the monitor attached to the vga port on MP card as the console output device and save these settings to NVRAM. Unfortunately every time I reboot the HP-UX rx2600 server I loose my console settings to the default settings. All I want is to be able to use the monitor as the console output device and every time there is a reboot I don't want to go to Boot Maintenance Menu and have to specify again that I want my monitor to be the console output device.

So, here's what I've done:
- In EFI Boot Manager selected "Boot Option Maintenance Menu"
- From there I selected "Select Active Console Output Device"
- I get the following devices:

Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUtf8)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUf8)
* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)
- Selected only the last entry and de-selected the other that was selected by default
- Selected option "Save settings to NVRAM"
- Selected option "Exit"
- Selected "Select Active Console Input Device" that presented me with these possibilities:

Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUtf8)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUf8)
* Acpi(HWP0002,0)/Pci(1|1)/Usb(1,0)
- Again selected only the last entry and de-selected the other that was selected by default
- Selected "Save settings to NVRAM"
- Selected "Exit"
- Select "Select Active Standard Error Devices" that gave me these devices:

Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(PNP0501,0)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUtf8)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(PcAnsi)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100)
* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(VtUf8)
* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)
- Selected too the last one and de-selected the other one.
- Selected "Save settings to NVRAM"
- Selected "Exit"

At this point I'm back to the Boot Option Maintenance Menu and did a "Cold Reset". The server did a reset without any problems but when I choose again the Boot Option Maintenance Menu and go to the console output/input/standard error devices options I see that my options were not saved to NVRAM and I still have these settings:

- For the console output device:

- * Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
- * Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)

- For the console input device:

* Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
* Acpi(HWP0002,0)/Pci(1|1)/Usb(1,0)

- And for the console standard error device:

- * Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart(9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
- * Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)

Is there anything wrong with my choices for the console devices? Why can't I properly write my settings to NVRAM and make them persistent (I'm guessing that a reset or reboot shouldn't erase my choices and set the default ones)?

Thanks in advance to anyone who read this long thread. Sorry for this long thread but I think it's best if I give you a better detailed post. I have a HP-UX rx2600 server and I have my CRT monitor connected to a KVM switch which then connects to the vga port of the server's MP card (I've tested not using the KVM switch and directly attach the monitor and got the same results).

Miguel Rentes

[Phil uk]

Hi,

Well in theory (or at least I think so) your monitor selections looks good.

Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)
VGA port

For the input device (Keyboard)
Acpi(HWP0002,0)/Pci(1|1)/Usb(1,0)
This is the bottom USB connector at the rear.

Are you using a USB Keyboard connected to the Lower USB port at the rear?
(You mention a KVM switch)

(Not my hottest subject !)

Regards,
Phil

[Miguel Silva Rentes]

Hi!

Yes, I'm using a USB keyboard attached to the lower USB port at the back of HP-UX server. I can't write my settings to NVRAM and can't seem to understand why... at this point I'm needing all the help I can get because I have a deadline to fulfill and this problem doesn't seem to get solved :(

Regards,

Miguel Rentes

[Phil uk · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Well, i think that this is OK.

At the rear of the machine you have an MP serial port which usually has the 3-way cable labelled Console, Remote & UPS.

Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(1|1)/Uart 9600N81)/VenMsg(Vt100+)
This is the Serial input/output for the above mentioned cable into the MP

Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(2|0)
This is your VGA

Acpi(HWP0002,0)/Pci(1|1)/Usb(1,0)
This is your USB KBD (bottom USB).

So, you should be able to switch your machine on, with your VGA monitor and USB Kbd and have both a video display and be able to type via your KBD.

In the event of your USB KBD or VGA monitor failing, you would then be able to connect a terminal or your laptop via the "Console" serial connection on the 3-way cable coming of the back of the MP.

Does this make sense?
Does your VGA monitor and USB KBD work from a "cold" start?

Regards
Phil

[Miguel Silva Rentes]

Hi!

Thanks Phil for your info about what path correspond to a given serial port, it gave me a lot of help.
I was able to do what I wanted: set the console output to the VGA port and reset the system without any problem. After a few minutes I got the message "Console output is on a serial device - No further output will be displayed in this device " and after waiting some more minutes I got my graphical login as I wanted.
A few remarks though (and please correct me if I am wrong): I can't quite understand why the values I set for console output/input/stderror don't get properly set when I reset the system and check again the values I choose in Boot Option Maintenance Menu. That confused me a lot and made me waste a lot of precious time (I thought I had a problem with NVRAM). Seems to me that every time I set a device, they do get recorded but they just don't get displayed (maybe it's a way to warn a user that it should always set one device at a time, I don't know...). Finally, I couldn't find a detailed description of what are the paths usually associated with the serial/vga ports from the documentation. Your post allowed me to understand it once and for all, so thank you very much for your answer Phil :)

[Sameer_Nirmal]

I think you need to connect a USB mouse as well. Try by connecting a compatible USB Mouse to the USB port maked for it. It is mentioned in the MP Operations guide.

Once you have connected all three entities ( VGA monitor, USB keyboard and USB mouse ), the settings should be saved in the NVRAM once selected and effective after system reset.

http://docs.hp.com/en/5991-5984/5991-5984.pdf
http://docs.hp.com/en/5991-5988/5991-5988.pdf

[Miguel Silva Rentes]

Thanks Sameer for your links to these documents, that will give me more insight. I think I don't need to attach a USB mouse because I have my HP-UX server attached to a KVM switch and the cable that connects from the KVM switch to the server has a vga port and a usb cable that serves both the keyboard and mouse attached to KVM switch as well. Here's how I have things connected:

monitor ----- kvm switch ------ (*)HP-UX server
keyboard --------|
mouse -----------|

* - one cable that has a vga port and a usb port

After I did a reset everything worked fine although when I get back to Boot Option Maintenance Menu at a later reboot I see that I always have the same default values for my console devices and not the ones I set.

[Sameer_Nirmal]

So you meant, you see the default settings besides the actual devices ( VGA port etc. ) which you set and Monitor, USB keyboard/mouse works normal after system boots up huh...

There is another way to verify the settings using "dmpstore" efi shell command besides the EFI boot maintenance menu. I do think it will probably will show the same settings which you see in the menu.

One logical reason for this behaviour I could think of is the settings are appropriate because when you power up the server and until you get to EFI shell, you won't see any message on the VGA monitor. Those initial messages goes to console serial port. Now to send those messages to console serial port, the firmware should select those devices implicitly! Makes sense?

I don't have the similar setup here. but if someone in here who has similar setup can confirm this.

Moreover from HPUX kernel perspective, initial messages won't appear on the VGA monitor except the message you see until you get the login screen even. Those messages get push to console serial port only. The VGA monitor acts as Graphics console thereafter when system boots up completely.

Just curious what firmware level you have on the server although it doesn't look like an issue with the firmware.