connecting to HPUX server through hyperterminal

[mmprathibha]

I am trying to connect to a HPUX server to see the status
1. connected the hpux box to a windows box using serial cable.
2. opened the hyperterminal using default properties, and tried to connect.
3. The hyperterminal window opens with blank
any inputs on it?

[Jeeshan]

revised steps

1. power up the server.
2. connect HP-UX box with serial cable in MP console from windows.
3.open the hyper terminal and using default setting connect through COM1.
4. you can get the MP login prompt.

[Steven Schweda]

You need a good serial cable of the right
kind, possibly a null-modem cable. The
serial ports must have compatible settings
for speed, bits, parity, and so on. The
serial port on the HP-UX system must be
configured to listen. "man stty",
"man getty".

With the limited information you've supplied,
it's tough to do more than guess what might
be wrong.

Any reason you're using a serial port instead
of, say, ssh, rsh, or Telnet?

[mmprathibha]

The problem is I am unable to do telnet or ssh.. etc,but able to ping the machine. So thought of connecting the system to a windows box and check the system status through hyperterminal.
any suggetion?

[Dennis Handly]

>but able to ping the machine.

This is pretty meaningless. If you can't logon, the machine is down. Unfortunately ping uses some low level code that still works if the system is hung. :-(

All you can do by connecting to the MP is reboot it.

[mmprathibha]

Thanks,
If,I would have able to see the console, I would have told u where the system got halt.
The problem is unable to see the console it self; when I connect to a windows m/c through a console cable. working with a different cable and connectors. let us see what happens...

[Jov]

Hi,

The setting should be (worked for me):
- 9600 bps
- 8 Data bits
- None for parity
- 1 Stop bits
- None for Flow Control

As for which Com port from your Windows box, it depends, but most modern box usually only have one port now.

From experience its best to have the serial connection between the 2 machine and then reboot to see all the bootup messages/errors.

What is you Server model?

Jov

[Srimalik]

when creating a new connection click default settings and select com1 as the port.

press after it is connected. you will see a MP Login prompt after that

@Dennis
>This is pretty meaningless. If you can't
>logon, the machine is down. Unfortunately
>ping uses some low level code that still
>works if the system is hung. :-(

>All you can do by connecting to the MP is
>reboot it.

I think you can troubleshoot the problem without rebooting also.
if only telnet is down you can restart it through console.

[Bill Hassell]

Unless you purchased a serial printer cable, also known as a null-modem or cross-over cable, you'll never see anything on your screen. The typcial serial cable is a straight through, also known as a modem cable and the two transmit wires will be connected together rather than transmit into receive.

[Steven Schweda]

> [...] straight through, also known as a
> modem cable [...]

Huh? Who knows a straight-through cable as
a "modem cable"? (Who other than you, that
is.) A null-modem cable acts as a pair of
modems without all the modem hardware, hence
the "null" part of the name. A
straight-through cable acts as nothing like
any modem(s), which may explain why I've
never before heard of one being called a
"modem cable".

I suppose that one would typiclly use a
straight-through cable to connect a DTE
device (such as a terminal) to a DCE device
(such as a modem), but "modem cable" is not
how I'd describe it, even then.

Asking anyone for a "modem cable" sounds to
me like an invitation to a misunderstanding.

[Bill Hassell · Accepted solution]

> modem cable...

This has been the standard label for RS-232 serial cables for a couple of decades. A modem cabel is defined as the connection between a DTE device (ie, a terminal or PC) and a DCE device (such as a modem). It's called straight through because pin 2=2, 3=3, etc in the cable and required because pin 2 on the DTE side must connect to pin 2 on the DCE side. In the old days, that was the most common connection. Connecting one computer to another was accomplished by placing a modem set in the middle.

With PCs (and the demise of real terminals), direct connect PCs to servers became quite common but never worked because transmit was connected to transmit. Modems handle the proper connection but a straight-through cable would not work. Thuis, the term: null modem cable, the opposite of a modem cable.

HP cables (back a few decades ago) would have a 5 digit number with N ofr M as the suffix, indicating a straight through or modem cable. MUX connections would connect to modems with modem cables. PCs that wanted to print to a serial printer would not work because the printer and the PC were both defined as DTE and the solution was the famous "G" cable. HP called this a printer cable in the old days as the suffix was G.

Serial cables are becoming rare as everything connects with USB and modems are almost obsolete, but null-modem or crossover cables are even more important today as this is the primary method to communicate with servers, network appliances, disk arrays, etc. I always carry a straight through (modem) cable and a crossover adapter. That way, I can accomodate any DTE or DCE connection.

[Steven Schweda]

> Thuis, the term: null modem cable, the
> opposite of a modem cable.

I don't think so, as I explained, but you're
welcome to your opinion. ("Null" and
"opposite" are not even close to synonymous.)

[Steven Schweda]

My understanding agrees with, for example:

http://en.mimi.hu/computing/null-modem.html

[...] It's called a "null-modem" cable
because it eliminates using modems and
phone lines for hooking together nearby
computers. [...]

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=null+modem+cable&i=48159,00.asp

[...] simulates what would occur
naturally if modems and the phone
system were used. [...]


Apparently the actual meaning of "null modem"
is not yet entirely lost (but it seems to be
getting there).

[mmprathibha]

Hey guys thank u so much for educating me in many ways here.
I have got a new black hp cable which could connect to the windows system. and my problem got solved. I am able to see the console.
Here we do not have a single hp monitors that is where we endup to this problem.
regards
Prathibha

[mmprathibha]

The problem was the unsupported normal serial cable. I changed the the cable to a HP cable, console apeared on the hyperterminal.