How can I establish a serial connection from my Windows PC to my Sun Solaris machine?
A: Depending on which Sun machine you are connecting to, you will need a specific type of null modem cable suited to that machine. Most Sun UltraSparc II-class machines will require a DB25 male connector on the Sun end. Sun’s UltraSPARC III-class and higher machines have a healthy mix of DB25 and RJ-45 connectors. Plus there are a few odd ones like the StorEdge T3 that use an RJ-11 plug. The PC end will normally have to be DB9 connector.
SUMMARY:
- Connect one end of the null modem cable to the COM port on the back of your PC and the other end of the cable to serial port A on the Sun machine.
- Open HyperTerminal (or my favorite, TeraTerm) on the PC and set the connection parameters.
- Power on the Sun machine, making sure the keyboard is NOT plugged into it. It may take anywhere from 5 seconds to 3 or 4 minutes to give you output on the screen.
- How to send a break and terminate the connection.
DETAILED:
1. Connect one end of the cable to the COM port on the back of your PC and the other end of the cable to serial port A on the Sun machine.
2. Open HyperTerminal (or my favorite, TeraTerm) on the PC and set the connection parameters.
On the PC, click the START > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > COMMUNICATIONS > HYPERTERMINAL.
A HyperTerminal window will open up asking you to name this connection. Give it any name you wish, such as “Sun Console Connection.” Press ENTER.
The next window will ask you to select a COM port. You will need to know the port# of the COM port on the back of your PC. Most of the time it is labelled on the outside of the PC or laptop case. Once you select the right port#, hit ENTER.
The next window will ask you to set the communication parameters. They should be as follows:
Bits per second: 9600
Data Bits: 8
Parity: None
Stop Bits: 1
Flow Control: Hardware
Once you have set those parameters, hit ENTER.
The terminal window will open up.
3. Power on the Sun machine, making sure the keyboard is NOT plugged into it. It may take anywhere from 5 seconds to 3 or 4 minutes to give you output on the screen.
This is highly dependent upon a few factors, such as what level of diagnostics the machine is set to perform, what kind of machine it is and how much memory and CPU it has (more memory and CPU means more POST testing that needs to take place.
NOTE: The reason you want to make sure that the keyboard is not plugged into the Sun box, is that by default, on Sun machines, plugging in the keyboard causes the machine divert all the output from the serial port to the video card (even if you don’t have one installed.)
4. How to send a break, terminate the connection, etc…
HOW TO SEND BREAK:
Since there is no STOP key on the PC keyboard, you will have to use the CTRL+BRK key combination to send a break.
NOTE: While CTRL+BRK will work in HyperTerminal, other applications (i.e. TeraTerm) won’t respond to this keystroke. For TeraTerm users, you want to hit ALT+B.
HOW TO TERMINATE THE CONNECTION:
To terminate the connection, you can just close the HyperTerminal window. If you are in the operating system, be sure to type “exit” before you close the window, otherwise the next person that connects to this machine via serial will already be logged into the OS under the same account you logged in with.
PS: Don’t forget to stop by AnySystem.com for all your Sun hardware and consulting needs.