[rescue] CRD-5500 RAID Controller and UART/Monitor

[Greg A. Woods]

[ On Monday, January 14, 2002 at 19:13:15 (), Brian Dunbar wrote: ]
> Subject: [rescue] CRD-5500 RAID Controller and UART/Monitor
>
> I have a CRD-5500 RAID controller, installed in a disk array enclosure.
> 
> I want to be able to use the serial port (in the docs called a UART/Monitor 
> port) to change the RAID level (it's at RAID0 right now).
> 
> Attach a straight modem cable, launch TeraTerm on my laptop, boot the 
> enclosure, and the boot info from the array flashes across the terminal 
> window.  When the thing is done booting it displays 'press any key for the 
> menu' but it refuses to respond to keystrokes or any other input.
> 
> If you attach the serial cable and launch TeraTerm AFTER boot, nothing 
> displays in the screen.
> 
> It also behaves this way with a linux box w/ Minicom.
> 
> I'm told this unit worked fine at it's previous office, and they were able 
> to access the serial port/monitor with no problems.  I could put in service 
> at RAID0 .. the unit works fine.  I'm concerned .. the CRD-5500 forces you 
> to use the monitor for anything more complicated than shutdown and a (basic) 
> status check.
> 
> I'm stumped - not that that's hard to do.  Any ideas?

Try using C-Kermit, or even 'cu'.  Anything but minicom or any M$-based
terminal program.  Try a custom cable with only pins 2, 3, and 7 wired
up (there really are only three pins wired into the controller).  (the
manual discusses "Using the Terminal Program in MS-Win", but y'all know
what I think of M$ software...).  I you should use XON/XOFF flow
control, with 8 data bits, one stop bit, and no parity.  The menus use
VT100 line graphics.  I'm guessing the "hung" state is due to flow
control.  Try sending an XON (<CTRL-Q>).

I lucked out and had the right 9-pin DEC-MJ6 connector for my OSS RAID
boxes (TRIMM chassis with CRD-5500's) so that I could plug them right
into my DEC terminal server and everything "just worked".  I have some
trouble with the really broken terminal emulation on my old BSDI 1.1
machine's console, but xterms work just fine with it.  Well, I wasn't
able to download the firmware until I used kermit over a hard-wired
serial port to one of my sparcstations, but as far as the menus go
there's no problem with using xterm via telnet to the teminal server (or
even with 'conserverd' and 'console' intervening).

-- 
								Greg A. Woods

+1 416 218-0098;  <gwoods at acm.org>;  <g.a.woods at ieee.org>;  <woods at robohack.ca>
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