4
Console Redirection
Rebooting the Server
Console redirection is designed to yield control of the serial ports to the operating
system. This allows serial debugging and redirection of the operating system to
function correctly without interference from the system BIOS.
To use console redirection to shut down a system and troubleshoot it or to change
small computer system interface (SCSI) BIOS configurations, perform the following
steps:
1.
Restart the system. See "Configuring Special Keys," found later in this docu-
ment, for a recommendation on how to do this.
2.
When the system begins to reboot, use console redirection to watch and interact
with the system during the power-on self-test (POST). While the system is boot-
ing, you can do the following:
•
Enter the system setup program.
•
Enter the SCSI setup menus.
•
Run utilities on the utility partition (including Dell Diagnostics and the
Resource Configuration Utility ([RCU], if applicable)
NOTE: To use console redirection to run utilities on the utility partition, the
utility partition must have been created using Dell OpenManage™ Server
Assistant version 6.3.1 or later.
Configuring Special Keys
Console redirection uses ANSI or VT100/220 terminal emulation, which are limited to
basic ASCII characters. There are no function keys, arrow keys, or control keys in this
character set. However, most BIOS software requires the use of function keys and
control keys for ordinary functions. You can emulate a function key or control key by
using a special key sequence, called an escape sequence, to represent a specific key.
For console redirection, an escape sequence starts with an escape character. This
character can be entered in a number of different ways, depending on the require-
ments of your terminal emulation software. For example, 0x1b, ^[, and <Esc> all refer
to the same escape character. Some terminal software uses predefined macros to
send the proper escape sequences. In HyperTerminal, you can define macros by
selecting Key Macros from the View menu. Macros can be assigned to almost any
possible key for almost any key combination. Create a macro for each of your function
keys. Tables 2 and 3 list the escape sequence that must be sent to represent a special
key or command.
NOTES: When defining macros in HyperTerminal, you must press <Ins> before
<Esc> to signify that you are sending an escape sequence rather than escaping out of
the dialog box.