Serial installation¶

This manual describes how to install the IACBOX software via serial interface.

Attention

Please note that there are known problems with third party tools such as PuTTY. For creating a serial connection, we do recommend any linux distribution. In this example openSUSE was used with an USB to serial adapter.

Installing a serial communication programm (terminal emulator)¶

On Linux a handful of terminal emulation programs are available, e.g. minicom or screen.

This manual references to the popular software screen.

In openSUSE open the terminal and execute the following command to obtain the most current version of minicom:

sudo zypper install screen

For the Debian/Ubuntu distribution you can use the following command:

sudo apt-get install screen

For RedHat/CentOS/Fedora you can use the following command:

sudo yum install screen

Configuration of Screen¶

First you need to check which interface is used to connect to the IACBOX. In this example, a USB to serial adapter cable was used. With the following command you can list serial devices:

sudo dmesg | grep -i tty

The output shows, that the port ttyUSB0 must be used. If the output is too or shows too many different devices, disconnect all USB devices, perform a system restart and retry the command from above:

% sudo dmesg | grep -i tty
[    0.000000] console [tty0] enabled
[    2.203312] 00:06: ttyS0 at I/O 0x3f8 (irq = 4, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 3340.415857] usb 4-1: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0

Using screen¶

Now execute the following command to start up screen:

% sudo screen  /dev/ttyUSB0 115200 -T xterm

Before installing the IACBOX, make sure the hardware is connected. Insert the required boot media (CD or USB stick) and then start the device on which you want to install the IACBOX.

After the BIOS screen disappears, you will be asked for the installation mode. Type in s for serial installation and continue with ENTER.

Now the IACBOX setup will start in serial mode.

Hint

Useful keyboard combinations for screenn

Quit (kill) minicom: CTRL+A, CTRL+K - confirm killing with [y]
Detach minicom (put it in background): CTRL+A, CTRL+D
Resume the screen session: screen -r