Re: How to get xenconsole working on freeBSD-12 without burning up vnc ports or extra tty ports

[Brian Buhrow <buhrow%nfbcal.org@localhost>]

	hello.  Ok.  That makes sense.  I realized I miswrote when I said it would activate the vnc
console, but it was too late.  
On my FreeBSD pvh system, I see a line like:

xc0: <Xen Console> on xenpv0

	I have been under the impression that the console terminal, as denoted in /etc/ttys, for
both FreeBSD and NetBSD, is a logical device, which floats with the system console.  I'm pretty
sure, on NetBSD, at least, I've told init to activate a getty process on the console terminal
and I didn't have to change that whether the console was on a serial port or on a vga screen.  
Specifically, I could just direct the console's location by updating the boot blocks on the
given machine and all would just work.  If that's true, then activating the console line in
/etc/ttys would seem to be a better choice, as it would always work regardless of where the
console was located.  xc0, by contrast, is a specific device, much like /dev/ttyu0 or
/dev/ttyE0 are.  Do I have that wrong?
-thanks
-Brian


On Mar 18,  4:09pm, "Greg A. Woods" wrote:
} Subject: Re: How to get xenconsole working on freeBSD-12 without burning u
} --pgp-sign-Multipart_Thu_Mar_18_16:09:41_2021-1
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} At Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:55:28 -0700, Brian Buhrow <buhrow%nfbcal.org@localhost> wrote:
} Subject: Re: How to get xenconsole working on freeBSD-12 without burning up  vnc ports or extra tty ports
} >
} > 	xc0 "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" xterm onifconsole secure
} >
} > The ttys(5) man page says that flag causes the terminal to only be
} > active if it is the system console.
} 
} That's what I guessed.  I think NetBSD could make good use of such a
} feature too.  I always have to fiddle with /etc/ttys when I set up a
} system with a serial console but I also want a login prompt on the
} initial VGA console screen.
} 
} > I didn't use it because I want
} > the xenconsole to be active, not the vnc console.  I'm pretty sure
} > that will activate a vnc console.
} 
} No it won't activate VNC in any way.
} 
} All /etc/ttys affects is what programs init(1) starts, and what
} devices it opens for those programs.
} 
} So that line just says to start a getty(1) process on /dev/xc0, which
} will just print a login prompt to that device and then read any username
} that's sent by the device.
} 
} Since it would seem /dev/xc0 is the actual underlying device for the Xen
} PVHVM console this line should do almost the same as the line you
} suggested, but it'll do it in a way that's compatible with other entries
} that could also be underlying /dev/console (depending on the (virtual)
} hardware configuration), e.g. those for "ttyu0" and so on.
}