On Sat, Oct 21, 2006 at 10:39:03AM -0400, Steven M. Bellovin wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:31:48 -0400, Thor Lancelot Simon <tls@rek.tjls.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > Try this:
> > 
> > console	"/usr/libexec/getty Pc"		vt100	off
> > ttyE0	"/usr/libexec/getty Pc"		vt220	on	secure
> > tty00	"/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"	unknown	on	secure
> > 
> Thanks.  (Further poking makes it seem very likely that there's a
> hardware problem -- I can log in blind and see 'root' logged in, but I
> never see any output.  That makes it sound like a cable or connector
> issue.)
> 
> One last question -- should wscons be on or off?

It doesn't matter.  Why would it?

> Also -- where, if anyplace, is this documented?  I see nothing in the
> How-Tos or the NetBSD Guide on setting up serial consoles. 

Well, it can certainly be sorted out from general Unix knowledge, plus
the ttys manual page.  I suppose the only piece that's not obvious is
that _either_ ttyE0 or tty00 may alias /dev/console, but that init always
uses the "console" ttys entry to decide whether to prompt for the root
password before entering single-user mode.  But I think the init manual
page even documents that.

I tend to think that "How-Tos" are a very bad thing: they encourage people
to do complex tasks, with potentially serious consequences, without the
background knowledge they would have if they actually looked at the primary
documentation for long enough to figure it out.  Then if anything goes
wrong, they're utterly stuck.  The NetBSD Guide seems somewhat better.

-- 
  Thor Lancelot Simon	                                     tls@rek.tjls.com

  "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral
   aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others."      - H.L.A. Hart