[Info-vax] Issue with booting and/or seeing the SYSBOOT prompt

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2021-10-23 12:27:54 +0000, Dymaxion Development said:

> I am a OpenVMS newbie and I inherited trying to determine why a system 
> no longer boots. It's an RX2600 running OpenVMS 8.4. The former system 
> manager passed away so I really do not have any resources I could call 
> upon.
> ...

See if the management processor is connected online. Ping the whole 
subnet and see what answers (e.g. ping 10.20.30.255/24) and see what 
answers that you do and do not know about (a temporarily-configured 
switch and a completely private local network makes this easier), or 
check the local hosts database or local DNS database for something that 
looks like the name of an iLO IP address.

Alternatively, manually reset the iLO and re-configure it at a known 
address. Instructions are in the iLO 2 manual.

If you can't find the iLO IP address, hard-reset the iLO to factory 
defaults (press the iLO reset button for five or ten seconds), then use 
the MAC address shown on the iLO sticker (usually looks like 
mp005300005300, with the digits differing), and a command such as
arp -s 203.0.113.1 00-53-00-00-53-00
And where the IP address shown (203.0.113.1) is replaced with an 
available and unused address within your local network subnet, and the 
MAC shown (00-53-00-00-53-00) with the iLO MAC.
Once you have that arp entry, you can now access the iLO via the 
network via that address.

If this was managed with the serial line (how quaint), then you'll be 
looking for a Plugable or other PL2303{letters}-series USB-to-serial 
adapter to connect into the management processor serial port. This 
PL2303-series adapter would be most typical (as support for the PL2303 
series chip is common across most platforms), absent some local client 
computer still with a DB9 connector thatcan be used. If you have an 
AlphaServer or Itanium that's working for instance, that DB9 serial 
port can be used with a DB9 via SET HOST /DTE. Or a DB9 cable and a 
working VT terminal, if you're also running a hardware museum as a 
sideline.

Using the iLO is easier than USB adapters and the console serial line, 
other posts here to the contrary.  Unless you already have a box of 
parts and some experience with USB serial adapters and a host app that 
is compatible with the USB-to-serial serial adapter.


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