<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9"> <TITLE> The MacTerminal MINI-HOWTO: Logging in via kermit.</TITLE> <LINK HREF="Mac-Terminal-5.html" REL=next> <LINK HREF="Mac-Terminal-3.html" REL=previous> <LINK HREF="Mac-Terminal.html#toc4" REL=contents> </HEAD> <BODY> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal-5.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal-3.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal.html#toc4">Contents</A> <HR> <H2><A NAME="s4">4. Logging in via <CODE>kermit</CODE>.</A></H2> <P>Configuring Linux to use the Mac as a <CODE>login:</CODE> terminal is even easier. <CODE>kermit</CODE> is ideal for this purpose, because it is one of the few free communication programs which provides credible VT100/120/220 emulation. <P>Essentially, what you want to do is start <CODE>kermit</CODE> on the Macintosh side as in the previous section, but rather than issue server commands, you enter <CODE>connect</CODE> mode. This is the normal terminal emulation mode that most people use, anyway. <P>On the Linux side, the serial line must be configured with a <CODE>getty</CODE> on it to start a <CODE>login:</CODE> shell. To do this, you need to tell <CODE>init</CODE> that the serial line has a terminal on it. In your <CODE>/etc/inittab</CODE> file you will need a line something like this: <PRE> T1:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100 </PRE> Be sure to substitute the appropriate serial device for <CODE>/dev/ttyS0</CODE> and the correct baud rate for <CODE>9600</CODE> in the command line above. <P>This command tells <CODE>getty</CODE> to start <CODE>login</CODE> (the <CODE>-L</CODE> switch) on the terminal display, and, when the login times out, to re-start (<CODE>respawn</CODE>) the login program until someone logs in. If no device is connected to the serial line, or if the connection is defective, you may see a message on the system console like: <CODE>/dev/ttyS0 respawning too fast: disabling for 5 minutes</CODE>. If this happens, you can return things to normal by (as root) <CODE>kill</CODE>ing the <CODE>getty</CODE> process, or using the <CODE>init q</CODE> command. Both of them have the effect of re-spawning the <CODE>getty</CODE> processe(s). If everything is in order, you should see the Linux banner and login prompt on the Mac's <CODE>kermit</CODE> window. That's all there is to it. <P>Also, if you use something besides vanilla <CODE>getty</CODE>, like <CODE>getty_ps</CODE>, the command above will look somewhat different. The important thing to remember is that everything to the right of <CODE>/sbin/getty</CODE> is an argument for <CODE>getty</CODE> itself; not <CODE>init</CODE>. You should look at the manual pages for <CODE>getty</CODE>, <CODE>init</CODE>,and <CODE>inittab</CODE> if you have questions concerning the setup of <CODE>init</CODE> and <CODE>getty</CODE>. <P>The Serial HOWTO provides helpful details on how to configure <CODE>/etc/inittab</CODE> for <CODE>getty_ps</CODE>, if that's what your system uses. <P>To transfer files back and forth between the Macintosh and the Linux machine, you can (via the Mac's Kermit) issue the <CODE>kermit -x</CODE> command to start the Linux <CODE>kermit</CODE> in server mode. You can then use the normal file transfer commands to send files across the serial line. It's useful to set a prompt in your <CODE>~/.kermrc</CODE> with a line like <PRE> set prompt Linux-kermit > </PRE> Otherwise, remembering which machine you're on can quickly become confusing. <P> <H2><A NAME="ss4.1">4.1 Other Mac terminal programs.</A> </H2> <P>This method should work equally well for any other Mac terminal program. If you have ZTerm, you can use <CODE>rz</CODE> and <CODE>sz</CODE> on the Linux machine to transfer files via the ZModem protocol. If Microphone Lite came bundled with your fax modem, that works equally well, albeit without <CODE>kermit's</CODE> superior scripting and configuration facilities. <P> <HR> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal-5.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal-3.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Mac-Terminal.html#toc4">Contents</A> </BODY> </HTML>