By default, on a PC, Linux sends all bootup and login text to the VGA monitor that you may or may not have attached. It also expects all input to come from the keyboard. This is fine if you have one linux server, and it’s sitting right in front of you. However, if you need to administrate remotely, VGA is a really tough way to do it.

The solution? Linux can output both kernel and login messages to the serial port on a machine, which can then be connected to either another linux box or a dedicated terminal server.

There are 3 steps to make a Linux server output all data to a serial line. This was tested under redhat-7.2. Small changes may need to be made for other distributions.

1. Setup LILO to instruct the kernel to use the serial port.
   The kernel needs to be told to send all it’s bootup output to the serial port. This can be done by adding a single line to the /etc/lilo.conf line, and running /sbin/lilo to implement the changes.

   append=”console=ttyS0,9600n8″

   This tells the kernel to send the console to ttyS0 (the first serial port) at the speed 9600 baud, no stop bits, 8 data bits. Set your terminal to those settings too.

   You can also put the LILO prompt itself on the serial port if you’d like. You can add the following line to the header section of the /etc/lilo.conf file:

   serial=0,9600n8

2. Give yourself a login prompt
   Once the kernel has booted, though, you need to tell the init process to spawn a login shell on the first serial port. I added the following line to the /etc/inittab file:

   S0:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100

   This tells init to spawn the agetty process. We tell agetty to listen on ttyS0, the first serial port, at 9600 baud, and to assume a terminal type of vt100. The -L flag tells agetty that this is a direct line, not a modem.

3. Allow root logins on the serial port
   Okay, so now (after a reboot) we have the kernel messages and a login prompt on the serial port. However, it’s not letting us login as root. We need to tell login to allow root logins on the serial port. Add the line ttyS0 to the file /etc/securetty to tell login that ttyS0 is a secure login facility, and to allow root on that line.

You can now use a serial crossover cable to connect another linux box to COM1 on your server. Using minicom (or the terminal app of your choice) set to 9600 baud, no stop bits, 8 data bits, you’ll be able to watch your server boot up and login as root. This is great for remote administration and debugging, such as working on network problems that have prevented you from logging in normally.