Dann Frazier: Starting a text-mode Debian install using the virtual serial port (VSP) via an ssh connection to iLO 2
That's a mouthful. We had a customer asking for information on this, so
I did a couple screen captures using
byzanz to demonstrate.
The first
shows howto setup a system to do bios over serial. I did this w/ the remote java
console, but you can also do this locally on the system (or the ActiveX console I
suppose, but I've never tried this myself). In brief, you need to
choose a serial port to map to the VSP (I use COM2 aka ttyS1), and tell the
system to redirect the BIOS to the same serial port at your desired baud (115200
in this example).
The second
shows me initiating an ssh session, setting up a virtual cd-rom, and
booting the debian installer. Of course you could use local media or
even PXE boot. But either way you need to tell the installer to direct
its console to the same port that you've configured as the VSP and
at the same baudrate (console=ttyS1,115200n8 in this example).
Note that if the screen goes blank after attempting to boot from the CD
it is likely that the installer is displaying a graphical splash screen.
Simply hit F1 to transitition to a text-mode help screen.