Using conman with iLo v3 and Bright Cluster Manager

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What steps will reproduce the problem?
Try to connect to HP iLo 3 serial console with conman on a node with Bright 
Cluster Manager (BCM) installed. 

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?
See the serial console and be able to type. Instead, I see nothing at all. I 
get a few blank newlines, but can't get feedback on the default terminal

What version of the software are you using? On what operating system?
conman-0.2.7, BCM 5.2, RHEL 5.7 x86_64

Please provide any additional information below.
BCM boots nodes and produces a node summary screen on the first virtual console 
(ALT-F1) with information such as hostname, clock speed, mem size, kernel, etc. 
It prompts you to hit ALT-F2 (or another F number) to get console access. 

Using conman on some Dells with the IPMI dev, conman drops me right to the 
console, without showing the summary screen. With the HP iLo v3, first of all I 
have to use a custom expect script (hacked together with input from Google) to 
connect to the iLo. (The iLo v3 only uses SSH, not telnet.) After several 
seconds of lag, there is action in terms of several newlines printed out; 
however I can't see anything, nor type anything. If with the iLo virtual 
console, accessible via a web browser, I hit ALT-F2 and switch to the console 
from the summary screen, I can get read-write console access in my conman 
session. However, without doing that in the web console, conman can't get 
console access.

I've tried sending Octal characters for ALT-F2, but haven't had any luck. It's 
possible I'm missing something as I'm new to both the iLo and to using expect 
scripts for conman. I've attached my custom script; is there a better script I 
can use? More importantly, how can I get the conman client to automatically 
switch to a different virtual console in order to get console access?
Many thanks!
Cameron

Original issue reported on code.google.com by cameron....@gmail.com on 22 Dec 2011 at 11:05

Attachments:

• hp-ilo3.exp

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Sorry for the delay.

I don't have access to anything with an HP iLO 3 interface to test against.

In developing an expect script, I start by ssh'ing directly to the device and 
recording the patterns and keystrokes needed to get at the remote console.  
Next, I try making those changes to an existing script -- such as hp-ilo.exp 
like you've already done.  I find setting "exp_internal 1" and "log_user 1" to 
be helpful for troubleshooting at this stage.  I test the script by invoking it 
directly from the command-line (outside of conmand), and making changes until 
everything works.  Then I add it to conman.conf, restart conmand, and try 
accessing it through conman, making changes as necessary, etc.

So starting with step 1, so-to-speak, are you able to access the remote console 
if you ssh directly to the device (ie, outside of both expect and conman, and 
without connecting to the virtual console via a browser and hitting ALT-F2)?  
After connecting via ssh and authenticating, does entering "textcons" connect 
you to the remote console?

Original comment by chris.m.dunlap on 29 Dec 2011 at 3:36

• Added labels: Type-Support
• Removed labels: Type-Defect

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Thanks Chris,
I think I have some of it working during bootup/shutdown. One thing I'm stumped 
on is a way to pass the ALT-F2 to the console. Both in the textcons and in 
conman, I can't seem to pass any key sequence that works. With expect in debug 
mode, it appears hitting ALT-F2 sends something like "\u001b03Q". Any tips on 
passing the right code?
Thanks!

Original comment by cameron....@gmail.com on 5 Jan 2012 at 12:39

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Check the user's manual to see if they support alternate character sequences 
for ALT-F2 and such.  If you're able to determine the proper character 
sequence, you should be able to send it from within Expect.  Here's a related 
Expect FAQ entry:

54. How do I send control characters or function keys?
http://expect.sourceforge.net/FAQ.html#q54

Original comment by chris.m.dunlap on 5 Jan 2012 at 1:16

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Using that FAQ I was able to get a new Octal code to use, but unfortunately, 
that didn't work (I tried multiple variations as well). However, I did find out 
what I think is the problem. I need to be using the iLo's VSP (Virtual Serial 
Port) mechanism rather than TEXTCONS. But to use the VSP, you have to have an 
iLo Advanced license. In short, from what I can tell, you need the iLo Advanced 
license, even on the Blades, to get conman working.

Original comment by cameron....@gmail.com on 5 Jan 2012 at 8:10

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Closing out old support issue.

Original comment by chris.m.dunlap on 28 Feb 2012 at 8:48

• Changed state: Done