[syslinux] menu.c32 selection bar visibility on serial console

[Shao Miller]

Jodok Ole Muellers wrote:
>
> But I am talking about the Virtual Serial Port not about the physical 
> serial port.
> I run "ssh Administrator at my-ilo-ip" and then "VSP" for virtual serial 
> port.
>
Whether you use the web page applet for your SSH or an SSH client, you 
certainly can achieve colour.  For an SSH client, make sure you use one 
which support ANSI colour.  Attached is another screen-shot, this one of 
a Windows SSH client connected to the iLO, then the 'vsp' command.
>
> There is an option like "SERIAL 1 115200 0x303"
> but serial output also works for me without it.
> This is how my pxelinux.cfg/default looks like:
>
Be sure to align the SERIAL option with the HP VSP.
>
> DEFAULT menu.c32
> PROMPT 0
> TIMEOUT 6000
> CONSOLE 1
>
No SERIAL directive.  This means you are using HP's native console 
redirection over the VSP.  Have you noticed the lack of colour/special 
ANSI output for the messages from ROMs such as you storage controller?  
It would appear to me that HP's console-redirection-over-serial feature 
actually strips ANSI out.  Since you are relying on the console 
redirection in your scenario, you don't get Syslinux ANSI benefits.  
Similarly, you can work BIOS setup blindly with the console redirection; 
you don't see a thing.
>
> > On my HP ProLiant ML370 G6,
> > System Options -> Serial Port Options -> Virtual Serial Port (this is
> > fine, but)
> > BIOS Serial Console -> BIOS Serial Console Port : Disabled
> >
> > Know what I mean?
>
> No, not exactly ;-)
>
I meant that you should disable the console redirection as per the 
second setting written just above.  Then use a SERIAL directive and it's 
all magically work.  Or you could ask HP to let ANSI come through the 
console redirection in some future firmware update, but they might argue 
that somebody somewhere would find it messy.

If you _really_must_have_ the HP console redirection in order to see ROM 
and other startup messages, use the CONSOLE directive in your Syslinux 
config-file in order to disable "normal" output.  See the section in 
syslinux/doc/syslinux.txt on the CONSOLE directive and you might 
understand.  In brief, without this, Syslinux would be outputting once 
to the "normal" console, which HP would redirect to the serial, plus 
Syslinux would be outputting once to the serial as per the SERIAL 
directive, so you'd see everything twice (ugh).

- Shao Miller
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