[syslinux] isolinux failing on serial console

[Marc Pascual]

On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 10:32 AM, Gene Cumm <gene.cumm at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 7:47 PM, Marc Pascual <marc.m.pascual at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have a problem with isolinux failing to boot a kernel whenever I
> navigate
> > and trigger the menu via serial console. My test machine is a DL585 G2,
> > with iLO2. Navigating and booting the kernels off of the video console
>
> How are you accessing the serial console?  Directly, via an external
> serial console server, or the iLO?  Do you have any serial-related iLO
> options enabled like redirecting the standard console to serial?
>
>
I used putty to connect to telnet to the serial console (used ssh as well,
same result).
I don't have any iLO options/settings as you've described.



> > works 100% of the time. With the serial connection however, I _sometimes_
> > get a "menu.c32: not a COM32R image" error. Sometime it works fine. I
>
> http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Common_Problems#Modules
>
> You shouldn't see it as a result of a serial console however if the
> file transfer were corrupted or you somehow lost transfered blocks,
> that might be understandable.
>
> What version?  I suspect something in the 4.0x range.
>

Hm, I'm not sure how I can verify from iLO if the file transfer is
corrupted. Yes, this is from the syslinux package that came with RHEL 6.4:
[Linux: user at host Packages]$ ls sysli*
syslinux-4.02-8.el6.x86_64.rpm


> > suspect the serial connection is sending extra characters. I tried
> running
> > wireshark from my local pc, enabled telnet on the iLO2 GUI, and did some
> > packet captures. However I don't have an idea of how it looks like when
> > there are no extra characters sent, so I'm kind of lost there.
> >
> > I'm not sure if this is an isolinux problem (specifically, menu.c32) and
> I
> > don't think it is. But I'm going to ask anyway -- is there any way for
> > isolinux to ignore extra characters if it is being sent? perhaps via
> > isolinux.cfg?
>
> I don't believe so but there are the flow control bits.
>
> > here's my config:
> >
> > default menu.c32
> > serial 0 115200
> > # comment out to enable video console
> > # console 0
>
> Have you tried to disable the standard console?  Considered leaving
> the DEFAULT pointing to your real default option and using the UI
> directive?
>
> The rest of your config (aside from wrapping) looks fine.
>

I had the standard console disabled at first but I don't have serial
console enabled across all the machines I manage so I put it back as an
alternative. I can use the UI directive but you reckon this is related?

cheers,
Marc