I discovered in Itanium HP server that EFI will not permit the VGA
to be the console so I made some changes with EFI Manager.
This document will help others to solve their issue in installing
linux or any OS with their HP integrity RX 16XX servers.
I will just explain to all the readers of this blogs what
I'd experience and work around.
After the successful installation and Upon reboot, the system will show up
the message "Loading initrd...." but it will stop there.
Solution and work around:
**************************************************************
In this link you will see the reordering of serial devices and
explaination why HP will not use the VGA.
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/ia64/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.html
4.6.5 Serial device reordering
If you have an HP machine and you're using the MP serial console port (the connector labelled "console" on the 3-headed cable), this kernel upgrade will break your console!
Upon reboot, the system will show up the message "Loading initrd...." but it will stop there. Notice that systems with outdated firmware will show similar symptoms, although the issue is related to kernel incompatibilities (see Upgrading to a 2.6 kernel, Section 5.2).
Please read the following information before upgrading.
-
Reboot and use the EFI boot option maintenance menu to select exactly one device for console output, input, and standard error. Then do a cold reset so the changes take effect.
For the MP console, be careful to select the device with "Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(...)/Uart" in the path.
More details about these changes and troubleshooting hints are available at http://lists.debian.org/debian-ia64/2005/01/msg00008.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Document how Linux/ia64 names serial devices and how to use them
as console devices.
Signed-off-by: Bjorn Helgaas
--- /dev/null 2003-09-17 12:43:43.000000000 -0600
+++ linux-2.5/Documentation/ia64/serial.txt 2004-12-08 10:36:38.893573600 -0700
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+SERIAL DEVICE NAMING
+
+ As of 2.6.10, serial devices on ia64 are named based on the
+ order of ACPI and PCI enumeration. The first device in the
+ ACPI namespace (if any) becomes /dev/ttyS0, the second becomes
+ /dev/ttyS1, etc., and PCI devices are named sequentially
+ starting after the ACPI devices.
+
+ Prior to 2.6.10, there were confusing exceptions to this:
+
+ - Firmware on some machines (mostly from HP) provides an HCDP
+ table[1] that tells the kernel about devices that can be used
+ as a serial console. If the user specified "console=ttyS0"
+ or the EFI ConOut path contained only UART devices, the
+ kernel registered the device described by the HCDP as
+ /dev/ttyS0.
+
+ - If there was no HCDP, we assumed there were UARTs at the
+ legacy COM port addresses (I/O ports 0x3f8 and 0x2f8), so
+ the kernel registered those as /dev/ttyS0 and /dev/ttyS1.
+
+ Any additional ACPI or PCI devices were registered sequentially
+ after /dev/ttyS0 as they were discovered.
+
+ With an HCDP, device names changed depending on EFI configuration
+ and "console=" arguments. Without an HCDP, device names didn't
+ change, but we registered devices that might not really exist.
+
+ For example, an HP rx1600 with a single built-in serial port
+ (described in the ACPI namespace) plus an MP[2] (a PCI device) has
+ these ports:
+
+ pre-2.6.10 pre-2.6.10
+ MMIO (EFI console (EFI console
+ address on builtin) on MP port) 2.6.10
+ ========== ========== ========== ======
+ builtin 0xff5e0000 ttyS0 ttyS1 ttyS0
+ MP UPS 0xf8031000 ttyS1 ttyS2 ttyS1
+ MP Console 0xf8030000 ttyS2 ttyS0 ttyS2
+ MP 2 0xf8030010 ttyS3 ttyS3 ttyS3
+ MP 3 0xf8030038 ttyS4 ttyS4 ttyS4
+
+CONSOLE SELECTION
+
+ EFI knows what your console devices are, but it doesn't tell the
+ kernel quite enough to actually locate them. The DIG64 HCDP
+ table[1] does tell the kernel where potential serial console
+ devices are, but not all firmware supplies it. Also, EFI supports
+ multiple simultaneous consoles and doesn't tell the kernel which
+ should be the "primary" one.
+
+ So how do you tell Linux which console device to use?
+
+ - If your firmware supplies the HCDP, it is simplest to
+ configure EFI with a single device (either a UART or a VGA
+ card) as the console. Then you don't need to tell Linux
+ anything; the kernel will automatically use the EFI console.
+
+ (This works only in 2.6.6 or later; prior to that you had
+ to specify "console=ttyS0" to get a serial console.)
+
+ - Without an HCDP, Linux defaults to a VGA console unless you
+ specify a "console=" argument.
+
+ NOTE: Don't assume that a serial console device will be /dev/ttyS0.
+ It might be ttyS1, ttyS2, etc. Make sure you have the appropriate
+ entries in /etc/inittab (for getty) and /etc/securetty (to allow
+ root login).
+
+EARLY SERIAL CONSOLE
+
+ The kernel can't start using a serial console until it knows where
+ the device lives. Normally this happens when the driver enumerates
+ all the serial devices, which can happen a minute or more after the
+ kernel starts booting.
+
+ 2.6.10 and later kernels have an "early uart" driver that works
+ very early in the boot process. The kernel will automatically use
+ this if the user supplies an argument like "console=uart,io,0x3f8",
+ or if the EFI console path contains only a UART device and the
+ firmware supplies an HCDP.
+
+TROUBLESHOOTING SERIAL CONSOLE PROBLEMS
+
+ No kernel output after elilo prints "Uncompressing Linux... done":
+
+ - You specified "console=ttyS0" but Linux changed the device
+ to which ttyS0 refers. Configure exactly one EFI console
+ device[3] and remove the "console=" option.
+
+ - The EFI console path contains both a VGA device and a UART.
+ EFI and elilo use both, but Linux defaults to VGA. Remove
+ the VGA device from the EFI console path[3].
+
+ - Multiple UARTs selected as EFI console devices. EFI and
+ elilo use all selected devices, but Linux uses only one.
+ Make sure only one UART is selected in the EFI console
+ path[3].
+
+ - You're connected to an HP MP port[2] but have a non-MP UART
+ selected as EFI console device. EFI uses the MP as a
+ console device even when it isn't explicitly selected.
+ Either move the console cable to the non-MP UART, or change
+ the EFI console path[3] to the MP UART.
+
+ Long pause (60+ seconds) between "Uncompressing Linux... done" and
+ start of kernel output:
+
+ - No early console because you used "console=ttyS". Remove
+ the "console=" option if your firmware supplies an HCDP.
+
+ - If you don't have an HCDP, the kernel doesn't know where
+ your console lives until the driver discovers serial
+ devices. Use "console=uart, io,0x3f8" (or appropriate
+ address for your machine).
+
+ Kernel and init script output works fine, but no "login:" prompt:
+
+ - Add getty entry to /etc/inittab for console tty. Look for
+ the "Adding console on ttyS" message that tells you which
+ device is the console.
+
+ "login:" prompt, but can't login as root:
+
+ - Add entry to /etc/securetty for console tty.
+
+
+
+[1] http://www.dig64.org/specifications/DIG64_PCDPv20.pdf
+ The table was originally defined as the "HCDP" for "Headless
+ Console/Debug Port." The current version is the "PCDP" for
+ "Primary Console and Debug Port Devices."
+
+[2] The HP MP (management processor) is a PCI device that provides
+ several UARTs. One of the UARTs is often used as a console; the
+ EFI Boot Manager identifies it as "Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(...)/Uart".
+ The external connection is usually a 25-pin connector, and a
+ special dongle converts that to three 9-pin connectors, one of
+ which is labelled "Console."
+
+[3] EFI console devices are configured using the EFI Boot Manager
+ "Boot option maintenance" menu. You may have to interrupt the
+ boot sequence to use this menu, and you will have to reset the
+ box after changing console configuration.
------------------------------------------------------------------
***********To make it easier to understand do the following below. *********
When the EFI console path contains exactly one device (either serial or VGA).
EFI console devices are configured using the EFI Boot Manager
+ "Boot option maintenance" menu. You may have to interrupt the
+ boot sequence to use this menu, and you will have to reset the
+ box after changing console configuration.
-
Reboot and use the EFI boot option maintenance menu to select exactly one device for console output, input, and standard error. Then do a cold reset so the changes take effect.
For the MP console, be careful to select the device with "Acpi(HWP0002,700)/Pci(...)/Uart" in the path. or if you VGA (choose it)
