IRIS console - how do servers work ?

[Archer Sully]

In <1990Jul23.083435.838 at urz.unibas.ch> doelz at urz.unibas.ch writes:

| In article <5076 at minyos.xx.rmit.oz>, rxcob at minyos.xx.rmit.oz (Owen Baker) writes:
| > Does anyone know if you can make a terminal the console on an IRIS 4D2D?
| > I mean when the system is up not just when booting.
| > 
| 
| I'm interested in this as well (as of october '88), and didn't find a
| practicable solution yet. 
| Pointers welcome- how do the servers work? There might be a hint to fool 
| the graphics console if one knew how the server configureations 
| address the problem. 
| 

Its really quite simple.  There is an environment variable in the PROM
called "console".  It can have any of several values, usually "G" (for
graphics).  However, if it is set to "d" (debug), the console is switched
to serial port 0.  The console variable can be set from either the PROM
monitor or with the 'nvram' command.

--
Archer Sully          |  Ask not what you can do for you country,
archer at esd.sgi.com    |  But what your country's been doing to you.
                      |                    -- The Avengers