Hi all,

I have been setting up a headless server with Debian. I have managed to get the installation process going and loaded the OS onto the server (with grateful thanks to help from people on this site!!!). However, now that the server will boot from the hard disk using Grub, I need to continue the installation using ttyS0 so that I can get far enough to install SSH.

How do I get the system to do this via ttyS0. I assume this is something I set up in grub (?). I have tried modifying grub with "serial --unit=0 --speed=115200" and "terminal serial console" but still me with a blank screen on ttyS0.

I would be grateful for any pointers.

Many thanks in advance.

P.S. I think I should write up this install once completed. Doing this sort of thing as a relative newbie is a great learning experience, but I would like to bring something beck to the community as soon as I can!!

Well, you could try logging in 'blind' and install ssh that way... Requires good memory on which keys you've pressed and which not

However, the easiest solution by far is to connect a monitor

Sorry, should have mentioned, the server has no video, keyboard or mouse port. So it has to be via the serial console until SSH is installed.

Whoops, overlooked that part...

When faced with that virgin white terminalscreen, did you gave it a hard return? (that's the Enter key ) How are you connected to that machine, with a serial cable? If so, are you sure the cable is wired correctly?

thanks for the reply.

I have just got a Dell 715N, which is a headless server. The only way to communicate to it initially is via the serial cable, which works fine. I have set up a TFTP/DHCP/PXE boot server on my laptop and connected the 715n to my router.

It boots just fine and I have configured 1 disk for /boot, /, /home and the other three disks are configured in a software RAID (5) for music files. The server was configured in Expert mode via the serial cable.

The only problem I have now is that the server boots off grub (hd0,0) ok, but I need to either tell the OS to communicate via serial or ssh after this. I loaded SSH via expert mode, so I hoped ssh would be active on the initial boot to continue the install process. However, all ports on the server are closed - firewalling?

Is there a way of getting the installation to continue via the serial port or ssh? I am pretty sure this is a really simple problem, but finding it is proving a mite bit tricky. So please state the obvious because it is probably something simple I have missed.

I am wading my way through documentation to try to identify the problem, but being a bit of a newbie I think I am just confusing myself!

Still I am pleased to have go this far!! Only the small step of finishing the install and I'll have a slimserver with 240Gb of RAID!! Frustrating, but I will succeed!!

I am going to write this install up after I complete it, as I hope my newbie experiences will help others not make the same mistakes as I know I have (and learned not to make them again!!).

Cheers

Steve