RHEL WS 4u4 + KVM + Sun type 6 keyboard problem
 

Hello, I have a Sun Ultra 20 with RedHat EL WS 4u4 installed. I have a Rose Electronics KVM switch connected to the U20 via a USB cable.
To the Rose I have a Sun type 6 (non-USB) keyboard. Also on the Rose I have another Sun (Blade 1500).

My problem is that the left function keys (Stop, Again, Props, etc) don't work when the RHEL system is selected.

They do work when the Blade 1500 is selected, _or_ when I remove the RHEL hard disk from the U20 and replace it with a hard drive containing Solaris 10x86.
If I directly attach a Sun type 6 USB keyboard to the U20, the left function keys do work properly.
To test, I'm running xev under Gnome and it doesn't register any events when any of the left function keys are pressed. I've also used showkey -k and showkey -s at a CLI console prompt (init level 3), again with no keypresses being seen for the left function keys. This indicates to me that it is most likely not an X/Gnome problem, and that at a base level, the Rose KVM is at least capable of supplying the correct keypresses (due to the Solaris x86 functionality).

I have configured my xorg.conf file as referenced in FAQ_85_8591 in the RedHat knowledge base, but that didn't help either.

Since the direct attached Sun USB keyboard does work, I'm wondering if the RHEL kernel is doing some sort of probing of the keyboard to ask it what type it is and that the Rose may not be replying with what it wants. If this is the case, is there any way to statically tell RHEL what the keyboard is and not have it probe?

I've used the same USB port for connecting both the Rose supplied keyboard and the direct Sun type 6 USB keyboard so I know it's not something funny with the USB port. I've also verified this using a USB port from the rear and the front of the U20.

Anyone else ever seen this problem???
Thanks,
TomL

Have you started the machine with the type 6 keyboard and once up unplugged it and plugged the kvm in and the type 6 into the kvm. Does it work that way?

Brian

Tried that, plugged in type 6 usb, booted system, logged in and ran xev, saw events when pressing the left functions, unplugged keyboard, plugged in usb connector from KVM (which has non-usb type 6 attached to it), pressed the left functions, no events shown by xev (I didn't quit xev between keyboard swaps).
TomL

Strange I must say. So the U20 works fine when the Solaris drive is installed and using the type 6 keyboard connected through the KVM?
The keys function fine through the Rose KVM on solaris bootup?

But rebooting and using the redhat drive it does not see the keys unless the type 6 keyboard is directly connected?

There is only one app that runs from a normal install for hardware detection called kudzu. I would not think it would be the cause and I am not sure kudzu is still being used in rhel4. I think it is but again not sure since never runned that release.

Give this a try. Connect the keyboard directly. Bootup RHEL and make sure the key work. Now as root run the command ' chkconfig --level 345 kudzu off '. Shutdown and connect through the KVM and boot up.

That is about all I now to try.

Brian

Brian, Kudzu is still used in RHEL 4u4.
I plugged in USB type 6, booted, verified which showkey that the left functions were OK, killed kudzu, rebooted, verified (with direct usb type 6) that left functions were OK (yep), swapped out direct and plugged in KVM, showkey shows no keycodes when left functions are presses, rebooted (still with KVM keyboard), no joy.

I'm not sure what the rose KVM is producing for key codes, but for some reason, RHEL doesn't like them. I don't have a corresponding 'showkey' type program for sol 10 x86, but I can use the left functions when I boot from the sol10 x86 hard drive in the U20.

I may just have to give up on the left functions, cause I really need the KVM (controlling 4 systems under the desk).
Thanks for the attempts!
TomL

Might contact the developers of the KVM and see if they have any input. Why the keycode seems to be passing through the KVM under the Solaris boot I would think it is still passing through when Redhat is booted.

It is confusing why it does not work. My only thought is maybe the keycode that passes through the KVM maybe different on the output side. But maybe Solaris can interrupt different keycodes for the same key. So I am guessing maybe the Solaris is seeing one code directly connected and one code when going through the KVM. But either keycode does the same operation.

While searching I seen a similiar post not KVM related though here.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=374754

That would have been my next guess editing the keymap as mentioned. I would not think it would be X server related but the change of keyboard under /etc/X11/xorg.conf my help. A guess since xev is probalby using the X server info.

Keycodes can be a big mess. Spent many hours searching and reading trying to configure some special keys on my notebook to function. xev can see all but one. Never did figure that one out. I have some up and down volume keys that one press equals about 5 or 6 presses of the key. Ended up writing a script to run the aumix command to do incermites of 1% versus the 5% increments which was what the Kmilo app under KDE was doing. Took me a while just to figure out about Kmilo.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...&postid=536388

Brian

Brian