dc(4) Kernel Interfaces Manual dc(4)Name
dc - serial line/mouse/keyboard
Syntax
device dc0 at ibus? vector dcintr
Description
The serial line controller provides four ports, with modem control on two of the ports. The DECstation 3100 and DECstation 2100 only pro-
vide partial modem control. The DECstation 5000 provides full modem control. The ports are used as follows:
Port Usage
0 Graphics device keyboard at 4800 BPS
1 Mouse or tablet at 4800 BPS
2 Communications port 1 (w/modem control)/local terminal
3 Communications port 2 (w/modem control)/local terminal
Each communication port from the serial line controller behaves as described in and can be set to run at any of 16 speeds. For the encod-
ing, see
When a graphics device is not being used as the system console, communications port 2 becomes the system console. In this configuration,
the port can only be used at 9600 BPS and no modem control is supported.
The serial line driver operates in interrupt-per-character mode (all pending characters are flushed from the silo on each interrupt).
Restrictions
Speed must be set to 9600 BPS on the console port and 4800 BPS on ports used by graphics devices. The serial line driver enforces this
restriction; that is, changing speeds with the command may not always work on these ports.
Files
console terminal
local terminal
local terminal
See Alsoconsole(4), devio(4), tty(4), ttys(5), MAKEDEV(8)
RISC dc(4)
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ace(7) Miscellaneous Information Manual ace(7)NAME
ace - Serial communications interface
SYNOPSIS
controller ace0 at * slot ? vector aceintr
DESCRIPTION
The ace serial line controller provides a serial communications interface on DEC 2000, AlphaStation, and AlphaServer platforms. The serial
communications ports that are controlled by ace adhere to the RS-232 standard and can operate at rates from 50 to 115200 baud (see tty(7)).
These communications ports support serial-line printers, modems, and terminals.
In alternate console configurations (that is, no graphics head), the terminal to be the system console must be connected to the port that
is mapped to /dev/tty00. (See ports(7) for information about mapping AlphaStation and AlphaServer port labels to device pathnames.) Cur-
rently, some processors that use the ace driver limit the serial console port to 9600 baud, 8-bit, no parity and no modem support. However,
some processor consoles do support baud rates other than 9600 baud and allow the use of modems as console devices. Consult your hardware
documentation to determine the type of console support your system provides.
The driver for the ace interface supports hardware flow control using the Request to Send (RTS) and Clear to Send (CTS) signals. When
hardware flow control is enabled, the flow of input data is controlled by the RTS signal and the flow of output data is controlled by the
CTS signal. If the CTS signal is off, the driver suspends output to that line until the CTS lead is reasserted. Likewise the driver turns
off the RTS lead to tell the device connected to the line to stop sending data as a result of congestion on the host side. When the condi-
tion clears, the driver turns on the RTS lead to tell the device to resume sending data.
The DCD (carrier detect) timer value defaults to 2 seconds. This value may be changed if your modem hardware requires a different value.
the change can be made in the /etc/sysconfigtab file as follows:
ace: dcd_timer=n
where n is the time interval in seconds, and can be set to 0 (no timeout), 1, or 2 seconds. Alternatively, you can use the sysconfig com-
mand to set the same time interval option as follows:
# sysconfig -r ace dcd_timer=[n]
If you use the sysconfig command, the value will not be preserved when the system is rebooted. To preserve the setting, put the entry in
the /etc/sysconfigtab file
NOTES
If you are using the alternate system console to perform kernel debugging, you must change the kdebug entry in the /etc/remote file to use
/dev/tty01; when the kernel is running in debugging mode, no other application can use the port. See Kernel Debugging for information on
setting up your system for kernel debugging.
RESTRICTIONS
Unless alternative specifications are stated in your system hardware documentation, data communications equipment attached to the console
serial port in alternate console configurations must be set to 9600 baud, 8-bits, no parity. If a serial console is being used, /dev/tty00
cannot be opened by another process. The ace driver enforces this restriction.
Baud rates greater than 38400 are not supported on the two primary serial ports on the DEC 2000 system. However, if you use an ISA serial
or modem card that is capable of communicating at the higher rates, the higher rates are supported.
FILES
console terminal local terminal local terminal
RELATED INFORMATION MAKEDEV(8), console(7), devio(7), modem(7), ports(7), tty(7)
Kernel Debugging
System Administration delim off
ace(7)