Connect a null-modem cable between serial port A of the sick machine and one of the serial ports of the healthy machine. The port (a or b) on the healthy machine depends on the hardwire entry in the /etc/remote file on the healthy system.
Here is the hardwire entry /etc/remote that uses port b on the healthy machine.
hardwire: :dv=/dev/term/b:br#9600:el=^C^S^Q^U^D:ie=%$
e=^D:
A null modem cable in its most basic form is an rs232 serial cable with a minimal pin connections as follows:
2 ------ 3
3 ------ 2
7 ------ 7
A standard serial cable with a null modem adapter from an electronics store will work too.
There should be an entry for hardwire already in /etc/remote. It comes with the default OS. If one is not there, you can always copy it from another Solaris[TM] system.
If you wish to use script to log the session, now would be the time to start it in the terminal session on the healthy system.
$ script
Script started, file is typescript
To start tip in this session type:
$ tip hardwire
You should see a connected message
NOTE: you will get the connected message regardless of the presence of the serial cable. Connected just means your tip session is talking to the serial port, not to another system.
On the sick system console, at the ok prompt do the following:
ok setenv output-device ttya
ok setenv input-device ttya
ok reset
On a machine with a graphics head, screen and keyboard are the default values for these settings.
Shortly, you should see boot messages in the tip session on the healthy system. At this point, the tip session is now the system console for the sick system.
Once you are in tip, if you need to bring it down to the ok prompt (or kadb), the keys “~#” send a break signal to the system console and have the same effect as a STOP-A.
Once you are finished, the keys “~.” exit the tip session. If you are running script, this would be the time to exit your shell in order to have a complete typescript file reflecting the session