I have an original, 41yo DEC VT100 terminal. I noticed that Dell R630 & R640 servers have 9-pin serial ports, and from the documentation it seems that the serial port can be used for server console access (BIOS etc.), and it can be configured for VT100/VT220 emulation. So, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to use a real VT100 terminal to manage a modern Dell server?
So I lugged the old VT100 upstairs (I'd forgotten how heavy those things are!), vacuumed the dust out, and plugged it in.
It fired right up. I set it for 19,200 bps for both Tx and Rx (which is as fast as it will go). I found an old 9-pin to 25-pin adapter, connected the VT-100 to an R640's serial port, and... nothing.
I've tried a lot of different "Serial Communication" settings in BIOS. I set the "Remote Terminal Type" to VT100/VT200. I set the "Failsafe Baud Rate" to 19200. I tried various "Console redirection" settings. I tried it with and without a "null modem" crossover connector.
Still, I get nothing displayed on the VT100, and no response to VT-100 keyboard presses.
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
Does the R640 use hardware flow control? (RTS/CTS or DTR/DSR?) Does it require 7-bit or 8-bit characters, with or without parity? Is its VT100/VT200 "remote terminal type" actually compatible with real VT100 & VT200 terminals?
So I lugged the old VT100 upstairs (I'd forgotten how heavy those things are!), vacuumed the dust out, and plugged it in.
It fired right up. I set it for 19,200 bps for both Tx and Rx (which is as fast as it will go). I found an old 9-pin to 25-pin adapter, connected the VT-100 to an R640's serial port, and... nothing.
I've tried a lot of different "Serial Communication" settings in BIOS. I set the "Remote Terminal Type" to VT100/VT200. I set the "Failsafe Baud Rate" to 19200. I tried various "Console redirection" settings. I tried it with and without a "null modem" crossover connector.
Still, I get nothing displayed on the VT100, and no response to VT-100 keyboard presses.
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
Does the R640 use hardware flow control? (RTS/CTS or DTR/DSR?) Does it require 7-bit or 8-bit characters, with or without parity? Is its VT100/VT200 "remote terminal type" actually compatible with real VT100 & VT200 terminals?