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<H2><A NAME="s4">4. Logging in via <CODE>kermit</CODE>.</A></H2>
<P>Configuring Linux to use the Mac as a <CODE>login:</CODE> terminal is even
easier. <CODE>kermit</CODE> is ideal for this purpose, because it is one
of the few free communication programs which provides credible
VT100/120/220 emulation.
<P>Essentially, what you want to do is start <CODE>kermit</CODE> on the
Macintosh side as in the previous section, but rather than issue
server commands, you enter <CODE>connect</CODE> mode. This is the normal
terminal emulation mode that most people use, anyway.
<P>On the Linux side, the serial line must be configured with a
<CODE>getty</CODE> on it to start a <CODE>login:</CODE> shell. To do this,
you need to tell <CODE>init</CODE> that the serial line has a terminal on
it. In your <CODE>/etc/inittab</CODE> file you will need a line something
like this:
<PRE>
T1:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100
</PRE>
Be sure to substitute the appropriate serial device for
<CODE>/dev/ttyS0</CODE> and the correct baud rate for <CODE>9600</CODE> in the
command line above.
<P>This command tells <CODE>getty</CODE> to start <CODE>login</CODE> (the
<CODE>-L</CODE> switch) on the terminal display, and, when the login times
out, to re-start (<CODE>respawn</CODE>) the login program until someone
logs in. If no device is connected to the serial line, or if the
connection is defective, you may see a message on the system console
like: <CODE>/dev/ttyS0 respawning too fast: disabling for 5
minutes</CODE>. If this happens, you can return things to normal by (as
root) <CODE>kill</CODE>ing the <CODE>getty</CODE> process, or using the
<CODE>init q</CODE> command. Both of them have the effect of re-spawning
the <CODE>getty</CODE> processe(s). If everything is in order, you should
see the Linux banner and login prompt on the Mac's <CODE>kermit</CODE>
window. That's all there is to it.
<P>Also, if you use something besides vanilla <CODE>getty</CODE>, like
<CODE>getty_ps</CODE>, the command above will look somewhat different.
The important thing to remember is that everything to the right of
<CODE>/sbin/getty</CODE> is an argument for <CODE>getty</CODE> itself; not
<CODE>init</CODE>. You should look at the manual pages for
<CODE>getty</CODE>, <CODE>init</CODE>,and <CODE>inittab</CODE> if you have
questions concerning the setup of <CODE>init</CODE> and <CODE>getty</CODE>.
<P>The Serial HOWTO provides helpful details on how to configure
<CODE>/etc/inittab</CODE> for <CODE>getty_ps</CODE>, if that's what your
system uses.
<P>To transfer files back and forth between the Macintosh and the Linux
machine, you can (via the Mac's Kermit) issue the <CODE>kermit -x</CODE>
command to start the Linux <CODE>kermit</CODE> in server mode. You can
then use the normal file transfer commands to send files across
the serial line. It's useful to set a prompt in your
<CODE>~/.kermrc</CODE> with a line like
<PRE>
set prompt Linux-kermit >
</PRE>
Otherwise, remembering which machine you're on can quickly become
confusing.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="ss4.1">4.1 Other Mac terminal programs.</A>
</H2>
<P>This method should work equally well for any other Mac terminal
program. If you have ZTerm, you can use <CODE>rz</CODE> and <CODE>sz</CODE>
on the Linux machine to transfer files via the ZModem protocol. If
Microphone Lite came bundled with your fax modem, that works
equally well, albeit without <CODE>kermit's</CODE> superior scripting and
configuration facilities.
<P>
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