Virtually accessing AIX or Linux using the HMC virtual terminal

Learn how to open and use a Hardware Management Console (HMC) virtual terminal window to access an AIX® or Linux® logical partition.

AIX and Linux require a console for installation and some service activities. The HMC virtual terminal window provides virtual terminal console access to every logical partition without a physical device assigned. One virtual terminal window is available for each logical partition of the managed system. Some functions are limited. Refer to Reserved terminal connections for more detailed information on HMC virtual terminal limitations.

Opening an HMC virtual terminal window

To open an HMC virtual terminal window locally, select a logical partition and then select Open Terminal Window. If you have multiple terminal windows open for your multiple logical partitions, you can copy and paste text from one terminal window to another by highlighting the text you want to copy and then either right-click your mouse for the copy and paste functions, or use the Ctrl-Ins (copy) and Shift-Ins (paste) key sequence.

To open an HMC virtual terminal window remotely using the default terminal program, select a logical partition and then select Open Terminal Window. If you have multiple terminal windows open for your multiple logical partitions, you can copy and paste text from one terminal window to another by highlighting the text you want to copy and then use the Ctrl-Ins (copy) and Shift-Ins (paste) key sequence. If you want to paste your highlighted text into a Windows® application window, use CTRL-v (paste).

To open an HMC virtual terminal window remotely using your favorite terminal program, for example, Telnet, ssh, or PuTTy, you need to first ssh into the HMC with this terminal program, and then run the vtmenu command. When you run the vtmenu command, you are prompted to select a managed system to connect to, followed by a logical partition for the terminal window. After you choose the managed system and partition, the terminal session opens in that terminal window. You can use the copy and paste functions that came with your terminal program.

If you use either YaST on Linux or smitty on AIX, you might be required to use an alternate set of keystrokes for the tab and function keys:

Ctrl-b: Tabs back
Ctrl-f: Tabs forward
Esc-<n>: Executes function keys

Note: When using either YaST on Linux or smitty on AIX, the virtual terminal works best when the screen size is set to W:80 x H:25.

Reserved terminal connections

When a server has a physical system port, the server firmware might decide to route system port traffic to the logical partition. This allows a terminal connected to the system port to access a partition just as an HMC does using its terminal connection interface. If applicable, the server reserves this system port connection automatically during partition boot and closes it automatically during partition shutdown. Logical partitions only support one terminal connection at a time, so if a partition decides to reserve the terminal connection for the physical system port, the HMC should not attempt to open a terminal connection to the same partition. If the HMC attempts to open a reserved connection, the server firmware returns an error.

To avoid errors caused by reserved virtual terminal connections, only open HMC terminal connections if explicitly allowed to do so. Review the following instances:

If a system does not have a physical system port, then the server never reserves terminal connections and the HMC can always open a terminal connection to any partition.
If a system has a physical system port, but a cluster system management (CSM) software package is managing the system, CSM blocks the partitions from using the physical system port. If this is the case, the server never reserves terminal connections and CSM and the HMC can open terminal connections to any partition.
If a system is partitioned, but is not in full system partition mode, then the server never reserves terminal connections and the HMC can always open a terminal connection to any partition.
If a system is in full system partition mode, but the partition is not an RS/6000 Platform Architecture (RPA) partition, then the HMC can always open a terminal connection to any partition.
If the system is in full system partition mode with an RPA partition, then the partition must be stopped, if running, and the system must be partitioned before the HMC is allowed to open that partition's terminal connection.