pstart, penable, pshare, pdelay
PURPOSE
Enables or reports the availability of login ports.
SYNOPSIS
pstart [[-i -w]][-a][device]
pshare [[-i -w]][-a][device]
penable [[-i -w]][-a][device]
pdelay [[-i -w]][-a][device]
pdisable [-w][-a][device]
phold [-w][-a][device]
DESCRIPTION
The pstart, penable, pshare, and pdelay commands each
enable a set of login ports in the /etc/ports file. Ena-
bling a port makes the port available to log in. The
system enables a port by updating an entry in the
/etc/portstatus file and then sending a signal to init.
When init receives the signal and reads the updated
status entry, it takes the appropriate action.
Use the device parameter to specify the ports to be
enabled. Permitted values for device include:
o A full device name, such as /dev/tty1.
o A simple device name, such as tty1.
o A general class of devices in the form
attribute=value, which is equivalent to naming each
port with a stanza in /etc/ports that includes the
specified attribute).
If you do not specify a device to enable, each command
reports the names of currently enabled ports in its set.
pstart
The pstart command enables all ports (normal, shared, and
delayed) that are enabled in the /etc/ports file. If you
do not specify a device to enable, pstart reports the
names of all enabled ports and tells whether they are
currently enabled as normal, shared, or delayed. Usually
the command is run in the form pstart -a -i -w from
/etc/rc to enable all ports on a multiuser system.
penable
The penable command enables normal ports that are enabled
in the /etc/ports file. Normal ports are ports that are
asynchronous and only allow users to login to those
ports. No outgoing use of the port is allowed while it
is enabled. This command is equivalent to the statement
penable enabled=true. If you do not specify a device,
penable reports the names of the currently enabled normal
ports.
pshare
The pshare command enables shared ports that are enabled
in the /etc/ports file. Shared ports are bi-directional.
This command is equivalent to the statement pshare
enabled=share. If you do not specify a device, pshare
reports the names of the currently enabled shared ports.
To enable shared ports, getty attempts to create a lock
file in /etc/locks which contains the ASCII process id of
the getty process. If the port is already in use by some
other process, getty waits until the port is available
and tries again.
pdelay
The pdelay command enables delayed ports that are enabled
in the /etc/ports file. Delayed ports are ports that are
enabled like shared ports except that the login herald is
not displayed until the user types one or more characters
(usually carriage-returns). If the port is directly con-
nected to a remote system or connected to an intelligent
modem, the port is usually enabled as a delayed port to
prevent the getty from talking to a getty on the remote
side or to the modem on a local connection, thereby con-
suming system resources. This statement is equivalent to
pdelay enabled=delay. If you do not specify a device,
pdelay reports the names of the currently enabled delayed
ports.
FLAGS
-a With pstart, this flag enables all ports enabled in
the /etc/ports file (normal, shared, and delayed
ports). With penable, this flag enables all normal
ports that are enabled in the /etc/ports file. With
pshare, this flag enables all shared ports that are
enabled in the /etc/ports file. With pdelay, this
flag enables all delayed ports that are enabled in the
/etc/ports file.
-i Reinitializes an existing /etc/portstatus file instead
of updating the existing one. You typically use this
flag in the /etc/rc command file to re-establish
default port enabling before starting up the system
with multiple users.
-w Makes the command return immediately rather than wait
for init to confirm the changes in port status. You
must use this flag when running pstart, penable,
pshare, or pdelay either in maintenance mode or from
/etc/rc because init does not initiate loggers until
the system is in normal mode.
EXAMPLES
1. To display the names of all ports (normal, shared,
and delayed) currently enabled and how they are
enabled:
pstart
2. To enable all normal, shared, and delayed ports that
are enabled in /etc/ports, reinitialize the existing
/etc/ports, and make the command return immediately
rather than wait for init to confirm port status:
pstart -a -i -w
3. To enable the work station attached to the /dev/tty2
port as a shared port:
pshare /dev/tty2
4. To display the names of the delayed ports that are
currently enabled:
pdelay
5. To enable the work station attached to the /dev/tty8
port as a shared port and return immediately without
waiting to confirm the changes in the port status:
pshare -w tty8
6. To enable all "9600" baud ports as delayed:
pdelay speed=9600
FILES
/etc/locks Contains lock files for pshare and
pdelay.
/etc/ports Contains descriptions of known normal,
shared, and delayed ports.
/etc/portstatus Contains current status of each known
login port.
RELATED INFORMATION
The following commands: "init" and "pdisable, phold."
The ports and portstatus files in AIX Operating System
Technical Reference.