ports(7)ports(7)NAME
ports, port_names - Device (tty and lp) names for serial and parallel
portsSYNOPSIS
Default Serial Ports: /dev/tty00
/dev/tty01 (not present on a single-port system)
Parallel Port: /dev/lp0
DESCRIPTION
AlphaStation and AlphaServer systems provide one or two 9-pin serial
communication ports. These ports are usually labelled 1 (COMM1) and 2
(COMM2), but they may be identified by different icons. Using the
appropriate serial cable and terminator, you can connect a serial
printer, external modem, or character-cell terminal to a serial port.
Most AlphaStation and AlphaServer systems also provide one parallel
port, for use with a parallel printer.
When you add a device to your system, the installation documentation
may instruct you to map the device pathname to the port. These devices
are located in the /dev directory.
For serial-line ports, the two default device pathnames are: This path‐
name always maps to 1, COMM1, the lowest port number, an icon for a
terminal console, or the only serial port (on a single-port system).
This pathname always maps to 2, COMM2, the next numbered port, or (if
one serial port is labeled with an icon for a terminal console) the
remaining serial port.
If your system hardware has been extended to include additional serial
ports, the pathnames /dev/tty02, /dev/tty03, and so forth, may also be
available to you. However, most systems have only /dev/tty00 and
/dev/tty01 as the device pathnames for serial ports.
The one parallel port on an AlphaStation or AlphaServer may be labeled
with the word printer or a printer icon. On some systems, the parallel
port may not be labeled. The device pathname for the parallel port is
/dev/lp0. Currently, Tru64 UNIX does not fully support parallel print‐
ers, so fewer devices are connected to this port as compared to serial
ports.
If you are connecting a terminal console to your system, it must be
connected to the serial port mapped to /dev/tty00. For other serial
devices, it does not matter which of the serial ports you choose for
the connection. For example, suppose you are setting up a system that
has two serial ports, labeled 1 and 2. You intend to use a serial-line
terminal rather than a workstation monitor as the system console and
also want to connect a serial-line printer to the system. In this case,
you must connect the terminal to the port labeled 1 (with the device
pathname /dev/tty00). Therefore, you must connect the printer to the
remaining port labeled 2 (with the device pathname /dev/tty01).
If, for the same type of system, you intend to use a workstation moni‐
tor as the system console, it does not matter which serial port you use
for a serial-line printer or modem. In other words, you can connect the
printer to either port 1 (with pathname /dev/tty00) or port 2 (with
pathname /dev/tty01). When prompted to enter a /dev/tty** pathname by
the lprsetup script or the Print configuration tool in the CDE Applica‐
tion Manager, you would specify /dev/tty00 if you connected the printer
to port 1 or /dev/tty01 if you connected the printer to port 2.
See the System Administration manual for more information on setting up
consoles (including remote consoles) and printers. See the modem(7)
reference page for more information on setting up modems.
SEE ALSO
Commands: lprsetup(8)
Devices: ace(7), modem(7)
System Administration
ports(7)