pconsole, an open source parallel console tool, is now available in Solaris Express Community Edition starting with build 103 (it will also be available soon in OpenSolaris -- stay tuned for updates!). It is provided as an alternative to the existing tool cconsole (and its associated programs  crlogin, cssh, ctelnet), which is in the package SUNWccon (Sun Cluster Console), which is included in the Sun Cluster product.  pconsole provides the same basic functionality as cconsole but has a different interface.  It is being included because it is more familiar to some open source users and some have requested it. It is contained in the Solaris package SUNWpconsole.  This package is contained in the following metaclusters:

•  SUNWCall  (Entire distribution)
•  SUNWCprog (Developer)
•  SUNWCuser (End-User)

The full description of pconsole is in the pconsole man page.

 After installing the package, you can run the program /usr/bin/pconsole.  This is actually a shell script which invokes xterm and /usr/bin/pconsole-bin. It also uses ssh to establish the remote session.  These defaults can be changed by setting environment variables before running it.  Here are the environment variables you can set:

     P_TERM

By default, pconsole uses xterm(1) to create a  window  to  the  remote  system.  You can specify  another  command  by  setting the environment  variable  P_TERM  to the chosen command.

     P_TERM_OPTIONS

By default, pconsole uses the options  "-geometry  80x24  -fn  10x20"  to pass to the command that is specified by P_TERM,  or  to xterm(1)  if P_TERM is unspecified.  You can specify different options by setting the environment  variable  P_TERM_OPTIONS to the chosen options.

     P_CONNECT_CMD

By default, pconsole uses  ssh(1) to make connections.  You  can  use a different command, such  as  rlogin(1),  by  setting  the environment  variable  P_CONNECT_CMD  to the chosen command.

If you are satisfied with the default you do not need to set any variables.  pconsole is designed to be run as root.  Here is an example of how to use pconsole.  Let's assume you have a 3-node cluster called ¨oolong¨, with host nodes oolong1, oolong2, oolong3. Then you can type the following:

# pconsole oolong1 oolong2 oolong3

Four windows will then come up: three ordinary terminal windows, one for each of the named hosts, and a fourth special multiplexing window.  This window appears smaller than the others, and any input typed here gets sent to all the other windows.  This is extremely useful when you want to perform the same administrative actions on all the nodes at once.

The multiplexing window also supports a "command" mode, which is entered by typing CTRL-A.  This results in a ">>> " prompt.  In command mode several commands are available.  The "help" commands lists all of the commands:

>>> help
 help           Give help about the available commands
 ?              short-cut for 'help'
 version        Display version information
 echo           Turn echo on or off
 attach         Attach to a tty device
 detach         Detach from a tty device
 list           Show devices currently attached to
 connect        Leave command mode
 quit           Exit pconsole
 exit           Exit pconsole

>>>

Otherwise, the usage of pconsole should be straightforward.  Again, consult the man page for additional information.

Achut Reddy
Solaris Cluster Engineering