README

This is the portshare unix serial client.

1) Build and install the package (as root):

$ ./configure && make && make install

Note that the `--prefix=' option is ignored by configure.

2) Configure the devices by editing /etc/portshare-devices.  There are sample 
   configurations in there, and the format is documented at the top of the 
   file, or in the portshare-devices man page.

3) Start the portshare devices:
     /usr/local/sbin/portshare-serial-client start
   (man portshare-serial-client for more information)

Useful commands:

portshare-stty
  Used like 'stty', but applies the settings to the remote serial port
  correctly.  A normal stty on /dev/ottyXX will not set the parameters
  on the port correctly, since it is just a pseudo-tty.

  Instead of using $ stty -F /dev/otty01 speed 9600
  use: $ /usr/local/bin/portshare-stty -F /dev/otty01 speed 9600

  portshare-stty will automatically assign the libportshare-ser-cli.so
  library to the LD_PRELOAD environment variable, and then execute 
  normal stty. See below.


Caveats.
    The local unix tty devices setup are just symlinks to pseudo-tty
  devices, so settings on those devices do not get set on the Console
  Server.  To do this, use 'portshare-stty'.  

    This also means that applications that rely on setting tty parameters 
  such as baud rate, modem signals, etc will not work unless they are
  started with the the libportshare-ser-cli.so library preloaded.
  e.g.
	LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/libportshare-ser-cli.so stty -a < /dev/otty01


  Use /usr/local/sbin/portshare-stty as a template for running your application 
  with the library preloaded.

  e.g. We want to run cu with a baud rate of 38400 on virtual port otty01 with
  even parity:

  Option 1) explicitly preload the library:
	$ LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/libportshare-ser-cli.so cu -l /dev/otty01 -s 38400 -e
  Option 2)
	Write a cript similar to /usr/local/sbin/portshare-stty which will set LD_PRELOAD
	and 'exec' cu with its parameters.
	Then all we have to do is run this script:
	$ <path to script>/scriptname -l /dev/otty01 -s 38400 -e