Introduction

This documentation helps you set up a connection to a Linux machine via a serial port. It also explains how to configure minicom.

Installation

On Debian:

  apt-get install minicom

Configuration

Linux

First, we need to determine your COM port configuration:

  $ dmesg | grep tty
[    0.004000] console [tty0] enabled
[    1.629013] tty ttye7: hash matches
[    1.629021] tty ttyba: hash matches
[   12.843809] usb 5-2: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[  129.343389] type=1503 audit(1230854350.490:5): operation="inode_permission" requested_mask="w::" denied_mask="w::" fsuid=0 name="/dev/ttyUSB0" pid=6609 profile="/usr/sbin/cupsd"

We can see that ttyUSB0 is detected here.

Mac

On Mac, remember to install your drivers if you don’t find /dev/cu.usbserial. As you may have guessed, this is the device to use.

Launch minicom with your regular user:

  minicom -s

To launch the help, press Ctrl+A and Z. In our case, we want to configure the communication device and speed. Press the “O” key and follow the instructions.

Setting up the COM port in Grub

Documentation on setting up the serial port to connect to Debian

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Last updated 20 May 2011, 13:41 CEST. history