VMware: Where have all the `pty's gone?

[Klaus Reichl]

The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
that has been posted to vmware.for-linux.experimental as well.


Hi out there,

Upgrading to VMware 3.1.1 build 1790 (old was some 2.x version) left
me in the rain with support for COMs hooked on UNIX ptys, talking to a 
terminal emulation on Linux (Debian 3.0, kernel 2.4.18-686).

Either I'm too dumb to configure the stuff correctly or new VMware
forget about pty support.

My setup (expected for 3.x and working with 2.x):

terminal emulation on /dev/ptypf
VMware on TTY /dev/ttypf

What I tried with 3.1.1:

a) configure VMware's Serial Port as `Device' on /dev/ttypf
Result: Error about /dev/ttypf not being a terminal
        Is VMware's checking to restrictive for ptys?

b) hacked with Serial Port as `File'
Result: Am I crazy or do I need some more u**x lessons (;-) this time
        not given by me), apparently failing.

c) config'ed Serial Port as `Pipe'
Result: What came out here is a AF_UNIX socket, which made me
        furiously hacking a program for socket<->pty transfer,
        eventually making my setup work.
        VMware VM <-> s2p <-> Terminal Emulation

However, my intention was to hack on GRUB - the target under test in
the VM - not on VMware, and I hope VMware's engineers missed to think
about ptys and didn't leave them out on purpose.

If somebody is interested in `s2p', she can get the source from me,
but I do hope this mail is accepted as a bug report against missing
pty support and the issue is being fixed in next releases.

K
-- 
Klaus Reichl    email: address@hidden,address@hidden