Hi Richard - I was given several of these boards, mainly 8 port version -
they are excellent for linking Terminals and TNC's to your system (I have
about 5 VT330/340+ Terminals connected + 2 TNC's and it works well) - Dont
bother using it for modems though because BOCA 4/8 port boards are lacking
some usefull signals for modems (cant remember what is missing - a modem
will work, but I recommend you use Com1/2 for modems).
To answer your question, In the kernel I use (>=1.3 - I am actually using
2.0.25 now) - You need to do the following (I have snipped this as this is
a copy of the boca howto (on my slackware system, can be found in
/usr/doc/faq/howto/mini/Boca.gz - it suggests you do the following (and it
works for me): [I think you are using an older kernel, but it maybe worth
trying what it says here]:
BOCA-HOWTO
This HOWTO is being maintained by David H Dennis,
xlol@zmicro.com, to try and help any other individuals who
<snip>
RECOMPILING THE KERNEL
The first step is to change your kernel so that it knows you have a BocaBoard.
Unfortunately, this is not a part of the configure script; you must go in and
modify the source by hand. This consists of putting the following line at
the beginning of linux/drivers/char/serial.c:
#define CONFIG_BOCA 1
Well, it used to work that way. As of some kernel version or another,
this has changed. To make it work with newer kernels, search for the
"BOCA_FLAGS" #define in serial.c, and change the value to
#define BOCA_FLAGS ASYNC_BOOT_AUTOCONF
You can then recompile your kernel using the instructions included with the
source tree. I recommend running the new kernel from a floppy until you're
very sure it works; otherwise, the procedure for getting back your system
is mind-numbing at best.
At least to me, digging into my kernel and re-compiling it was quite a
stressful venture! Relax; as long as you copy it to a floppy, your new
kernel is completely harmless. It won't bite! Honest! :-)
INSTALLING THE CARD
The default address on both the card and the Linux software for the
configuration is 0x100; leave that alone. Set the IRQ on the card to
Linux' default of 12. If you want to change the IRQ, you will have to
search for "BOCA_FLAGS" in the file. You will find lines like this:
{ BASE_BAUD, 0x100, 12, BOCA_FLAGS }, /* ttyS16 */
{ BASE_BAUD, 0x108, 12, BOCA_FLAGS }, /* ttyS17 */
...
You can change the IRQ from 12 by changing the 12 to any valid IRQ. I have
not tried this, however.
TELLING LINUX ABOUT YOUR CARD
Once you have compiled your new kernel, switch off the machine and install
the card. Then, turn your machine on with the new kernel floppy in the
drive. If the installation succeeded, you should see all sorts of
strange stuff about 16550 UARTS being connected to ttyS16-ttyS32. The
system will then come up normally.
<snip>
... You may have to create /dev/ttyS16 thru /dev/ttyS23 - The FAQ deals
with this, - but this is not the place to reproduce the whole FAQ.
Hope that helps - If you need the FAQ, mail me direct and I will return
you a full copy (its not very big), and it tells you all you will need to
know.
Have Fun!
73... Giles