TH PLAN9.INI 8
SH NAME
plan9.ini \- configuration file for PCs
SH SYNOPSIS
I none
SH DESCRIPTION
When booting Plan 9 on a PC, the DOS program
IR 9load (8)
first reads a DOS file
containing configuration information from the boot disk.
This file,
BR plan9.ini ,
looks like a shell script containing lines of the form
PP
EX
       name=\f2value\fP
EE
LP
each of which defines a kernel or device parameter.
PP
For devices, the generic format of
I value
is
PP
EX
       type=TYPE [port=N] [irq=N] [mem=N] [size=N] [dma=N] [ea=N]
EE
LP
specifying the controller type,
the base I/O port of the interface, its interrupt
level, the physical starting address of any mapped memory,
the length in bytes of that memory, the DMA channel,
and for Ethernets an override of the physical network address.
Not all elements are relevant to all devices; the relevant values
and their defaults are defined below in the description of each device.
PP
The file is used by
B 9load
and the kernel to configure the hardware available.
The information it contains is also passed to the boot
process, and subsequently other programs,
as environment variables
(see
IR boot (8)).
However, values whose names begin with an asterisk
B *
are used by the kernel and are not converted into environment variables.
PP
The following sections describe how variables are used.
SS \fLetherX=value\fP
This defines an Ethernet interface.
IR X ,
a unique monotonically increasing number beginning at 0,
identifies an Ethernet card to be probed at system boot.
Probing stops when a card is found or there is no line for
BR etherX+1 .
PP
Some cards are software configurable and do not require all options.
Unspecified options default to the factory defaults.
PP
Known types are
TP
B ne2000
Not software configurable. 16-bit card.
Defaults are
EX
       port=0x300 irq=2 mem=0x04000 size=0x4000
EE
The option (no value)
B nodummyrr
is needed on some (near) clones to turn off a dummy remote read in the driver.
TP
B amd79c970
The AMD PCnet PCI Ethernet Adapter (AM79C970).
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
TP
B wd8003
Includes WD8013 and SMC Elite and Elite Ultra cards. There are varying degrees
of software configurability. Cards may be in either 8-bit or 16-bit slots.
Defaults are
EX
       port=0x280 irq=3 mem=0xD0000 size=0x2000
EE
BUG: On many machines only the 16 bit card works.
TP
B elnk3
The 3COM Etherlink ||| series of cards including the 5x9, 59x, and 905 and 905B.
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
The media may be specified by setting
B media=
to the value
BR 10BaseT ,
BR 10Base2 ,
BR 100BaseTX ,
BR 100BaseFX ,
BR aui ,
and
BR mii .
If you need to force full duplex, because for example the Ethernet switch does not negotiate correctly,
just name the word (no value)
B fullduplex
or
BR 100BASE-TXFD .
Similarly, to force 100Mbit operation, specify
BR force100 .
Port 0x110 is used for the little ISA configuration dance.
TP
B 3c589
The 3COM 3C589 series PCMCIA cards.
There is no support for the modem on the 3C562.
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
Defaults are
EX
       port=0x240 irq=10
EE
The media may be specified as
B media=10BaseT
or
BR media=10Base2 .
TP
B ec2t
The Linksys Combo PCMCIA EthernetCard (EC2T),
EtherFast 10/100 (PCMPC100) PCMCIA cards,
the Netgear FA410TX 10/100 PCMCIA card
and the Accton EtherPair-PCMCIA (EN2216).
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
Defaults are
EX
       port=0x300 irq=9
EE
These cards are NE2000 clones.
Other NE2000 compatible PCMCIA cards may be tried
with the option
EX
       id=string
EE
where
B string
is a unique identifier string contained in the attribute
memory of the card (see
IR pcmcia (8));
unlike most options in
BR plan9.ini ,
this string is case-sensitive.
The option
B dummyrr=[01]
can be used to turn off (0) or on (1) a dummy remote read in the driver
in such cases,
depending on how NE2000 compatible they are.
TP
B i82557
Cards using the Intel 8255[789] Fast Ethernet PCI Bus LAN Controller such as the
Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B.
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
If you need to force the media, specify
one of the options (no value)
BR 10BASE-T ,
BR 10BASE-2 ,
BR 10BASE-5 ,
BR 100BASE-TX ,
BR 10BASE-TFD ,
BR 100BASE-TXFD ,
BR 100BASE-T4 ,
BR 100BASE-FX ,
or
BR 100BASE-FXFD .
TP
B 2114x
Cards using the Digital Equipment (now Intel) 2114x PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter Controller.
Completely configurable, no options need be given.
Media can be specified the same was as for the
BR i82557 .
Some cards using the
B PNIC
and
B PNIC2
near-clone chips may also work.
TP
B ga620
Netgear GA620 and GA620T Gigabit Ethernet cards.
Completely configurable.
TP
B wavelan
Lucent Wavelan (Orinoco) IEEE 802.11b PCMCIA cards.
Port and IRQ defaults are 0x180 and 3 respectively.

These cards take a number of unique options to aid in
identifying the card correctly on the 802.11b network.
The network may be
I "ad hoc"
or
I managed
(i.e. use an access point):
EX
       mode=[adhoc, managed]
EE
and defaults to
IR managed .
The 802.11b network to attach to
RI ( managed
mode)
or identify as
RI ( "ad hoc"
mode),
is specified by
EX
       essid=string
EE
and defaults to a null string.
The card station name is given by
EX
       station=string
EE
and defaults to
IR "Plan 9 STA" .
The channel to use is given by
EX
       channel=number
EE
where
I number
lies in the range 1 to 16 inclusive;
the channel is normally negotiated automatically.

If the card is capable of encryption,
the following options may be used:
EX
       crypt=[off, on]
EE
and defaults to
IR on .
EX
       key\fIN\fP=string
EE
sets the encrytion key
I n
(where
I n
is in the range 1 to 4 inclusive) to
IR string ;
this will also set the transmit key to
I n
(see below).
EX
       txkey=number
EE
sets the transmit key to use to be
I number
in the range 1 to 4 inclusive.
If it is desired to exclude or include unencrypted packets
EX
       clear=[off, on]
EE
configures reception and defaults to inclusion.

The defaults are intended to match the common case of
a managed network with encryption and a typical entry would
only require, for example
EX
       essid=left-armpit key2=fishcalledraawaru
EE
if the port and IRQ defaults are used
These options may be set after boot by writing to the device's
I ctl
file using a space as the separator between option and value, e.g.
EX
       echo 'key2 fishcalledraawaru' > /net/ether0/0/ctl
EE
PP
SS \fLscsiX=value\fP
This defines a SCSI interface which cannot be automatically detected
by the kernel.
PP
Known types are
TP
B aha1542
The Adaptec 154x series of controllers (and clones).
Almost completely configurable, only the
EX
       port=0x300
EE
option need be given.
PP
SS \fLserialX=value\fP
This defines add on serial ports and cards.
Multiple cards can share the same IRQ.  Unfortunately,
many PC's allow only the built in UARTs on the
COM1 and COM2 IRQ's (3 & 4) so beware.
PP
Known types are
TP
B mp008
The TTC 8 serial line card.
The
B mem
parameter is the port number of the interrupt polling port.
B Size
is the number of UARTs, default 8.
B Port
is the port number of the first UART.
TP
B "a100i a200i a16i AvanstarXp
The Star Gate Avanstar series of intelligent serial boards.
TP
B generic
Any set of 16450 compatible serial lines with consecutive
port addresses.
B Size
is the number of UARTs, default 1.
B Port
is the port number of the first UART.
SS \fLeiaX=disabled\fP
By default,
B eia0
is initialized as port 0x3F8, IRQ 4 (DOS's COM1)
and
B eia1
as port 0x2F8, IRQ 3 (DOS's COM2).
Such a line disables this default initialization,
usually in order to reuse the IRQ for
another device.
SS \fLmouseport=value\fP
This specifies where the mouse is attached.
I Value
can be
TP
B ps2
the PS2 mouse/keyboard port.  The BIOS setup procedure
should be used to configure the machine appropriately.
TP
B ps2intellimouse
an Intellimouse on the PS2 port.
TP
B 0
for COM1
TP
B 1
for COM2
SS \fLmodemport=value\fP
Picks the UART line to call out on.
This is used when connecting to a file server over
an async line.
I Value
is the number of the port.
SS \fLpcmciaX=type=XXX irq=value\fP
If the default IRQ for the
PCMCIA
is correct, this entry can be omitted.  The value of
B type
is ignored.
SS \fLconsole=value\fP
SS \fLbaud=value\fP
These are used to specify the console device.
The default
I console
value is
IR cga .
Values of
I 0
or
I 1
specify
I COM1
or
I COM2
respectively, in which case
I baud
is used to initialize the port.
SS \fLbootfile=value\fP
This is used to direct the actions of
IR 9load (8)
by naming the device and file from which to load the kernel.
SS \fLrootdir=dir\fP
SS \fLrootspec=spec\fP
These are used by
IR 9load (8)
to identify the directory
I dir
to make the root directory for the kernel, and the
and file system specifier
I spec
(see
B mount
in
IR bind (2))
on which it can be found.
These are usually used to test variant file systems for distributions, etc.
SS \fLbootargs=value\fP
The value of this variable is passed to
IR boot (8)
by the kernel as the name of the root file system.
For example, if the system is to run from a local
IR kfs (4)
partition, the definition might read
BR bootargs=local!#S/sdC0/fs .
SS \fLcfs=value\fP
This gives the name of the file holding the disk partition
for the cache file system,
IR cfs (4).
Extending the
B bootargs
example, one would write
BR cfs=#S/sdC0/cache .
SS \fLbootdisk=value\fP
This deprecated variable was used to specify the disk used by
the cache file system and other disk-resident services.
It is superseded by
B bootargs
and
BR cfs .
SS \fLpartition=value\fP
This defines the partition table
IR 9load (8)
will examine to find disk partitioning information.
By default, a partition table in a Plan 9 partition
is consulted; if no such table is found, an old-Plan 9
partition table on the next-to-last or last sector
of the disk is consulted.
A value of
B new
consults only the first table,
B old
only the second.
SS \fL*maxmem=value\fP
This defines the maximum physical address that the system will scan when sizing memory.
By default the operating system will scan up to 768 megabytes, but setting
B *maxmem
will limit the scan.
If the system has more than 768 megabytes, you must set
B *maxmem
for the kernel to find it.
B *maxmem
must be less than 1.75 gigabytes.
SS \fL*kernelpercent=value\fP
This defines what percentage of available memory is reserved for the kernel allocation pool.
The remainder is left for user processes.  The default
I value
is
BR 30 .
This deprecated option is rarely necessary in newer kernels.
SS \fL*nomp=value\fP
A multiprocessor machine will enable all processors by default.
Setting
B *nomp
restricts the kernel to starting only one processor and using the
traditional interrupt controller.
SS \fL*pcimaxbno=value\fP
This puts a limit on the maximum bus number probed
on a PCI bus (default 255).
For example, a
I value
of 1 should suffice on a 'standard' motherboard with an AGP slot.
This, and
B *pcimaxdno
below are rarely used and only on troublesome or suspect hardware.
SS \fL*pcimaxdno=value\fP
This puts a limit on the maximum device number probed
on a PCI bus (default 31).
SS \fLmonitor=value\fP
SS \fLvgasize=value\fP
These are used not by the kernel but by
IR vga (8).
SS \fLnvr=value\fP
This is used by a file server kernel to locate a file holding information
to configure the file system.
The file cannot live on a SCSI disk.
The default is
B fd!0!plan9.nvr
(sic),
unless
B bootfile
is set, in which case it is
B plan9.nvr
on the same disk as
BR bootfile .
The syntax is either
BI fd! unit ! name
or
BI hd! unit ! name
where
I unit
is the numeric unit id.
This variant syntax is a vestige of the file server kernel's origins.
SS \fLaudioX=value\fP
This defines a sound interface.
PP
Known types are
TP
B sb16
Sound Blaster 16.
B ess1688
A Sound Blaster clone.
PP
The DMA channel may be any of 5, 6, or 7.
The defaults are
EX
       port=0x220 irq=7 dma=5
EE
SS \fLfs=a.b.c.d\fP
SS \fLauth=a.b.c.d\fP
These specify the IP address of the file and authentication server
to use when mounting a network-provided root file system.
They are used only if the addresses cannot be determined via DHCP.
SH Multiple Configurations
PP
A
B plan9.ini
file may contain multiple configurations,
each within a block beginning with a line
EX
       [tag]
EE
A special block with the tag
B menu
gives a list of blocks from which the user may
interactively select the contents of
BR plan9.ini .
There may also be multiple blocks with the tag
B common
which will be included in all selections;
if any lines appear in
B plan9.ini
before the first block,
they are treated as a
B common
block.
LP
Within the
B menu
block the following configuration lines are allowed:
SS \fLmenuitem=tag[, description]
The block identified by
B tag
will appear in the presented menu.
The menu entry will consist of the
B tag
unless the optional
B description
is given.
SS \fLmendefault=tag[, timeout]
Identifies a default block to be given in the
menu selection prompt.
If the optional
B timeout
is given (in seconds),
the default block will be selected if there is no user
input within the timeout period.
SS \fLmenuconsole=value[, baud]
Selects a serial console upon which to present the menu
as no
B console
or
B baud
configuration information will have been processed yet
(the
B plan9.ini
contents are still to be decided...).
LP
In response to the menu being printed,
the user is prompted to select a menu item from the list.
If the numeric response is followed by a
BR p ,
the selected configuration is printed and the menu presented
again.
LP
The line
EX
       menuitem=tag
EE
is prepended to the selected configuration as an aid to
user-level initialisation scripts.
SH EXAMPLES
PP
A representative
BR plan9.ini :
IP
EX
% cat /n/c:/plan9.ini
ether0=type=3C509
mouseport=ps2
modemport=1
serial0=type=generic port=0x3E8 irq=5
monitor=445x
vgasize=1600x1200x8
%
EE
PP
Minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to use
COM2 as a console:
IP
EX
% cat /n/c:/config.sys
SHELL=COMMAND.COM COM2 /P
% cat /n/c:/autoexec.bat
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\eDOS;C:\eBIN
mode com2:96,n,8,1,p
SET TEMP=C:\eTMP
%
EE
PP
Simple
B plan9.ini
with multiple configurations:
IP
EX
[menu]
menuitem=vga, Plan 9 with VGA
menuitem=novga, Plan 9 no automatic VGA
menudefault=vga

[vga]
monitor=multisync135
vgasize=1024x768x8

[novga]

[common]
ether0=type=i82557
audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
EE
PP
With this, the following menu will be presented on boot:
IP
EX
Plan 9 Startup Menu:
====================
   1. Plan 9 with VGA
   2. Plan 9 no automatic VGA
Selection[default==1]:
EE
PP
Selecting item 1 generates the following
B plan9.ini
to be used by the remainder of the bootstrap process:
IP
EX
menuitem=vga
monitor=multisync135
vgasize=1024x768x8
ether0=type=i82557
audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
EE
PP
and selecting item 2:
IP
EX
menuitem=novga
ether0=type=i82557
audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
EE
SH "SEE ALSO"
IR 9load (8),
IR booting (8),
IR boot (8)
SH BUGS
Being able to set the console device to other than a
display is marginally useful on file servers; MS-DOS
and the programs which run under it are so tightly bound
to the display that it is necessary to have a display if any
setup or reconfiguration programs need to be run.
Also, the delay before any messages appear at boot time
is disconcerting, as any error messages from the BIOS
are lost.
PP
This idea is at best an interesting experiment that needs another iteration.

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