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PLAN9.INI(10.6)						       PLAN9.INI(10.6)

NAME
       plan9.ini - configuration file for PCs

SYNOPSIS
       none

DESCRIPTION
       When  booting  Inferno on a PC, the Plan 9 bootstrap programs are used,
       hence the references to Plan 9  below.	The  DOS  program  9load(10.8)
       first  reads  a	DOS file containing configuration information from the
       boot disk.  This file, plan9.ini, looks like a shell script  containing
       lines of the form

	    name=value

       each of which defines a kernel or device parameter.

       For devices, the generic format of value is

	    type=TYPE [port=N] [irq=N] [mem=N] [size=N] [dma=N] [ea=N]

       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 rel‐
       evant  to  all  devices;	 the  relevant	values	and their defaults are
       defined below in the description of each device.

       The file is used by 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
       also osinit.dis in root(3)).  However, values whose names begin with an
       asterisk * are used by the kernel and are not converted	into  environ‐
       ment variables.

       The following sections describe how variables are used.

   etherX=value
       This defines an Ethernet interface.  X, a unique monotonically increas‐
       ing 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 etherX+1.  After probing as	directed  by  the  etherX  lines,  any
       remaining  ethernet cards that can be automatically detected are added.
       Almost all cards can be automatically  detected.	  For  debugging  pur‐
       poses,  automatic  probing  can	be  disabled  by  specifying  the line
       *noetherprobe=.	This automatic probing is only done by the kernel, not
       by  9load(10.8).	 Thus, if you want to load a kernel over the ethernet,
       you need to specify an ether0 line so that 9load can find the  ethernet
       card, even if the kernel would have automatically detected it.

       Some  cards  are	 software configurable and do not require all options.
       Unspecified options default to the factory defaults.

       Known types are

       ne2000 Not software configurable. 16-bit card.  Defaults are
		   port=0x300 irq=2 mem=0x04000 size=0x4000
	      The option (no value) nodummyrr is needed on some (near)	clones
	      to turn off a dummy remote read in the driver.

       amd79c970
	      The  AMD	PCnet  PCI  Ethernet Adapter (AM79C970).  (This is the
	      ethernet adapter used by VMware.)	 Completely  configurable,  no
	      options need be given.

       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
		   port=0x280 irq=3 mem=0xD0000 size=0x2000
	      BUG: On many machines only the 16 bit card works.

       elnk3  The  3COM	 Etherlink III 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 media= to the
	      value 10BaseT, 10Base2, 100BaseTX, 100BaseFX, aui, and mii.   If
	      you  need to force full duplex, because for example the Ethernet
	      switch does not negotiate correctly,  just  name	the  word  (no
	      value)  fullduplex or 100BASE-TXFD.  Similarly, to force 100Mbit
	      operation, specify force100.  Port 0x110 is used for the	little
	      ISA configuration dance.

       3c589  The  3COM 3C589 series PCMCIA cards, including the 3C562 and the
	      589E.  There is no support for the modem	on  the	 3C562.	  Com‐
	      pletely configurable, no options need be given.  Defaults are
		   port=0x240 irq=10
	      The media may be specified as media=10BaseT or media=10Base2.

       ec2t   The  Linksys  Combo PCMCIA EthernetCard (EC2T), EtherFast 10/100
	      PCMCIA cards (PCMPC100) and integrated controllers (PCM100), the
	      Netgear FA410TX 10/100 PCMCIA card and the Accton EtherPair-PCM‐
	      CIA (EN2216).   Completely  configurable,	 no  options  need  be
	      given.  Defaults are
		   port=0x300 irq=9
	      These  cards  are NE2000 clones.	Other NE2000 compatible PCMCIA
	      cards may be tried with the option
		   id=string
	      where string is a unique	identifier  string  contained  in  the
	      attribute	 memory	 of  the  card	(see  pcmcia(8));  unlike most
	      options in plan9.ini, this string is case-sensitive.  The option
	      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.

       i82557 Cards  using  the Intel 8255[789] Fast Ethernet PCI Bus LAN Con‐
	      troller 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)  10BASE-T,
	      10BASE-2,	  10BASE-5,   100BASE-TX,   10BASE-TFD,	 100BASE-TXFD,
	      100BASE-T4, 100BASE-FX, or 100BASE-FXFD.

       2114x  Cards using the Digital Equipment (now  Intel)  2114x  PCI  Fast
	      Ethernet	Adapter	 Controller,  for  example  the Netgear FA310.
	      Completely configurable, no options need be given.  Media can be
	      specified	 the same was as for the i82557.  Some cards using the
	      PNIC and PNIC2 near-clone chips may also work.

       wavelan
	      Lucent Wavelan (Orinoco)	IEEE  802.11b  and  compatible	PCMCIA
	      cards.   Compatible  cards  include the Dell TrueMobile 1150 and
	      the Linksys Instant Wireless Network  PC	Card.	Port  and  IRQ
	      defaults are 0x180 and 3 respectively.

	      These  cards take a number of unique options to aid in identify‐
	      ing the card correctly on the 802.11b network.  The network  may
	      be ad hoc or managed (i.e. use an access point):
		   mode=[adhoc, managed]
	      and defaults to managed.	The 802.11b network to attach to (man‐
	      aged mode) or identify as (ad hoc mode), is specified by
		   essid=string
	      and defaults to a null string.  The card station name  is	 given
	      by
		   station=string
	      and defaults to Plan 9 STA.  The channel to use is given by
		   channel=number
	      where 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:
		   crypt=[off, on]
	      and defaults to on.
		   keyN=string
	      sets the encryption key n (where n is in the range 1 to 4 inclu‐
	      sive) to string; this will also set the transmit key to  n  (see
	      below).
		   txkey=number
	      sets  the	 transmit  key to use to be number in the range 1 to 4
	      inclusive.  If it is desired to exclude or  include  unencrypted
	      packets
		   clear=[off, on]
	      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
		   essid=left-armpit key2=fishcalledraawaru
	      if the port and IRQ defaults are used.  These options may be set
	      after boot by writing to the device's ctl file using a space  as
	      the separator between option and value, e.g.
		   echo 'key2 fishcalledraawaru' > /net/ether0/0/ctl

       wavelanpci
	      PCI  ethernet  adapters  that  use  the same Wavelan programming
	      interface.  Currently the only tested cards are those  based  on
	      the Intersil Prism 2.5 chipset.

       83815  National	Semiconductor DP83815-based adapters, notably the Net‐
	      gear FA311, Netgear FA312, and various SiS built-in  controllers
	      such  as	the  SiS900.   On  the	SiS  controllers, the ethernet
	      address is  not  detected	 properly;  specify  it	 with  an  ea=
	      attribute.

       rtl8139
	      The Realtek 8139.

       82543gc
	      The  Intel  RS-82543GC  gigabit ethernet controller, as found on
	      the Intel PRO/1000[FT] server adapter.  The older non-[FT] cards
	      based  on	 the  82542  (LSI  L2A1157)  chip  are	not supported,
	      although support would probably be easy to add.

       smc91cxx
	      SMC 91cXX chip-based PCMCIA adapters, notably  the  SMC  EtherEZ
	      card.

       sink   A	 /dev/null  for ethernet packets — the interface discards sent
	      packets and never receives any.  This is used to provide a  test
	      bed for some experimental ethernet bridging software.

   usbX=type=uhci port=xxx irq=xxx
       This specifies the settings for a USB UHCI controller.  Like the ether‐
       net controllers, USB controllers are autodetected  after	 scanning  for
       the  ones listed in plan9.ini.  Thus, most systems will not need a usbX
       line.  Also like the ethernet controllers, USB autoprobing can be  dis‐
       abled by specifying the line *nousbprobe=.

   scsiX=value
       This defines a SCSI interface which cannot be automatically detected by
       the kernel.

       Known types are

       aha1542
	      The Adaptec 154x series of  controllers  (and  clones).	Almost
	      completely configurable, only the
		   port=0x300
	      option need be given.

       NCR/Symbios/LSI Logic 53c8xx-based adapters and Mylex MultiMaster (Bus‐
       logic BT-*) adapters are automatically detected and need no entries.

       By default, the NCR 53c8xx driver searches for up  to  32  controllers.
       This can be changed by setting the variable *maxsd53c8xx.

       By  default  the	 Mylex driver resets SCSI cards by using both the hard
       reset and SCSI bus reset flags in the driver interface.	If a  variable
       *noscsireset is defined, the SCSI bus reset flag is omitted.

   Uarts
       Plan  9 automatically configures COM1 and COM2, if found, as eia0 (port
       0x3F8, IRQ4) and eia1 (port 0x2F8, IRQ3) respectively.	These  devices
       can be disabled by adding a line:
	   eiaX=disabled
       This is typically done in order to reuse the IRQ for another device.

       The  system used to support various serial concentrators, including the
       TTC 8 serial line card and various models in  the  Star	Gate  Avanstar
       series  of  intelligent	serial boards.	These are no longer supported;
       the much simpler Perle PCI-Fast4, PCI-Fast8, and PCI-Fast16 controllers
       have taken their places.	 These latter cards are automatically detected
       and need no configuration lines.

       The line serial=type=com can be used to specify settings for  a	PCMCIA
       modem.

   mouseport=value
       This specifies where the mouse is attached.  Value can be

       ps2    the PS2 mouse/keyboard port.  The BIOS setup procedure should be
	      used to configure the machine appropriately.

       ps2intellimouse
	      an Intellimouse on the PS2 port.

       0      for COM1

       1      for COM2

   modemport=value
       Picks the UART line to call out on.  This is used when connecting to  a
       file server over an async line.	Value is the number of the port.

   pccard0=disabled
       Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PC card controllers.

   pcmciaX=type=XXX irq=value
       If  the	default IRQ for the PCMCIA is correct, this entry can be omit‐
       ted.  The value of type is ignored.

   pcmcia0=disabled
       Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PCMCIA controllers.

   console=value params
       This is used to specify the console device.  The default value is  cga;
       a  number 0 or 1 specifies COM1 or COM2 respectively.  A serial console
       is initially configured with the eia(3) configuration string  b9600  l8
       pn  s1, specifying 9600 baud, 8 bit bytes, no parity, and one stop bit.
       If params is given, it will be used  to	further	 configure  the	 uart.
       Notice that there is no = sign in the params syntax.  For example,
	   console=0 b19200 po
       would use COM1 at 19,200 baud with odd parity.

   bootfile=value
       This  is used to direct the actions of 9load(10.8) by naming the device
       and file from which to load the kernel.

   partition=value
       This defines the partition table 9load(10.8) 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 parti‐
       tion table on the next-to-last or last sector of the disk is consulted.
       A value of new consults only the first table, old only the second.

   *maxmem=value
       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 *maxmem will limit the scan.	If the	system
       has  more  than	768  megabytes, you must set *maxmem for the kernel to
       find it.	 *maxmem must be less than 1.75 gigabytes.

   *kernelpercent=value
       This defines what percentage of available memory is  reserved  for  the
       kernel allocation pool.	The remainder is left for user processes.  The
       default value is 30 on CPU servers, 60 on terminals with less than 16MB
       of  memory,  and 40 on terminals with memories of 16MB or more.	Termi‐
       nals use more kernel  memory  because  draw(3)  maintains  its  graphic
       images in kernel memory.	 This deprecated option is rarely necessary in
       newer kernels.

   *nomce=value
       If machine check exceptions are supported by the processor,  then  they
       are  enabled  by default.  Setting this variable to 1 causes them to be
       disabled even when available.

   *nomp=
       A multiprocessor machine will enable all processors by  default.	  Set‐
       ting  *nomp  restricts  the  kernel  to starting only one processor and
       using the traditional interrupt controller.

   *ncpu=value
       Setting *ncpu restricts the kernel to starting at  most	value  proces‐
       sors.

   *pcimaxbno=value
       This  puts  a  limit  on	 the  maximum  bus  number probed on a PCI bus
       (default 255).  For example, a value of 1 should suffice	 on  a	'stan‐
       dard'  motherboard  with	 an  AGP slot.	This, and *pcimaxdno below are
       rarely used and only on troublesome or suspect hardware.

   *pcimaxdno=value
       This puts a limit on the maximum device number  probed  on  a  PCI  bus
       (default 31).

   *nopcirouting=
       Disable	pci routing during boot.  May solve interrupt routing problems
       on certain machines.

   ioexclude=value
       Specifies a list of ranges I/O ports to exclude from  use  by  drivers.
       Ranges  are  inclusive on both ends and separated by commas.  For exam‐
       ple:
	   ioexclude=0x330-0x337,0x430-0x43F

   apm0=
       This enables the ``advanced power management'' interface	 as  described
       in  apm(3).   The main feature of the interface is the ability to watch
       battery life.  It is not on by default because it  causes  problems  on
       some laptops.

   monitor=value
   vgasize=value
       These are used not by the kernel but by system initialisation.

   *dpms=value
       This  is	 used  to  specify  the screen blanking behavior of the MGA4xx
       video driver.  Values are standby, suspend, and	off.   The  first  two
       specify	differing  levels of power saving; the third turns the monitor
       off completely.

   nvr=value
       This is used by a file server kernel to locate a file holding  informa‐
       tion  to	 configure  the	 file  system.	The file cannot live on a SCSI
       disk.  The default is fd!0!plan9.nvr (sic), unless bootfile is set,  in
       which case it is plan9.nvr on the same disk as bootfile.	 The syntax is
       either fd!unit!name or hd!unit!name where unit is the numeric unit  id.
       This variant syntax is a vestige of the file server kernel's origins.

   audioX=value
       This defines a sound interface.

       Known types are

       sb16   Sound Blaster 16.

       ess1688
	      A Sound Blaster clone.

       The DMA channel may be any of 5, 6, or 7.  The defaults are
	    port=0x220 irq=7 dma=5

   fs=a.b.c.d
   auth=a.b.c.d
       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.

Multiple Configurations
       A  plan9.ini  file  may	contain multiple configurations, each within a
       block beginning with a line
	    [tag]
       A special block with the tag menu gives a list of blocks from which the
       user  may  interactively	 select	 the contents of plan9.ini.  There may
       also be multiple blocks with the tag common which will be  included  in
       all  selections;	 if  any  lines	 appear	 in plan9.ini before the first
       block, they are treated as a common block.

       Within the menu block the following configuration lines are allowed:

   menuitem=tag[, description]
       The block identified by tag will appear in  the	presented  menu.   The
       menu  entry  will consist of the tag unless the optional description is
       given.

   menudefault=tag[, timeout]
       Identifies a default block to be given in the  menu  selection  prompt.
       If  the	optional timeout is given (in seconds), the default block will
       be selected if there is no user input within the timeout period.

   menuconsole=value[, baud]
       Selects a serial console upon which to present the menu as  no  console
       or  baud	 configuration	information  will have been processed yet (the
       plan9.ini contents are still to be decided...).

       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 p,
       the selected configuration is printed and the menu presented again.

       The line
	    menuitem=tag
       is prefixed to the selected configuration as an aid to user-level  ini‐
       tialization scripts.

EXAMPLES
       A representative plan9.ini:

	      % cat /n/c:/plan9.ini
	      ether0=type=3C509
	      mouseport=ps2
	      modemport=1
	      serial0=type=generic port=0x3E8 irq=5
	      monitor=445x
	      vgasize=1600x1200x8
	      %

       Minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to use COM2 as a console:

	      % cat /n/c:/config.sys
	      SHELL=COMMAND.COM COM2 /P
	      % cat /n/c:/autoexec.bat
	      @ECHO OFF
	      PROMPT $p$g
	      PATH C:\DOS;C:\BIN
	      mode com2:96,n,8,1,p
	      SET TEMP=C:\TMP
	      %

       Simple plan9.ini with multiple configurations:

	      [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

       With this, the following menu will be presented on boot:

	      Plan 9 Startup Menu:
	      ====================
		  1. Plan 9 with VGA
		  2. Plan 9 no automatic VGA
	      Selection[default==1]:

       Selecting  item	1  generates the following plan9.ini to be used by the
       remainder of the bootstrap process:

	      menuitem=vga
	      monitor=multisync135
	      vgasize=1024x768x8
	      ether0=type=i82557
	      audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1

       and selecting item 2:

	      menuitem=novga
	      ether0=type=i82557
	      audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1

SEE ALSO
       root(3), 9load(10.8)

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  disconcert‐
       ing, as any error messages from the BIOS are lost.

       This idea is at best an interesting experiment that needs another iter‐
       ation.

							       PLAN9.INI(10.6)
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