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Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/f29/system-administrators-guide/kernel-module-driver-configuration/Working_with_the_GRUB_2_Boot_Loader/#sec-

Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/f29/system-administrators-guide/kernel-module-driver-configuration/Working_with_the_GRUB_2_Boot_Loader/#sec-GRUB_2_over_a_Serial_Console https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/f29/system-admin... Red Hat Enterprise: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/7/html/system_administrators_guide/sec-grub_2_over_a_serial_console https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterp... Slackware: https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:hardware:serial_installation https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:hardware:serial_installati... Debian: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s03.html.en Ubuntu: https://clinta.github.io/bionic-on-apu2/ https://clinta.github.io/bionic-on-apu2/ So basically every mainstream distro.

paulfurtado 8y ago
For most of these, changing syslinux.cfg in the install media lets you add the console=ttyS0 option to the kernel command line and whatever option triggers the text installer for the distro. So it isn't too hard to do, albeit annoyingly non default.
Fnoord 8y ago
Many NICs support PXE. You use bootp and TFTP to start a Linux installation. I've installed Linux on SPARC and Alpha this way (the MIPS machines had a form of video out), as well as on a Soekris.
upofadown 8y ago
The examples listed require the existence of a keyboard and screen. You would have to make or find a distro that used the serial console at boot. I think the whole point that the author was trying to make is that OpenBSD supports a serial console by default with the regular installation image.
- ohithereyou 8y ago
  You only need a keyboard and mouse unless you modify the boot media to use the serial console for the installer, which several of those links detail. To say that Linux doesn't support it is incredibly ignorant of the author.
- yellowapple 8y ago
  IIRC Slackware at least also supports a serial console by default when installing (I used it to install Slackware on an Iomega NAS an old coworker of mine got rid of). Not sure about other distros.
- tyingq 8y ago
  They don't generally require anything special though. Maybe a parameter or two. He installed OpenBSD on a serial console. Here's someone installing Debian on a serial console: https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/installing-debian-over-serial-console-apu-board/ https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/installing-debian-over...
- LukeShu 8y ago
  The Linux kernel itself will use the serial console by default if there's no VGA device: If no console device is specified, the first device found capable of acting as a system console will be used. At this time, the system first looks for a VGA card and then for a serial port. So if you don't have a VGA card in your system the first serial port will automatically become the console. https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/admin-guide/serial-console.rst https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/admin-guide/serial-...

paulfurtado 8y ago

For most of these, changing syslinux.cfg in the install media lets you add the console=ttyS0 option to the kernel command line and whatever option triggers the text installer for the distro. So it isn't too hard to do, albeit annoyingly non default.

Fnoord 8y ago

Many NICs support PXE. You use bootp and TFTP to start a Linux installation. I've installed Linux on SPARC and Alpha this way (the MIPS machines had a form of video out), as well as on a Soekris.

upofadown 8y ago

The examples listed require the existence of a keyboard and screen. You would have to make or find a distro that used the serial console at boot. I think the whole point that the author was trying to make is that OpenBSD supports a serial console by default with the regular installation image.

ohithereyou 8y ago
You only need a keyboard and mouse unless you modify the boot media to use the serial console for the installer, which several of those links detail. To say that Linux doesn't support it is incredibly ignorant of the author.
yellowapple 8y ago
IIRC Slackware at least also supports a serial console by default when installing (I used it to install Slackware on an Iomega NAS an old coworker of mine got rid of). Not sure about other distros.
tyingq 8y ago
They don't generally require anything special though. Maybe a parameter or two. He installed OpenBSD on a serial console. Here's someone installing Debian on a serial console: https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/installing-debian-over-serial-console-apu-board/ https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/installing-debian-over...
LukeShu 8y ago
The Linux kernel itself will use the serial console by default if there's no VGA device: If no console device is specified, the first device found capable of acting as a system console will be used. At this time, the system first looks for a VGA card and then for a serial port. So if you don't have a VGA card in your system the first serial port will automatically become the console. https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/admin-guide/serial-console.rst https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/admin-guide/serial-...