I also think that there is a problem with the tty subsystem. I've
been having a terible time trying to get ppp conections -- it appears
that the full login text which my internet provider sends isn't
making it to my system -- if I have a look at /var/log/messages,
where all of my pppd/chat logs it's input and output, it is clear
that some lines get their first few letters cut off.
Also I've noticed this problem with other loggings from syslogd --
some of the kernel messages, from the boot process, are missing their
first few letters. i.e. "Unix sockets" is now often appearing as "x
sockets".
This has started happening to me since kernel version 1.3.71 and is still
present in 1.3.74. Sometimes it takes 5 attempts before I can sucessfully
login to my ISP.
While this may be related, I doubt it. I believe the pty problem has
been around from before 1.3.71 (can someone confirm this, please?), and
syslogd doesn't use the tty subsystem at all.
I suspect we have a specific race-related condition that has to do with
what happens when the slave side of the pty closes before the master has
a chance to read all of the data.
So we need to be careful about categorizing problems; your problem may
be caused by something entirely different, and we wouldn't want to lose
track of your problem while we're trying to find this one.
- Ted