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When adding a serial console, the rule has always been that the last console listed on the kernel command line is "primary", so the normal entry is something like "console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200". Per the comment in /etc/init/serial.conf, a serial console getty will only be started for the last console (if it is serial). However, it appears that upstart sends init messages only to the _first_ console listed, not the last. If you use the above console config, the init messages go to the VGA TTY. If you reverse the console entries, the init messages go to the serial console (but now you don't get a getty for login). One or the other of these two should be changed, and since the historical behavior matches the comment in /etc/init/serial.conf, upstart should be changed. This is also a bug in Fedora 14.
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This is actually a pretty serious regression in serial console functionality, which is pretty important for servers. Not getting init messages to the designated console is just broken. What if there is a problem starting a service? How do you find out?
This is most likely plymouth issue. Does it help if you add rd_NO_PLYMOUTH to kernel command line?
You are correct, it does appear to be plymouth related. When I add rd_NO_PLYMOUTH, "console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200" works as before (kernel messages go both places, init messages to serial, and a getty is started on serial as well).
This is probably dupe of bug 719569. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 719569 ***