Tag Archives: 9600

Ubuntu – Managing Cisco Devices via Serial / Rollover Cable

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KB ID 0000400 

Problem

A while back I ran though “Managing Cisco ASA devices via the ASDM with Ubuntu“, I prefer to work at command line, with a new firewall my only choice is via the console port, In a windows environment I can fire up Hyperterminal and I’m away. With Linux there a couple of things to do first.

Solution

Step 1 (Get the Serial / RS232 / COM Port working)

As pictured above, this is being done on my Acer Netbook so I don’t have a serial port. I need to use a USB to Serial converter, If your machine has a serial port then simply skip this section.

1. Plug in your serial converter and wait a few seconds, open a terminal window (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and issue the following command,

[box]dmesg[/box]

2. Amazingly it looks like been installed with the correct driver, without any effort by me at all! Lets make sure, unplug the USB to serial converter then issue the following command,

[box]lusb[/box]

Then plug the device back in and run the same command, notice the serial port has popped onto the list.

Note: If you not as lucky as me follow the excellent advice here to install the drivers you need.

Step 2 Install and Configure Minicom

1. Open a terminal window and issue the following command,

[box]sudo apt-get install minicom[/box]

Tap in your password, then enter “Y” for yes when prompted.

4. We need to know the connection name for the USB to Serial converter, issue the following command (See mines called ttyUSB0).

[box]dmesg | grep tty[/box]

5. Now lets fire up Minicom with the following command,

[box]sudo minicom[/box]

Tap in your password again, then as requested press CTRL+A, then Z.

6. To configure the serial settings press O (that’s O for Oscar not zero).

7. Select “Serial Port Setup”.

8. Press A to set the device.

9. As we discovered (above) ours is called ttyUSB0, so change the device to /dev/ttyUSB0.

10. Press C to change the connection speed to 9600 baud, Press Q (to set 8 bits, no stop bit, and 1 parity bit. On mine this was set by default), press {enter} to exit.

11. Press F to turn off hardware flow control (Some posts will say leave it on, I generally turn if off and I’ve never seen anything break!). Press G to disable software flow control (if enabled).

12. Then Select “Save setup as..”, and give is a sensible name. (If you went back too far simply press O again to get back here).

13. Now the settings are saved you can launch them at anytime with,

[box]sudo minicom {filename}[/box]

Note: Sometimes your serial drive gets locked up but a reboot will solve the problem.

14. Here’s me connected to an ancient old catalyst switch.

15. And the baby PIX on my test network.

Note: If your keystrokes are not getting sent: From the main menu (CTRL+A then Z) Press E to turn on local echo.

 

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

HP Procurve Adding a Management IP

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KB ID 0000428

Problem

You have an HP Procurve switch, and you would like to add a management IP so you can view the web console.

Solution

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

HP Procurve – Trunking / Aggregating Ports

Cisco Catalyst Switches – Set a Management IP and Allow Telnet and Web Management

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KB ID 0000614 

Problem

If you want to manage your Cisco Catalyst switch it’s not always practical to plug a console cable in to change its settings or monitor what it is doing. Putting an IP address on it and enabling remote management via Telnet or from your web browser is a better alternative, particularly if you have a lot of switches.

Solution

Enable Telnet Management on Cisco Catalyst Switch

1. Connect to the Switch using a terminal emulation program like HyperTerminal or Putty,

2. Issue the following commands;

[box]

enable
{enter enable password if prompted}
conf t
line vty 0 15
password {password required}
login
exit

[/box]

Add a Management IP to a Cisco Catalyst Switch

3. Whilst still in configure terminal mode issue the following commands;

[box]

int vlan1
ip address {IP address required} {Subnet required}
no shutdown
exit

[/box]

Cisco Catalyst Set an Enable Password

4. If you telnet in you cant change any system settings without an enable password being set.

[box]enable password {Password required}[/box]

Optional : Set the Cisco Catalyst Switches Default Gateway

5. Just in case you need to manage the switch from another subnet, you will need to set a default gateway.

[box]ip default-gateway {IP address required}[/box]

Enable Web Management on Cisco Catalyst Switch

6. To connect to and manage the switch from a web browser execute the following command, and then exit configure terminal mode.

[box]

ip http server
exit

[/box]

7. Finally save the changes with a “write mem” command.

[box]write mem[/box]

Testing the Configuration

8. From a machine on the same network segment make sure you can ping the switch on its new IP address.

9. Then make sure you can “telnet” into it.

10. Open a web browser and navigate the the switches IP > Select ‘Web Console’.

Note: You will require Java for this to work.

11. After entering the enable password you should see the following.

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

Cisco Catalyst Password Recovery / Reset