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    Console port on XG-7100/SG-3100 - is there a mini-USB to RJ-45 converter?

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    • V
      victorhooi
      last edited by

      Thanks for the info!

      I think ultimately, having a normal RJ-45 console port on the router out of the box would be great - but I do understand that's not likely to happen soon.

      The Raspberry Pi option might be a temporary workaround for us for now. (We've had less than great luck with Raspberry Pis in DC s lasting very long - maybe heat?).

      How would you recommend setting up a Raspberry Pi to talk to the XG-7100? What software do you use? And is there a way to export this again as a standard console port?

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      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
        last edited by johnpoz

        @victorhooi said in Console port on XG-7100/SG-3100 - is there a mini-USB to RJ-45 converter?:

        Avocent range

        Their current stuff has usb interfaces.. So yours must be quite dated..

        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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        • V
          victorhooi
          last edited by

          Yup, the Avocent units we have are fairly old. Then again, when you buy hundreds of thousands of one model, they tend to stick around.

          The newer stuff are things like ZPE console servers, which are 48 or 64 RJ-45 console ports in 1RU (i.e. fairly high density). A lot of the enterprise stuff we use runs on RJ-45 console ports, hence would be useful to have.

          My own testing lab at my desk or at home, yup, USB-c is neat (e.g. Ruckus 7150-C12P), but then I don't run a 64-port console at home 😋.

          Anyhow, for this small deploy of XG-7100, I'm happy to jerry rig something together with Raspberry Pis if I have to. If anybody has any experiences they can share with how they did it, or what the best practices are, would be very grateful.

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          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
            last edited by johnpoz

            There was a thread awhile back where I tested it for someone.. I plugged the pi into my sg4860, then ssh'd in the pi, and yeah I could access the console..

            I could dig up that thread.. But that is as much play time I have with it.

            edit: Here is thread I was talking about
            https://forum.netgate.com/topic/138371/serial-console-raspberry-pi

            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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            • DerelictD
              Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
              last edited by

              You can also access a console from another pfSense. A criss-cross between HA nodes is a good idea in some cases. Can be a "free" console server.

              Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
              A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
              DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
              Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                Yeah, you can probably use almost anything else you have there that's running Linux or *BSD to connect from. Connecting from another pfSense device is relatively common. Of course the stack of devices I have is probably atypical! 😉

                Steve

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                • jimpJ
                  jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                  last edited by

                  +1 for a Pi console server. That's what I'm using now.

                  Plus you can map the serial devices to static names, so that no matter what order they connect in, you can reference the custom names in things like screen.

                  $ cat /etc/udev/rules.d/99-usb-serial.rules 
                  # Normally connected to Pi console
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="015F06E0", SYMLINK+="serial_xg7100"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="012D3960", SYMLINK+="serial_sg1000_b2"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="012D3952", SYMLINK+="serial_sg1000_b1"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="00C17C07", SYMLINK+="serial_sg4860"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="013273DF", SYMLINK+="serial_sg3100_prod"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0403", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6001", ATTRS{serial}=="A402WO4M", SYMLINK+="serial_fw7551"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0403", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6001", ATTRS{serial}=="A7012SC9", SYMLINK+="serial_apu"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="ea60", ATTRS{serial}=="00ADB748", SYMLINK+="serial_sg8860"
                  SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="067b", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2303", SYMLINK+="serial_sg1100"
                  
                  $ cat ~/.consoles.screenrc 
                  startup_message off
                  defscrollback 50000
                  sessionname consoles
                  hardstatus alwayslastline
                  hardstatus string '%{gk}[%{G}%H%{g}][%= %{wk}%?%-Lw%?%{=b kR}(%{W}%n*%f %t%?(%u)%?%{=b kR})%{= kw}%?%+Lw%?%?%= %{g}]%{=b C}[%m/%d/%y %C %A]%{W}'
                  
                  screen -t 'APU'       /dev/serial_apu         115200
                  screen -t 'SG-1000-1' /dev/serial_sg1000_b1   115200
                  screen -t 'SG-1000-2' /dev/serial_sg1000_b2   115200
                  screen -t 'SG-1100'   /dev/serial_sg1100      115200
                  screen -t 'SG-3100'   /dev/serial_sg3100_prod 115200
                  screen -t 'SG-4860'   /dev/serial_sg4860      115200
                  screen -t 'FW-7551'   /dev/serial_fw7551      115200
                  screen -t 'XG-7100'   /dev/serial_xg7100      115200
                  screen -t 'SG-8860'   /dev/serial_sg8860      115200
                  

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                  • johnpozJ
                    johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                    last edited by

                    That is some great info @jimp is that documented anywhere? That sort of stuff could be in the book or even maybe a hangout..

                    An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                    If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                    Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                    SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                    • jimpJ
                      jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                      last edited by

                      Not in the docs since it's really not pfSense-specific, and it's covered widely around the web in various places. Not too keen on putting that specific sort of example in the pfSense docs since it's actually talking about configuring a Linux host. Might do a forum post about the whole process at some point if I ever have the time, though.

                      Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                      Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                      Do not Chat/PM for help!

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                      • johnpozJ
                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                        last edited by johnpoz

                        All good points.. Even that post you make with examples is more then enough info... I am sure this sort of question will come up - now can use this as reference ;)

                        I have bookmarked it... Need to start doing that for stuff like this - sometimes they can be difficult to find via just searching..

                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                        • jimpJ
                          jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                          last edited by jimp

                          I've posted fragments of it before, though my previous example didn't have the devices mapped statically.

                          There are some other tricky bits to the setup, mostly finding ways in the available USB device info dump to uniquely identify each device. Depending on the chips involved it might not be possible, too, since sometimes the USB/Serial chips don't get a unique serial number/ID, so if you have multiple overlapping devices it may be a crap shoot.

                          Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                          Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                          Do not Chat/PM for help!

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