I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
Depending on the budget, refurbished Cyclades off ebay do the job well. Very solid and proven products, we still run few dated from 2003 … -Stan From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Alan Hannan Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:37 AM To: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Console Servers I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
I'm deploying new to me Cisco 2811s for console and OOB access. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions Midwest Internet Exchange The Brothers WISP ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Hannan" <alan@routingloop.com> To: "NANOG" <nanog@nanog.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:36:33 AM Subject: Console Servers I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
Look into OpenGear, we've tested out a couple different products that we've implemented in remote offices to replace our 2800's. From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Mike Hammett Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:49 AM To: Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> Cc: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Console Servers I'm deploying new to me Cisco 2811s for console and OOB access. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions<http://www.ics-il.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL><https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb><https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions><https://twitter.com/ICSIL> Midwest Internet Exchange<http://www.midwest-ix.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix><https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange><https://twitter.com/mdwestix> The Brothers WISP<http://www.thebrotherswisp.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherswisp><https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSdfxQv7SpoRQYNyLwntZg> _____ From: "Alan Hannan" <alan@routingloop.com<mailto:alan@routingloop.com>> To: "NANOG" <nanog@nanog.org<mailto:nanog@nanog.org>> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:36:33 AM Subject: Console Servers I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
I'm a big fan of Raritan's DSX2 gear. Access to serial via ssh or web interface, and the web interface is HTML5, not Java, which is a big advantage if you ever want to use that. I use a bunch of them in production as well and they've been rock solid when I've needed them for managing Cisco, Juniper, Ubiquiti, and other gear via serial. Take care, Matt
++ for Opengear. Been happily using them for >10yrs.
On Sep 18, 2018, at 9:26 AM, Merritt, Channing via NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> wrote:
Look into OpenGear, we’ve tested out a couple different products that we’ve implemented in remote offices to replace our 2800’s.
From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Mike Hammett Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:49 AM To: Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> Cc: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Console Servers
I'm deploying new to me Cisco 2811s for console and OOB access.
----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions
Midwest Internet Exchange
The Brothers WISP
From: "Alan Hannan" <alan@routingloop.com> To: "NANOG" <nanog@nanog.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:36:33 AM Subject: Console Servers
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
-- Louis Kowolowski louisk@cryptomonkeys.org Cryptomonkeys: http://www.cryptomonkeys.com/ Making life more interesting for people since 1977
2811DC or 2811AC NM32 modem module 4 octals 32port RJ45 bulkhead On 9/18/18 05:49, Mike Hammett wrote:
I'm deploying new to me Cisco 2811s for console and OOB access.
----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions <http://www.ics-il.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL><https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb><https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions><https://twitter.com/ICSIL> Midwest Internet Exchange <http://www.midwest-ix.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix><https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange><https://twitter.com/mdwestix> The Brothers WISP <http://www.thebrotherswisp.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherswisp><https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSdfxQv7SpoRQYNyLwntZg> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *From: *"Alan Hannan" <alan@routingloop.com> *To: *"NANOG" <nanog@nanog.org> *Sent: *Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:36:33 AM *Subject: *Console Servers
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Christopher E. Brown <chris.brown@acsalaska.net> desk (907) 550-8393 cell (907) 632-8492 IP Engineer - ACS ------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 9:36 AM, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy.
On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 9:49 AM, Mike Hammett <nanog@ics-il.net> wrote:
I'm deploying new to me Cisco 2811s for console and OOB access.
Agree. 2811, 2850s and 3845's are dirt cheap on ebay, the nm-32a's (and HWIC-16a's) work just like you remember in the 2611s and the 2800 series has enough processor and a new enough IOS to handle ssh acceptably. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
What we did (and it fits our needs) SeaLevel (SeaLink Familly) with a Zotak. We got both Win/Linux/BSD debugging/monitoring station (with 2 1Gbps, 1 MGMT 1 Mirror) and up to 16 serials ports in 1U. ( With some DYI ) I'm sure you can get a better density if you check with them. ----- Alain Hebert ahebert@pubnix.net PubNIX Inc. 50 boul. St-Charles P.O. Box 26770 Beaconsfield, Quebec H9W 6G7 Tel: 514-990-5911 http://www.pubnix.net Fax: 514-990-9443 On 09/18/18 09:36, Alan Hannan wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 16:39, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
Out of curiosity, how do you connect them? I see quotes around 200USD/MRC for ethernet in US, implying 12kUSD 5 year cost on just connectivity, add rack rental, and power and Opengear price is maybe 10% of TCO? Personally I still prefer Cisco, as not to have new operating system to automate. Add conserver to connect persistently to each console port, so that you get persistent logs from console to your NMS, and so that you can multiplex your console sessions. It's hard to recover the CAPEX benefit if you need OOB platform specific OPEX costs. -- ++ytti
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 15:26, Saku Ytti <saku@ytti.fi> wrote:
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 16:39, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
Out of curiosity, how do you connect them? I see quotes around 200USD/MRC for ethernet in US, implying 12kUSD 5 year cost on just connectivity, add rack rental, and power and Opengear price is maybe 10% of TCO?
Personally I still prefer Cisco, as not to have new operating system to automate. Add conserver to connect persistently to each console port, so that you get persistent logs from console to your NMS, and so that you can multiplex your console sessions. It's hard to recover the CAPEX benefit if you need OOB platform specific OPEX costs.
For cheap OOB connectivity that scales, I've had some success with VDSL for OOB console server connections. Note that I didn't say "great"... In some DCs I've done mutual OOB swaps with other telcos in the same suite, this is usually cheap or free (excluding the one time xconnect cost, in suite xconnects often have no recurring charge) but you need to track them all, often every swap is bespoke, providers come and go so you need to replace them, if it's free you sometimes don't get maintenance alerts ;) Sometimes the DC provider has an OOB connectivity service that uses separate transit providers than we use and this often cheap too. Again this is often bespoke per DC/colo provider though. The most scalable solution I've been involved in so far is VDSL. Here in the UK lots of DCs are on-net for the national incumbent VDSL provider (BT). It means we can have the same style of connection to most DCs, same physical presentation, same cost, it eases the contract management for renewing them as we have one supplier etc. The biggest problem I've experienced with this approach is getting the copper line to the rack, some DCs charge a small fortune as copper pairs to a rack is a bespoke service for them, some do it regularly. I've just moved on from an LLU provider in the UK, a CLEC in US terminology, we had about 1200 PoPs around the UK most of which were telephone exchanges. If you want OOB in a DC it's different to a telephone exchange (well it is here), seeing as the OP hasn't mentioned if OOB will be in DCs/telephone exchanges/sailing boats/etc. I think it's worth pointing out tjat VDSL is often not available within an exchange here and maybe it's the same in the US. Cheers, James.
Hey,
In some DCs I've done mutual OOB swaps with other telcos in the same suite, this is usually cheap or free (excluding the one time xconnect
We consciously decided to not ask or accept OOB swaps, because of fear that they might be provisioned outside processes which might make it impossible to repair them through normal commercial processes, which would potentially cost lot of downtime and NOC's resources.
Sometimes the DC provider has an OOB connectivity service that uses separate transit providers than we use and this often cheap too. Again this is often bespoke per DC/colo provider though.
MRC quotes I have 400USD Equinix, 288USD Terramark, 300USD Coresite. Compared to PSTN which we see at 90-150USD. This makes me less inclined to focus on HW CAPEX and optimise for HW/SW that tooling and people already support.
The most scalable solution I've been involved in so far is VDSL. Here in the UK lots of DCs are on-net for the national incumbent VDSL
I think WAN indeed is very market situational, and if you need to support world, it is beneficial to have solution which supports many WAN options, without needing external boxes and external power bricks. We try to do just ethernet, but even that is already being provided as copper, fibre and in one market with PPPoE, all which are non-issues by going with Cisco. I do wish I had second option, I do wish JNPR SRX would support async serial ports. -- ++ytti
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 at 09:50, Saku Ytti <saku@ytti.fi> wrote:
I think WAN indeed is very market situational, and if you need to support world, it is beneficial to have solution which supports many WAN options, without needing external boxes and external power bricks. We try to do just ethernet, but even that is already being provided as copper, fibre and in one market with PPPoE, all which are non-issues by going with Cisco. I do wish I had second option, I do wish JNPR SRX would support async serial ports.
Agreed, this is where the Cisco's shine. We can insert a mixture of ADSL/VDSL, Ethernet and serial cards into the same box. It's a nice all in one solution that supports all our various OOB connection types and the console connectivity, and we could connect a IP management switch. I mentioned earlier that OOB inside a DC is different to in a telephone exchange, and the OP didn't mention which was required. I forgot to mention that a third kind of OOB is for kit that is outside. If you need temperature hardened and DC powered OOB kit your options dramatically shrink and it's worth considering if you're in that boat. Cheers, James.
On Sep 19, 2018, at 01:50 , Saku Ytti <saku@ytti.fi> wrote:
Hey,
In some DCs I've done mutual OOB swaps with other telcos in the same suite, this is usually cheap or free (excluding the one time xconnect
We consciously decided to not ask or accept OOB swaps, because of fear that they might be provisioned outside processes which might make it impossible to repair them through normal commercial processes, which would potentially cost lot of downtime and NOC's resources.
Sometimes the DC provider has an OOB connectivity service that uses separate transit providers than we use and this often cheap too. Again this is often bespoke per DC/colo provider though.
MRC quotes I have 400USD Equinix, 288USD Terramark, 300USD Coresite. Compared to PSTN which we see at 90-150USD. This makes me less inclined to focus on HW CAPEX and optimise for HW/SW that tooling and people already support.
Your PSTN figure doesn’t include the cost of the XC to bring that POTS line into your suite/cage/cabinet. Once you add that in, It looks to me like you probably exceeded the OOB service price in each of the cases quoted above.
The most scalable solution I've been involved in so far is VDSL. Here in the UK lots of DCs are on-net for the national incumbent VDSL
I think WAN indeed is very market situational, and if you need to support world, it is beneficial to have solution which supports many WAN options, without needing external boxes and external power bricks. We try to do just ethernet, but even that is already being provided as copper, fibre and in one market with PPPoE, all which are non-issues by going with Cisco. I do wish I had second option, I do wish JNPR SRX would support async serial ports.
https://opengear.com/products/cm7100-console-server <https://opengear.com/products/cm7100-console-server> Has SFP network ports. Owen
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 15:26, Saku Ytti <saku@ytti.fi> wrote:
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 16:39, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
Out of curiosity, how do you connect them? I see quotes around 200USD/MRC for ethernet in US, implying 12kUSD 5 year cost on just connectivity, add rack rental, and power and Opengear price is maybe 10% of TCO?
Personally I still prefer Cisco, as not to have new operating system to automate. Add conserver to connect persistently to each console port, so that you get persistent logs from console to your NMS, and so that you can multiplex your console sessions. It's hard to recover the CAPEX benefit if you need OOB platform specific OPEX costs.
-- ++ytti
Hi Saku, I forgot to mention, it also depends how "out" of band your OOB needs to be. We use Ciena 6500s for our DWDM infrastructure and they have a wayside channel (like various DWDM vendors), so it's a separate channel over the same physical fibre. For anything except a fibre cut it seems to work. Cheers, James.
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 at 11:54, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
I forgot to mention, it also depends how "out" of band your OOB needs to be. We use Ciena 6500s for our DWDM infrastructure and they have a wayside channel (like various DWDM vendors), so it's a separate channel over the same physical fibre. For anything except a fibre cut it seems to work.
This is gold standard for incumbents, as they don't have anything true out-of-band they can consistently buy, everything travels in their network at some point anyhow. -- ++ytti
Except for AT&T, most incumbents here aren't also mobile wireless providers, so that is an option in most cases for truly OOB. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions Midwest Internet Exchange The Brothers WISP ----- Original Message ----- From: "Saku Ytti" <saku@ytti.fi> To: "James Bensley" <jwbensley@gmail.com> Cc: nanog@nanog.org Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 4:04:58 AM Subject: Re: Console Servers On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 at 11:54, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
I forgot to mention, it also depends how "out" of band your OOB needs to be. We use Ciena 6500s for our DWDM infrastructure and they have a wayside channel (like various DWDM vendors), so it's a separate channel over the same physical fibre. For anything except a fibre cut it seems to work.
This is gold standard for incumbents, as they don't have anything true out-of-band they can consistently buy, everything travels in their network at some point anyhow. -- ++ytti
Why am I picturing you rigging up a Particle Electron as a dongle to each device you want remote access to? Owen
On Sep 19, 2018, at 02:21 , Mike Hammett <nanog@ics-il.net> wrote:
Except for AT&T, most incumbents here aren't also mobile wireless providers, so that is an option in most cases for truly OOB.
----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions <http://www.ics-il.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL> Midwest Internet Exchange <http://www.midwest-ix.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix> The Brothers WISP <http://www.thebrotherswisp.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherswisp> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSdfxQv7SpoRQYNyLwntZg> From: "Saku Ytti" <saku@ytti.fi> To: "James Bensley" <jwbensley@gmail.com> Cc: nanog@nanog.org Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 4:04:58 AM Subject: Re: Console Servers
On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 at 11:54, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
I forgot to mention, it also depends how "out" of band your OOB needs to be. We use Ciena 6500s for our DWDM infrastructure and they have a wayside channel (like various DWDM vendors), so it's a separate channel over the same physical fibre. For anything except a fibre cut it seems to work.
This is gold standard for incumbents, as they don't have anything true out-of-band they can consistently buy, everything travels in their network at some point anyhow.
-- ++ytti
There's always the WOOBM! https://mikrotik.com/product/woobm ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions Midwest Internet Exchange The Brothers WISP ----- Original Message ----- From: "Owen DeLong" <owen@delong.com> To: "Mike Hammett" <nanog@ics-il.net> Cc: "Saku Ytti" <saku@ytti.fi>, nanog@nanog.org Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 7:05:36 PM Subject: Re: Console Servers Why am I picturing you rigging up a Particle Electron as a dongle to each device you want remote access to? Owen On Sep 19, 2018, at 02:21 , Mike Hammett < nanog@ics-il.net > wrote: Except for AT&T, most incumbents here aren't also mobile wireless providers, so that is an option in most cases for truly OOB. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions Midwest Internet Exchange The Brothers WISP ----- Original Message ----- From: "Saku Ytti" < saku@ytti.fi > To: "James Bensley" < jwbensley@gmail.com > Cc: nanog@nanog.org Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 4:04:58 AM Subject: Re: Console Servers On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 at 11:54, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
I forgot to mention, it also depends how "out" of band your OOB needs to be. We use Ciena 6500s for our DWDM infrastructure and they have a wayside channel (like various DWDM vendors), so it's a separate channel over the same physical fibre. For anything except a fibre cut it seems to work.
This is gold standard for incumbents, as they don't have anything true out-of-band they can consistently buy, everything travels in their network at some point anyhow. -- ++ytti
Alan There are maybe too many options out there. The used Cyclades are the lowest cost entry point. An ideal solution might be https://freetserv.github.io/ but some assembly required. I have Lantronix OOB solutions in my lab. Most modern servers come with some SOL options so I will assume this is for networking equipment. The modern HTML5 interfaces are great and really do drop all the legacy Java requirements. On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 8:38 AM Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
-- - Andrew "lathama" Latham -
I have been deploying Cyclades TS3000 boxes that I can sometimes find for about $75 each on eBay. The down side is the firmware is a bit old so the SSH daemon doesn't really support current ciphers. The other downside is the CLI ia a bit cumbersome. Tim On 9/18/18 8:43 AM, Andrew Latham wrote:
Alan
There are maybe too many options out there. The used Cyclades are the lowest cost entry point. An ideal solution might be https://freetserv.github.io/ but some assembly required. I have Lantronix OOB solutions in my lab. Most modern servers come with some SOL options so I will assume this is for networking equipment. The modern HTML5 interfaces are great and really do drop all the legacy Java requirements.
On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 8:38 AM Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com <mailto:alan@routingloop.com>> wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
-- - Andrew "lathama" Latham -
How about SMART CS series by Seiko solutions? https://www.seiko-sol.co.jp/en/products/console-server/ -- Jun Tanaka - NetComBB/S.N.I
Perle IOLAN SCS series is great. We have them all over the United States. From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Jun Tanaka Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 10:52 AM To: nanog@nanog.org; Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com>; NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Re: Console Servers How about SMART CS series by Seiko solutions? https://www.seiko-sol.co.jp/en/products/console-server/ -- Jun Tanaka - NetComBB/S.N.I ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail transmission, and any documents, files or previous e-mail messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, or a person responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of any of the information contained in or attached to this transmission is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the sender immediately by replying to this e-mail. You must destroy the original transmission and its attachments without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you.
+++ for Opengear. Manages PDUs and UPS, some models have GPS and 4G LTE options. If additional intelligence is needed for a lights out facility, Uplogix has an interesting solution as well. Sincerely, David K. Sent from my mobile device, please excuse any typos or brevity. ________________________________ From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> on behalf of Erik Sundberg <ESundberg@nitelusa.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 7:27:49 PM To: Jun Tanaka; nanog@nanog.org; Alan Hannan; NANOG Subject: RE: Console Servers Perle IOLAN SCS series is great. We have them all over the United States. From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Jun Tanaka Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 10:52 AM To: nanog@nanog.org; Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com>; NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Re: Console Servers How about SMART CS series by Seiko solutions? https://www.seiko-sol.co.jp/en/products/console-server/ -- Jun Tanaka - NetComBB/S.N.I ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail transmission, and any documents, files or previous e-mail messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, or a person responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of any of the information contained in or attached to this transmission is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the sender immediately by replying to this e-mail. You must destroy the original transmission and its attachments without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you.
My favorite are the lantronix SLC console servers. Fairly bullet-proof, they are one of those devices that just work. Can usually be picked up used ~$300 for 32 or 48 port varieties in good condition if you aren’t in the biggest hurry. Sk. From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Alan Hannan Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:37 AM To: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Console Servers I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
a vote for (so far so good) the nodegrid ZPE devices. On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 8:54 AM Sameer Khosla <skhosla@neutraldata.com> wrote:
My favorite are the lantronix SLC console servers. Fairly bullet-proof, they are one of those devices that just work. Can usually be picked up used ~$300 for 32 or 48 port varieties in good condition if you aren’t in the biggest hurry.
Sk.
*From:* NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> *On Behalf Of *Alan Hannan *Sent:* Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:37 AM *To:* NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> *Subject:* Console Servers
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45
* nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight)
* gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok)
* 1U form factor
* redundant AC power
* access physical serial connections via local port #
* access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
If anyone is looking for a product that is reasonably priced and is still being produced/update, the ADVA Optical (aka MRV, aka Xyplex) console servers still work great https://www.advaoptical.com/en/products/network-infrastructure-assurance/lx-... From their specs: 4, 8, 16, 32 and 48 serial ports V.92 modem option Single or dual power 120-240VAC, 50/60Hz: 0.5A per system 36-72VDC dual feed: 0.75A per system 2 x Ethernet NEBS Level 3 certified
I just use a Raspberry Pi with USB to Serial adapters or old servers with PCI(-E) 8 port serial cards. They make it so easy to adapt to any environment, and it phones home to my conserver (https://www.conserver.com/) gateway. The total cost for hardware is less than $150. Ryan From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org> On Behalf Of Christopher Morrow Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:04 AM To: Sameer Khosla <skhosla@neutraldata.com> Cc: nanog list <nanog@nanog.org> Subject: Re: Console Servers a vote for (so far so good) the nodegrid ZPE devices. On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 8:54 AM Sameer Khosla <skhosla@neutraldata.com<mailto:skhosla@neutraldata.com>> wrote: My favorite are the lantronix SLC console servers. Fairly bullet-proof, they are one of those devices that just work. Can usually be picked up used ~$300 for 32 or 48 port varieties in good condition if you aren’t in the biggest hurry. Sk. From: NANOG <nanog-bounces@nanog.org<mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org>> On Behalf Of Alan Hannan Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 9:37 AM To: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org<mailto:nanog@nanog.org>> Subject: Console Servers I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager. Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100. General specs I'm looking for are: * 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have) Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost? I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated! Thanks! -alan
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 14:38, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Can you recommend a serial port server/concentrator that I could use in place of opengear for a better value and/or lower cost?
I'm just ignorant about the current market for serial port concentrators and so far web searches have not revealed ideas, so your input is appreciated!
Thanks!
-alan
Hi Alan, Ah the trusty Cisco solution - yep, used the 2800 series quite a bit for exactly this, just last year even I was deploying them. 16-32 serial connections for OOB console, an Ethernet port for an OOB IP MGMT switch and VDSL for the WAN connection. You can also use low end Juniper SRX devices for this (SRX200 series) and a cheap console server, I've used SRX + OpenGear (not so cheap) console server just fine. You just need a couple of central firewalls to terminate some IPSEC tunnels (again, cheap SRXs have served fine as the crypto throughput is typically low). Some companies don't deploy anything into production which is not vendor supported, so the 2800s wouldn't fly in that case. We used to buy 2800s off ebay and 2nd hand tin sellers. However, for lab work some companies are more relaxed, this is an example 2800 config that I use for console access in the lab if you want: https://null.53bits.co.uk/index.php?page=hwic-16a-terminal-server I'd be reluctant to deploy Cisco 2800s (or similar) today unless there is a newer variant, is there an ISGv2 variant with serial connectivity that Cisco will be supporting for a few more years? I know OpenGrear are expensive but in my current outfit, they do "just work" and the few we had at my old place, again they did "just work". Cheers, James.
On 9/19/18 04:40, James Bensley wrote:
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 14:38, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Hi Alan,
I'd be reluctant to deploy Cisco 2800s (or similar) today unless there is a newer variant, is there an ISGv2 variant with serial connectivity that Cisco will be supporting for a few more years? I know OpenGrear are expensive but in my current outfit, they do "just work" and the few we had at my old place, again they did "just work". The ISR G2s do have several options for async available as do the current generation ISR4Ks.
The ISR G2s (1900/2900/3900s) can take the HWIC-8A, HWIC-16A, or SM-32A for 8/16/32 ports (SM-32A only in 2911 and higher due to being a Service Module form factor) Data sheet: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/1800-28... The ISR G2 routers were all announced for End-of-Sale a while back, the modules for them were also announced recently, but are still available for sale until Feb 2019. They'll still be supported until Feb 2024. EOL Announcement: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/network... The ISR 4Ks have the NIM-16A, NIM-24A, and the SM-X-64A (16/24/64 ports). The SM-X is only supported in 4331 and higher due to the SM-X form factor, the 16/24 port ones support at least 2 modules in all ISR4Ks even the low-end 4221. The NIM-16A and the SM-X-64A can use the same cables as the older async modules, the NIM-24A requires the newer low profile cable for 1 of the ports (can use it for all ports). Data sheet: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/4000-series-integr... Talk to your favorite SE or partner for more info and pricing. Jeremy Disclaimer, I do work for Cisco, this info is provided to the list as it was requested and hoping to clarify what's available. My personal $0.02: I've also used some of the older Opengear boxes in the past, they're solid, and Opengear are very good with customer suggestions/feedback. Lantronix SLCs work once you get them configured, but their configuration web interface was intolerably slow (page refreshes would eat whatever you input into a second option box you clicked to change) and their built-in terminal required Java. Benefit of Opengear is the other "things" you can do with them since they're Linux based (TFTP/syslog/etc). Benefit of a Cisco ISR is they're straight IOS (G2s)/IOS-XE (4Ks) so any configuration tool that can handle a Cisco box can work with them.
Note: newer Lantronix don't require Java for the config interface at all. Also note that you can organize OOBM and in band management with https://guacamole.apache.org/ if needed. On Wed, Sep 19, 2018 at 12:47 PM Jeremy Bresley <brez@brezworks.com> wrote:
On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 at 14:38, Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com> wrote:
I'd like your input on suggestions for an alternate serial port manager.
Long ago I used Cisco 2511/2611 and was fairly happy. A little later I used portmaster and was less so. Recently I've been using Opengear and
On 9/19/18 04:40, James Bensley wrote: they work fairly well but the price is fairly high. I use the CM7100 and IM7100.
General specs I'm looking for are:
* 8 to 48 or more rs232 serial ports on rj45 * nice-to-have software selectable pinouts (cisco v. straight) * gig-e ethernet port (100mbps ok) * 1U form factor * redundant AC power * access physical serial connections via local port # * access physical serial connections via local IP alias (nice to have)
Hi Alan,
I'd be reluctant to deploy Cisco 2800s (or similar) today unless there is a newer variant, is there an ISGv2 variant with serial connectivity that Cisco will be supporting for a few more years? I know OpenGrear are expensive but in my current outfit, they do "just work" and the few we had at my old place, again they did "just work". The ISR G2s do have several options for async available as do the current generation ISR4Ks.
The ISR G2s (1900/2900/3900s) can take the HWIC-8A, HWIC-16A, or SM-32A for 8/16/32 ports (SM-32A only in 2911 and higher due to being a Service Module form factor)
Data sheet:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/1800-28...
The ISR G2 routers were all announced for End-of-Sale a while back, the modules for them were also announced recently, but are still available for sale until Feb 2019. They'll still be supported until Feb 2024.
EOL Announcement:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/network...
The ISR 4Ks have the NIM-16A, NIM-24A, and the SM-X-64A (16/24/64 ports). The SM-X is only supported in 4331 and higher due to the SM-X form factor, the 16/24 port ones support at least 2 modules in all ISR4Ks even the low-end 4221. The NIM-16A and the SM-X-64A can use the same cables as the older async modules, the NIM-24A requires the newer low profile cable for 1 of the ports (can use it for all ports).
Data sheet:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/4000-series-integr...
Talk to your favorite SE or partner for more info and pricing.
Jeremy
Disclaimer, I do work for Cisco, this info is provided to the list as it was requested and hoping to clarify what's available.
My personal $0.02: I've also used some of the older Opengear boxes in the past, they're solid, and Opengear are very good with customer suggestions/feedback. Lantronix SLCs work once you get them configured, but their configuration web interface was intolerably slow (page refreshes would eat whatever you input into a second option box you clicked to change) and their built-in terminal required Java. Benefit of Opengear is the other "things" you can do with them since they're Linux based (TFTP/syslog/etc). Benefit of a Cisco ISR is they're straight IOS (G2s)/IOS-XE (4Ks) so any configuration tool that can handle a Cisco box can work with them.
-- - Andrew "lathama" Latham -
participants (22)
-
Alain Hebert
-
Alan Hannan
-
Andrew Latham
-
Christopher E. Brown
-
Christopher Morrow
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David Kotlerewsky
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Erik Sundberg
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James Bensley
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Jeremy Bresley
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Jun Tanaka
-
Louis Kowolowski
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Matt Harris
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Matthew Huff
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Merritt, Channing
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Mike Hammett
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Owen DeLong
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Ryan Hamel
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Saku Ytti
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Sameer Khosla
-
Stan Ouchakov
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Tim Pozar
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William Herrin