Router/Switch Console Cable

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I just realised my laptop doesnt have a serial port for a console cable to the router - would a cross over ethernet cable do?

 

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zimbo,

No.

 

so whats the solution?

 

zimbo,

You'll need to get a USB to Serial adapter like the following...



Source:

1. "USB to RS232 Serial 1ports Dongle(Support Vista)W/R.Box" webpage @ 7store.net - http://www.7store.net/usb-to-rs232-serial-1ports-dongle-support-vista-w-r.box-p731.html

 

Question.. why do Cisco devices (allegedly some of the most advanced and sophisticated gear on the planet), still have to connect to computers for configuration purposes, via an outdated serial port?

 

You don't HAVE to... there's always Telnet.

To be honest, I'd rather have console access restricted to someone with a console cable and a serial port (or serial-to-usb adapter)... anything that makes it all the more difficult for someone to mess with your routers in the unlikely event they were to get physical access to them.

 

Amen

Once someone is actually IN your data centre, with a console cable, and connected directly into one of your routers, security isn't that much of an issue any more... they've already got the keys to the kingdom. I remember once having an argument with someone who said that it was (quote) 'ridiculously easy' to bypass the password on a Cisco router by 'simply' booting into default via the config register. He thought that this was a 'massive security flaw'. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'd rather restrict a password recovery procedure to someone with physical access to the device and anyway, once they've managed to bypass your physical security, I'd be far more worried about what other damage they were going to cause!

 

I'd always assumed the reason for this console system is the problem of how you otherwise connect to a router when that router has *no* config. And with no config TCP/IP isn't going to work!

Harry.

 

Agreed.
It is 'ridiculously easy' to get into a Cisco device if you have physical access, but that's the point. Physical access to a data center / server room is needs to be very restricted. Once a malicious person is in the server room, you're not concerned about router configs; you should be worried about a lot more!
Availability; Confidentiality; and Integrity are all comproised at this point.

 

That seems logical