Devices with only USB console port - Need a Console Server Solution

Wed Feb 3 07:18:57 UTC 2016

Digi has something called USB Anywhere.  http://www.digi.com/products/usb-and-serial-connectivity/usb-over-ip-hubs/anywhereusb

However I would like to limit the amount of equipment we deploy at a pop, the majority of our pop's don't have servers... Just Routers, Switches, Console Servers, and your other Network Hardware.

The problem with USB is you can only wire a USB 2.0 Cable up to 15' (Per Google)....  And you have to purchase a cable premade.

Where as with a Serial Console you can go around 100', not to mention about just about everyone has a crimper, rj45 ends, and cat5 cable, to run and make cables as needed.

Assuming something is broke...With USB let's say you rely on remote hands to do a lot of work in the colo's. First they need to find a *Working Laptop*, then you have to walk the tech through downloading the drivers and installing them on there laptop. Hoping they have permissions to install software on there laptops. Plus if it's really broke and you get no output, you will never be sure if it's USB related or not. Where as serial it's just going to work, and it's easy to test to see if it's working on not by hooking up to anothere device.

-----Original Message-----
From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces at nanog.org] On Behalf Of Dovid Bender
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 8:33 PM
To: Robert Drake <rdrake at direcpath.com>; NANOG <nanog-bounces at nanog.org>; nanog at nanog.org
Subject: Re: Devices with only USB console port - Need a Console Server Solution

Why not use udev rules so the ports are persistent? I did that on a pi that I was using as an ice cast box. Based on the usb audio port on reboots I know which device is which stream.

Regards,

Dovid

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Drake <rdrake at direcpath.com>
Sender: "NANOG" <nanog-bounces at nanog.org>Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2016 20:03:22
To: <nanog at nanog.org>
Subject: Re: Devices with only USB console port - Need a Console Server  Solution

On 2/2/2016 5:02 AM, Bjørn Mork wrote:
>
> No inside pictures :)
>
> Assuming that this is really an USB device, and that the console port is
> really an USB host port, it would be useful to know the USB decriptors
> of the device.  You wouldn't be willing to connect it to a Linux PC and
> run "lsusb -vd", would you?
I'm inconveniently consoled into one via a combination of remote desktop
into windows -- linux console on a virtual machine -- screen
/dev/ttyACM0.   Because of this posting lsusb -vd is taxing.

Linux has full support for the device.  It sees it as cdc_acm.

The vendor id is 0x04e2 (Exar Corp).  Product ID is 0x1410.   I've got
two connected right now.  This is in our lab and the windows box is
temporary.  Our intention is to use a raspberry pi for the terminal server.

I'm obviously not in front of it, but I'm wondering if they can be
enumerated by something other than when they were plugged in. That's my
biggest hurdle for making a console server for them.. how to figure out
what router is connected to which USB port after a reboot, or someone
getting unpluggy with cables.

>
> Bjørn
>

Robert

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