Cisco Systems 2600 manual Console and Auxiliary Port Considerations, Console Port Connections

Chapter 2 Preparing to Install the Router

Console and Auxiliary Port Considerations

•Needlenose pliers

–For straightening any pins bent when you install the ROM

•Cable ties, if required, for organizing cables

To install a Cisco 2600 router of 1 rack-unit height on a wall, you need suitable screws or wall anchors.

In addition, depending on the type of modules you plan to use, you might need the following equipment to connect a port to an external network:

•Cables for connection to the WAN and LAN ports (dependent on configuration).

Note For more information on cable specifications, refer to the Cisco Modular Access Router Cable Specifications document online or on the Documentation CD-ROM.

•Ethernet hub or PC with a network interface card for connection to Ethernet (LAN) ports.

•Console terminal (an ASCII terminal or a PC running terminal emulation software) configured for 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit.

•Modem for connection to the auxiliary port for remote administrative access (optional).

•Token Ring interfaces require a Token Ring media attachment unit (MAU).

•Serial interfaces may require a data service unit (DSU) or channel service unit/data service unit (DSU/CSU).

•CT1/PRI modules without the built-in CSU require an external CSU.

•ISDN BRI S/T interfaces require an NT1 device if one is not supplied by your service provider.

Console and Auxiliary Port Considerations

The router includes an asynchronous serial console port and an auxiliary port. The console and auxiliary ports provide access to the router either locally using a console terminal, or remotely using a modem connected to the auxiliary port. This section discusses important cabling information to consider before connecting a console terminal, which can be either an ASCII terminal or a PC running terminal emulation software, to the console port or modem to the auxiliary port.

The main difference between the console and auxiliary ports is that the auxiliary port supports hardware flow control and the console port does not. Flow control paces the transmission of data between a sending device and a receiving device. Flow control ensures that the receiving device can absorb the data sent to it before the sending device sends more. When the buffers on the receiving device are full, a message is sent to the sending device to suspend transmission until the data in the buffers has been processed. Because the auxiliary port supports flow control, it is ideally suited for use with the high-speed transmissions of a modem. Console terminals transmit at slower speeds than modems; therefore, the console port is ideally suited for use with console terminals.

Console Port Connections

The router has an EIA/TIA-232 asynchronous serial console port (RJ-45). Depending on the cable and the adapter used, this port appears as a DTE or DCE device at the end of the cable.

For connection to a PC running terminal emulation software, your router is provided with an RJ-45 to DB-9 adapter cable.

Cisco 2600 Series Routers Hardware Installation Guide