Davide Maraschio

To access Cisco CLI (Command Line Interface) you could use both Console Cable and Ethernet Cable. In the second case you must enable the telnet and/or SSH service on the Ethernet port. So the first time you must use console cable.

You can access Cisco CLI with different programs:

Windows

Download and install PuTTY on Windows. Plug the console cable to your PC and open Device Manager. Check for the connected device and get the COM interface number assigned by Windows. After that, open PuTTY and click on Serial Category. In this section set the right COM interface (COM1 or COM2 ecc)and use this configuration:

Speed(baud): 9600
Data Bits: 8
Stop Bits: 1
Parity: None
Flow Control: None

This configuration is also noted as 9600/8-N-1. Now you can connect and enjoy your Cisco device.

Linux

On linux there are little bit different programs to access Cisco CLI. Personally I always use Minicom console, I've found the other programs too intricate and uncomfortable. So first download and install Minicom: sudo apt-get install minicom

Now you can configure Minicom:

dmesg | grep tty
You should get something like this back
[36061.823513] usb 2-2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
In this case the converter is attached to ttyUSB0. Now start minicom setup:
sudo minicom -s
Select "Serial port setup" and change all the settings to fit this:

| A -    Serial Device      : /dev/ttyUSB0                 |
| B - Lockfile Location     : /var/lock                    |
| C -   Callin Program      : cisco                        |
| D -  Callout Program      :                              |
| E -    Bps/Par/Bits       : 9600 8N1                     |
| F - Hardware Flow Control : No                           |
| G - Software Flow Control : No   			   |

Naturally change "Serial Device" with your dmesg result. After that select "Save as dfl" or "Save as.." and
assign a name to that configuration.
Now you can access Cisco CLI with this command

sudo minicom

If you want to access Cisco CLI quickly, download this Icon that I made and use a desktop Launcher:

gedit ~/Scrivania/Cisco_CLI.desktop

Then copy and past this configuration in gedit:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Cisco Cli
Type=Application
Exec=minicom Cisco
Terminal=true
Icon=YOUR_PATH_TO_ICON/cisco.svg
Comment=minicom
Categories=Graphics;
Name[it]=Cisco Cli

Now make that launcher executable
sudo chmod +x ~/Scrivania/Cisco_CLI.desktop

Now just open Cisco_CLI shortcut and you will be able to access Cicsco CLI.