Black Box LES1202A User manual

Remote Console Mana
g
er
Quick Start Guide
This Quick Start Guide helps you through installation, configuration,
and local operation. For more details, refer to the user manual .
LES1202A LES1203A-M
LES1203A-11G LES1204A-R2

Remote Console Manager Quick Start Guide
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Trademarks Used in this Manual
Black Box and the Double Diamond logo are registered trademarks of
BB Technologies, Inc.
Cisco is a registered trademark of Cisco Technology, Inc.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Nagios is a registered trademark of Nagios Enterprises.
Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be the
property of the trademark owners.

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Follow the steps listed below to get started:
Step 1: Check kit contents.
LES1202A, LES1203A-M, LES1203A-11G, or LES1204A-R2 Remote
Console Manager
This printed quick start guide
(2) UTP cables
(1) DB9F-RJ-45 adapter straight-pinned
(1) DB9F-RJ-45 adapter crossover-pinned
Universal input 12-VDC power pack
CD-ROM containing SDT Connector and PortShare software
NOTE: To download the user manual, go to
ftp://ftp.blackbox.com/anonymous/manuals/L/les1202a_user_rev2.pdf, or
visit the Black Box Web site and enter LES1202A in the search bar.
Step 2: Connect the hardware.
Plug the power pack into the AC power receptacle and connect the DC
power cable to the 9-12 VDC power socket on the Remote Console
Manager.
Connect the LAN port to your network.
Connect your serial devices to the SERIAL ports. Your Remote Console
Manager has two, three, or four RJ-45 serial ports. The RJ-45 serial
connectors have Cisco® serial pinouts:
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Figure 1. Cisco serial pinouts.
NOTE: If you have a LES1203-M and plan to use out-of-band (OoB) dial-in
access, connect the internal modem to the phone line.

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Step 3: Set up the remote console manager.
The default remote console manager IP address is 192.168.0.1 (subnet
mask 255.255.255.0). With a Web browser on any computer that is
connected through the LAN to the serial device server:
• Enter https://192.168.0.1 into the address bar.
NOTE: The LAN-connected computer must have an IP address in the same
network range (192.168.0.xxx) as the remote console manager. If this is not
convenient, you can use the ARP Ping command to set the IP address (refer
to the user manual for details). The remote console manager also has its
DHCP client enabled by default, so it will automatically accept any network
IP address assigned by any DHCP server on your network—and will then
respond at both 192.168.0.1 and its DHCP address.
Log in using the default system user name: root, and the default
password: default. A Welcome screen listing the basic configuration steps
is displayed.
Select “System: Administration,” enter and confirm a new system
password, and click “Apply.”
Figure 2. System: Administration screen.
To assign your remote console manager a static IP address or to
permanently enable DHCP, select “System: IP” then “Network Interface”
and check “DHCP” or “Static” for configuration method.
NOTE: By default, only HTTPS and SSH access is enabled to the Remote
Console Manager itself. Use Service Access menu on System: Firewall to
change this, and to change access privileges for connected serial and
network devices. Similarly, use the Forwarding & Networking menu to permit
remote IP access to devices on Network or Management LAN.

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Step 4: Configure serial and network devices.
Select “Serial & Network: Serial Port,” which will display the label, mode,
and protocol options currently set for the serial port. By default, all the
serial ports, except Port 1, are set to console server mode (see the user‘s
manual for other modes).
Figure 3. Serial & Network: Serial Port screen.
To configure a serial port, click “Edit.”
Configure the common settings (baud rate, parity, data bits, stop bits, and
flow control) to match those of the serial device being controlled.
Select the console server protocols (Telnet, SSH, TCP, and RFC2217)
that will be used for the data connection to the serial port.
NOTE: Port 1 is configured by default in Local Console (modem) mode. Use
the crossover-pinned DB9F-RJ-45 adapter and UTP cable to connect to a
terminal emulator application on your PC’s serial COM port. If you plan to
use OoB dial-in access, connect this serial port to an external modem as
covered in detail in the user manual on the CD-ROM.
Click “Apply.”
To enable access through the remote console manager to a locally
networked computer (referred to as a host), select “Serial & Network:
Network Hosts” and click “Add Host.”

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Figure 4. Serial & Network: Network Hosts screen.
Enter the IP address/DNS name of the host.
Edit the permitted services used for accessing this host, for example,
HTTPS (TCP port 443), VNC (TCP port 5900), or add custom TCP or
UDP port numbers—only the services specified here are tunneled
through to the host. All other services are blocked.
Specify the level of information to be logged and monitored for each host
access.
Click “Apply.”
Step 5: Add new users.
NOTE: We recommend that you set up a new Administrator user (in the
admin group with full access privileges) and log in as this new user for all
ongoing administration functions (rather than continuing as root).
For each new user, select “Serial & Network: Users & Groups” and click
“Add User.”
Enter a username and enter and confirm a password, and nominate the
accessible hosts and accessible ports the user is allowed to access.

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Figure 5. Serial & Network: Users & Groups screen.
To grant limited access to the management console, check the “User”
group. To grant full access to the management console, check the
“Admin” group. By default, the user is granted no management console
access.
Click “Apply.”
NOTE: The Remote Console Manager comes with a default certificate for
initial configuration purposes only. You will need to direct your browser to
(temporarily) proceed and accept this untrusted certificate. It is
recommended as soon as possible thereafter you generate and install a new
trusted certificate. To produce the unique CSR and later upload the newly
issued certificate, select System: SSL Certificates.
Step 6: Custom setup.

The Remote Console Manager family has various models that may require
some custom setup:
LES1203A-M has an internal modem that can be configured for dial-in
access (or dial-out failover connection) using the Internal Modem Port
tab under System: Dial menu.
LES1203A-11G comes with an internal 802.11 wireless modem that can
be configured using the Wireless LAN Interface menu in the System: IP
menu. The wireless LAN is deactivated by default and when enabled will
operate as the main network connection. Failover is available (though it is
not enabled by default).
LES1204A-3G-R2 comes with an internal 3G cellular modem— and its
own Quick Start Guide.

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Step 7: Advanced configurations.
The console server offers many more advanced functions, including:
The Alerts & Logging: Alerts facility monitors serial ports, hosts, user
logins, UPSs (uninterruptible power supplies), and RPCs (remote power
controllers such as PDUs and IPMI devices). A broad selection of trigger
events (such as data patterns, temperature, or battery levels) can be
specified. When triggered, a warning e-mail, SMS, Nagios®, or SNMP
alert is sent to a nominated destination.
Extensive management of UPSs and RPCs using Open Source NUT and
Powerman tools. The Manage: Power facility enables both administrators
and regular users to monitor and control attached PDU power strips, and
servers with embedded IPMI BMCs.
Historical logs of all communications with serial and network-attached
devices, system activity, UPS and PDU power status, environmental
status, etc. The level of logging is set as ports and devices are
configured. Alerts & Logging: Port Log allows this history to be saved
locally or remotely. Logs can be viewed from the Status and Manage
menus.
Other advanced features, such as serial port cascading, remote
authentication, trusted networks, secure tunneling, Nagios distributed
monitoring, and the command line interface are covered in detail in the
user manual.
NOTE: To download the user manual, go to
ftp://ftp.blackbox.com/anonymous/manuals/L/les1202a_user_rev2.pdf, or
visit the Black Box Web site and enter LES1202A in the search bar.
NOTE: Also on the Black Box Web site, you will find the SDT Connector
software tool. Once you have configured the console server, this tool
provides you with secure, point-and-click access to the console server and
all the attached devices. Refer to the provided SDT Connector Quick Start
for details on setting up remote management of the console server and
connected devices.
NOTE: Also on the Black Box Web site, you will also find PortShare
software, which enables applications on your Windows® or Linux®
PC/server/virtual server to control serial port devices attached to a Remote
Console Manager. To use PortShare, configure the Remote Console
Manager serial port in console server mode and specify the appropriate
protocol (either RFC2117 or RAW) to be used (see the user‘s manual for
details).

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NOTES
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NOTES
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LES1202A QSG, rev. 4