Connecting to the Console Port

There are times when directly accessing the console is required. Perhaps webGUI or SSH access has been locked out, or the password has been lost or forgotten.

A RJ45-to-USB console cable is required to make a connection between a computer and the firewall. This is a standard cable. It is inexpensive and readily available from most retail outlets that sell computer cables.

Use a terminal program to connect to the system console port. PuTTY is a popular terminal program that is available on various operating systems. Some other choices of terminal programs:

  • Linux - minicom, dterm, screen

  • Mac OS X - cu, screen, ZTerm

Note

Windows HyperTerminal should be avoided if possible.

The settings to use within the terminal program are:

  • Speed: 115200 baud

  • Data bits: 8

  • Parity: none

  • Stop bits: 1

  • Flow Control: Off or XON/OFF. Hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) must be disabled