From: Jay Hennigan (jay@xxxxxxxx)
Date: Fri May 18 2001 - 05:54:36 GMT-3
On Thu, 17 May 2001, Faraaz Kolsy wrote:
> hi guys..i feel really stupid for asking this..but can someone explain what
> is a terminal server and how do i set it up on a router...thanks, and try
> not to laugh
A terminal server is a specialized form of router which has a number of
asynchronous serial interfaces.
Its original purpose was to support RS-232 terminals such as VT-100s.
They also are used as a means of aggregating modems in an ISP environment.
Within the discussion of lab setups, it is used to access the consoles
of the lab routers. The terminal server doesn't participate in the IP
routing within the lab itself, but is used to present a telnet-style
connection to the console ports of the lab routers.
So if you have a lab with six routers, instead of six PCs each running
Hyperterminal or minicom to a single console you would use a terminal
server. One async port on the terminal server would connect to each
router console. Then, you would connect to the terminal server either
on its console or remotely by telnet. From the terminal server you can
now, one at a time, reverse-telnet to the console ports of the lab
routers and with practice move quickly between them.
The "AUX" port on a 2500 or above series router is configured just like
a terminal server async port. It's just that the terminal server has
several of them, typically 8 or 16.
If you're on this mailing list, it would be in your best interest to know
how to configure a terminal server to connect to numerous consoles, and
how to do so quickly. You'll also want to know the escape sequences for
switching your view to different ports. If you don't want to spend the
money on a terminal server for your home lab, you can practice with a
router's AUX port and use a switch box (or swap cables, but this gets
really old) for navigating your lab.
The expression "terminal server" has also been bastardized by Microsoft to
describe their sorry software that attempts to duplicate the functionality
of an X server, but that's another story. This can be somewhat confusing.
-- Jay Hennigan - Network Administration - jay@west.net NetLojix Communications, Inc. NASDAQ: NETX - http://www.netlojix.com/ WestNet: Connecting you to the planet. 805 884-6323 **Please read:http://www.groupstudy.com/list/posting.html
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