Raspberry Pi as Cisco Console Server

Do you have quick instructions on how to turn this console server into a WiFi client, instead of access-point? I was thinking of using something like this for remote access into a remote location’s switch/router, but our distributed WiFi SSID should be available with any single device failure.

I don’t have a tutorial for this myself but if you google for raspberry pi wifi you will find a lot of examples for this

Awesome write up. Makes me miss the days of being CCNA and CCNP certified (not since 2007). Also, what raspberry pi case is that?

Thanks James!

You can always return to the Cisco world? :slight_smile:

The case is from modmypi.com, cheap and they look good.

I also just read your post on your website about WP-FFPC, going to try that since w3 total cache has given me some headaches…

Rene

What a great Raspberry Pi hack. It worked using the USB (2-port) Serial Adapter I had in my bag for use with Windows and putty. Thanks for a afternoon project that worked flawlessly.

The Raspian Linux in the Raspberry Pi just continues to amaze me with it’s utility: best $50 I’ve spent in a long time.

Hi Dave,

Glad you liked it :slight_smile: It’s a great little toy to play with, I like to have the console server with me when I visit customers…more convenient then sitting in a datacenter with a console cable to my laptop.

The next thing I want to build is a VPN client with 2x wireless adapter for the holidays. Wifi adapter 1 should connect to the public wifi and the second wifi adapter will be my own wifi router. When it has internet access, it will connect to my VPN server at home so that I have secure Internet access. Gotta do something to keep busy :wink:

Rene

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Rene, where does the 10.56.100.3 address come from?

Hello i b.

10.56.100.3 is just the IP address that Rene decided to use for the device. It’s just arbitrary.

I hope this helps!

Laz

Thanks Laz,

I like all the information about Raspbian configuration, but I’m not getting the big picture; why don’t we want to ssh into each device separately over the network?

19 posts were merged into an existing topic: Raspberry Pi as Cisco Console Server

I am doing something wrong. When I put this into putty <telnet my.ip.address 4001, I get a connection refused. I am using the Gearmo 4 port as shown in one of these posts. Other than that I have configured this as show in the post. Are some troubleshooting items that I can do so I can learn how to help myself?

Hello John

If you’re getting “connection refused” then there are very few things that could result in this. The device is refusing the connection, which means that some configuration parameter on the raspberry is incorrect. The specific port is not configured to accept and respond to Telnet requests. you will have to take a look at the config of the raspberry.

Make sure that sur2net is running on the device, that the correct port has been configured, and that you are issuing the command to the correct IP address. Assuming your connections are correct, there’s not that much more that can go wrong, and there’s not that much more troubleshooting elements that you can check. Try this out and let us know how you get along…

I hope this has been helpful!

Laz