[rescue] Rescuing a 3com Terminal Server

[Curtis H. Wilbar Jr.]

On Fri, 2005-10-14 at 11:50, Dan Duncan wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Oct 2005, Patrick Finnegan wrote:
> > Mark, if you can't find a copy, I'd suggest getting a Xyplex or an old
> > DECserver (if you can deal with learning about LAT :) off eBay, you can
> > usually get DECservers for cheap, and Xyplexes are going down in price.
> > A friend managed to get a 40-port (MAXserver 1640) for $40 a few days
> > ago from there.
> 
> I'll second the recommendation for an old DECserver.  I use DECserver
> 90TL models (telnet and LAT, but I don't use LAT) for my consoles
> and they work swimmingly.  RJ45 for the serial consoles, 8 ports,
> and these are about 20% larger than a VHS cassette.  I have to netboot
> mine.  If you can find a DECserver 90M cheap, jump on it.  They'll boot
> standalone.  All of the DECservers I have worked with (700, 900, 200, 90TL,
> 90M) use the same simple command-line syntax to configure them.  I still
> support about 30 mixed 700 and 900 units in production and they Just Work.
> 

I've never used a DECserver... but I have used Livingston/Lucent
Portmaster 2s and can recommend them.  Very versatile devices.
They can be used as a console server, ppp/slip dedicated or
dialin, and with software on a Sun (and possibly others), a
ethernet attached group of serial ports.

I've only used them to provide dialin (in the early ISP days
before 56K) and console servers.

The essentials of config is you make a port available via a TCP
port, then setup a filter list on the ethernet so it can't be
reached via the ethernet, then you setup a username/password that
initiates a telnet from itself to itself on the req port.  You
then have instant usernames/passwords for each port. (we used to
use the machine name as the username).  It is sad that when 
Lucent bought Livingston, and then (vendor name that is escaping
me at the moment), they slowly killed off the livingston boxes
in favor of the other boxes.... (I liked the livingston stuff
better... pm2, pm3, and pm4).

-- Curt

> -DanD