Out-of-Band Console

Overview

Each saved session can have an out-of-band (OOB) console in addition to its normal SSH or Telnet address. NetStacks connects to your terminal server on the port mapped to the device's serial line, and the shell you get is the device's console. This is what you use when the device's management plane is down, during a reload, or for initial setup.

Configure Console Access

1. Open the session's settings (right-click the session → Settings...) and go to the Console tab.
2. Choose the Protocol the terminal server uses: SSH or Telnet.
3. Enter the Terminal Server hostname or IP, for example oob-site1.example.net.
4. Enter the Port for this device's serial line (see the next section).
5. Choose a Credential profile for logging in to the terminal server itself (not the device). It is required for SSH; for Telnet you can choose None (no login prompt). If that profile has a default jump host, the console connection goes through it, which is useful when the OOB network sits behind a bastion.
6. Click Save.

Leave the Console tab empty to disable console access.

Finding the Right Port

For other vendors (Avocent, Lantronix and others) use the TCP port the terminal server documents for direct access to each serial port.

Open the Console

• Right-click the session in the sidebar and choose Open Console. If no console is configured yet, the item reads Open Console... and opens the session dialog on the Console tab, with a Save & Open Console button.
• Or right-click the session's terminal tab and choose Open Console.

The console opens in its own tab titled <session name> — console, separate from any SSH tab for the same device, and shows a console <host:port> badge.

How Console Connections Behave

• About a third of a second after connecting, NetStacks sends one carriage return to wake the serial line, so you normally see the device prompt straight away.
• The session's auto-commands and port forwards are not applied to the console connection.
• Only the console profile's own default jump host is used, not the session's jump setting.
• Disconnects use the same reconnect overlay as other standalone sessions.

Setting Console Details in Bulk

The session CSV import accepts console columns: console_host, console_port, console_protocol, console_profile and console_legacy_ssh. Download the example template from the Sessions sidebar toolbar. See Organizing Sessions.

Troubleshooting