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CHAPTER 5: Configuration
5.2 System-Setup Ports
As discussed previously in
Chapter 3
, the Serial Console Port Manager’s Ports 1
and 2 are designated as System-Setup Ports. Ports 1 and 2 will always allow
password-protected access to all command functions, even when the Port Manager
is reset to default parameters.
In order to ensure that access to command functions is always available, Ports 1
and 2 cannot be configured as Buffer Mode Ports or Passive Mode Ports. Buffer
Mode Ports and Passive Mode Ports are not able to access the Command Mode. In
addition, Ports 1 and 2 always have password-protected access to Supervisor-Level
commands; Supervisor Mode
cannot
be disabled at these two ports.
5.3 Password Functions
The Serial Console Port Manager features two different types of passwords: the
Supervisor Password and the Port (User) Passwords. The Supervisor Password
allows system administrators to invoke unit-configuration commands, and the Port
Passwords allow users to access specific ports they’re permitted to use in order to
create port-to-port connections or to view port-configuration parameters.
5.3.1 T
HE
S
UPERVISOR
P
ASSWORD
The Supervisor Password allows access to higher-level Port Manager configuration
commands, with which administrators can select communication parameters,
assign port-access rights, and perform other system-management tasks.
When the Supervisor Password is defined (through the System Parameters menu),
the Port Manager will display a password prompt whenever anyone tries to access
the Command Mode. If the correct Supervisor Password is entered, the Port Manager
goes into Supervisor Mode.
Section 9.3
summarizes the Supervisor-Level commands.
NOTES
If the Supervisor Password is not defined, then Supervisor-Level
commands will be available to all ports, and port access and
configuration functions will not be password-protected.
If you wish to restrict user ports from changing Port Manager
configuration parameters or connecting to restricted ports, the
Supervisor Password must be defined.
When defining a Supervisor Password, we
strongly recommend
that you
record the password for future use. If you forget or lose your Supervisor
Password, you will not be able to access Supervisor-Level commands.
In this case, the only way to access the Supervisor Mode is to reinitialize
the Port Manager to its default values, as described in
Section 4.2
.
