24
SERIAL CONSOLE PORT MANAGER
NOTES (continued)
When the Supervisor Password is defined, the Port Manager will display
a password prompt when you attempt to access the Command Mode.
Any RS-232 port that has not been assigned a Port Password can then
only be accessed using the Supervisor Password.
Normally, the Supervisor Password can be entered at any port in order to gain
access to Supervisor-Level commands. Note that if you wish to completely deny a
port’s access to Supervisor Mode (even with the Supervisor Password), the Port
Parameters menus (/ P) can be used to disable the Supervisor Mode at ports 3
through 16. The Supervisor Mode cannot be disabled at System-Setup Ports 1 and 2.
Also note that if the Port Manager is reset to its default parameters, all ports will
revert to the default state, where Supervisor-Level commands are available to all
ports, without password protection.
5.3.2 T
HE
P
ORT
P
ASSWORDS
The Port Passwords (or User Passwords) allow system administrators to restrict
access to a specific group of ports. When the Serial Console Port Manager’s
Command Mode is accessed with a Port Password, users may only connect to (and
review the configuration of) the RS-232 ports to which they have been granted
access. Port Passwords do not grant access to Port Manager configuration
commands.
The configuration menus (/P) allow a Port Password to be assigned to each RS-232
port. In order to allow a Port Password to grant access to a group of Port Manager
ports, the same Port Password is assigned to each port in the group. For example, if
the Port Password “test” is assigned to ports 3, 4, and 5, then when “test” is entered
at the password prompt, the user will only be able to connect to ports 3, 4, and 5,
and will only be able to view parameters for ports 3, 4, and 5.
If desired, all Port Manager ports can function as either Supervisor Ports or User
Ports, depending on which password is entered at the login prompt. However, if
you wish to prevent a port from being able to access the Supervisor Mode at all
(even with the Supervisor Password), the Supervisor Mode can be disabled at the
RS-232 Ports using the Port Configuration menus as described in
Section 5.5.3
.
Note, however, that the Supervisor Mode cannot be disabled at Ports 1 and 2; these
ports are designated as System-Setup Ports, and are always allowed password-
protected access to Supervisor-Level commands.
NOTE
When Port Passwords are defined, the Port Manager won’t allow you to
select a Port Password that’s the same as the Supervisor Password.
