Console connection vs. RJ45 connection

Cat5

Ok, I'm a little embarrassed to be asking such an elementary question like this. But you have to understand that I used to work at a desk in a cubicle all day, working remotely, and never laid a hand on actual equipment to do my work. I did have some school lab work under my belt, but it didn't cover everything. So, I was at my new job where we do a LOT of hand-on, and we connect at various times from our laptops to a switch/router via console cable and RJ45 ethernet cable. I believe I was told that I had to ssh into the switch via the ethernet cable at one point, even though I was currently consoled in. Why? And if the switch is configured already and I'm consoled in, why would I need to use the RJ45 cable for anything further - or vice versa?

Cat5

Thanks, but as far as what I can and can't do in a lab setting, that didn't really answer my question.

Jon_Cisco

Were you trying to complete a particular task and it was not working?

Were you being asked to test remote connectivity?

I can't say what your coworker was asking for specifically but those are the questions I would ask myself to understand it.

It is great that you are getting an opportunity to get some actual hands on experience. Questions like this are exactly why so many people recommend a home lab.

thomas_

The console is a way to perform the initial configuration of the device to get it ready to be on the network and accesible over the network.  It’s also used when the device is misconfigured and you can’t reach it remotely.  

Connecting to the device via the network allows you to transfer files, such as IOS images, faster than you could if you transferred over the console cable using xmodem.  You’re looking a transfer taking a few minutes over the network or a few hours, or more, with the console.  Also, the output of commands appear on the screen faster when you are connected over the network than when you are consoled into the device.