Digi CM32 console server

JeanM

Once I learned about some of you guys/gals using the AS2509/2511 or a spare router with NM-16/32 cards for accessing your lab, I had to look into this. Unfortunetely I couldn't find any of above options for less than $200 or so, even for just the NM-16/32 card that I could use with a spare router. Shoot, I paid less than $40 per 2620 shipped, so I couldn't make myself pay $200 for an AS.


I ended up getting one of the Digi CM32 after reading about it, it has not arrived yet, but it uses regular CAT5 cables for connecting to the console ports. I like that it also has SSH, CLI and WebInterface as well. Has anyone set it up with the supported wireless lan card at home to provide remote access to it?

Full specs here - Digi CM - Secure, Intelligent and Easy Console Management - Digi International

Looking through the manual, sounds like I just need to pick up a PCMCIA card and then it can connect to a local wireless router. Mine isn't in the same room where the lab is, so to me it's a nice plus to be able to do that.

Anybody got some tips on setting it up, and how are you using it ?

thanks!

EDIT - here it is, so far so good, the netgear pcmcia wireless card I got isn't one of the cards listed as compatible, so I am waiting for another card.

EDIT2 - no go with using the pcmcia cards, very limited support for cards and wireless security options.

Keanoknick

I just got mine last week, and I love it. I haven't set up anything other than the basics to make it work as an access server, I would like to figure out how to access it from outside of my home network (using FIOS and there crappy router) so I can practice from work. Right now I'm using TeamViewer to remotely log into my laptop at home, which is connected to the Digi, but it sure would be nice to be able to go straight to the Digi.

JustFred

I take it you guys bought them from ebay? The prices on their website is worth a CCIE exam price or more

JeanM

Yes, correct

Roguetadhg

no kidding. 2k new for the 16 is worth a shot at the IE.

Generally, im not seeing many better prices on ebay (at the moment) than a 2511

Keanoknick

I bought mine on E-bay, for $65 shipped. $50 + $15 shipping. This was about 2 weeks ago, the seller I bought mine from had 30+ available.

Roguetadhg

You got pictures of your lab on the lab thread? If not, take some

MAC_Addy

My time to shine... I got a Lantronix 1620 off eBay for $20. One of the best purchases I made, actually.

It's a 16 port console server that works brilliantly. Though, a lot of configuration had to be done. I learned a lot about unix commands though.

When I found the console server, the guy wrote on there that it would turn on and didn't know anything else about it. I took the flash card out and reimaged it. It came right up after that. I had to make custom cables though. Nothing too hard. You just need to know how to use a soldering iron.

I have my PC at home setup with remote desktop, so I can configure my equipment while I'm at work if I wanted to.

Roguetadhg

how do you remote into your home box? port forwarding?

JeanM

Roguetadhg wrote: »

no kidding. 2k new for the 16 is worth a shot at the IE.

Generally, im not seeing many better prices on ebay (at the moment) than a 2511

There is a seller with 10 of these, about 1/4 the price of 2511

ChickenNuggetz

JeanM wrote: »

Once I learned about some of you guys/gals using the AS2509/2511 or a spare router with NM-16/32 cards for accessing your lab, I had to look into this. Unfortunetely I couldn't find any of above options for less than $200 or so, even for just the NM-16/32 card that I could use with a spare router. Shoot, I paid less than $40 per 2620 shipped, so I couldn't make myself pay $200 for an AS.

My lab is fairly small, consists of 3x2620;1x3640 and 3x2950s but it was starting to be a pain having to switch the console cables for lab configs.

I ended up getting one of the Digi CM32 after reading about it, it has not arrived yet, but it uses regular CAT5 cables for connecting to the console ports. I like that it also has SSH, CLI and WebInterface as well. Has anyone set it up with the supported wireless lan card at home to provide remote access to it?

Full specs here - Digi CM - Secure, Intelligent and Easy Console Management - Digi International

Looking through the manual, sounds like I just need to pick up a PCMCIA card and then it can connect to a local wireless router. Mine isn't in the same room where the lab is, so to me it's a nice plus to be able to do that.

Anybody got some tips on setting it up, and how are you using it ?

thanks!

I've been looking into getting some lab equipment (finally) and this was recommended in another thread. The price tag is great and from what I've read so far, it doesnt look like its terribly difficult to configure and set-up.

MAC_Addy

Roguetadhg wrote: »

how do you remote into your home box? port forwarding?

Yep. That or I use Kaseya.

Keanoknick

Roguetadhg wrote: »

You got pictures of your lab on the lab thread? If not, take some

Not sure if you were talking to me but if so, here's some pics from my phone, so quality isn't all that great.



Yes I know, my cable management SUCKS!!!

My Digi CM32 is between my switches and routers, I use green cables for my console connections to it.

veritas_libertas

JeanM wrote: »

Once I learned about some of you guys/gals using the AS2509/2511 or a spare router with NM-16/32 cards for accessing your lab, I had to look into this. Unfortunetely I couldn't find any of above options for less than $200 or so, even for just the NM-16/32 card that I could use with a spare router. Shoot, I paid less than $40 per 2620 shipped, so I couldn't make myself pay $200 for an AS.

My lab is fairly small, consists of 3x2620;1x3640 and 3x2950s but it was starting to be a pain having to switch the console cables for lab configs.

I ended up getting one of the Digi CM32 after reading about it, it has not arrived yet, but it uses regular CAT5 cables for connecting to the console ports. I like that it also has SSH, CLI and WebInterface as well. Has anyone set it up with the supported wireless lan card at home to provide remote access to it?

Full specs here - Digi CM - Secure, Intelligent and Easy Console Management - Digi International

Looking through the manual, sounds like I just need to pick up a PCMCIA card and then it can connect to a local wireless router. Mine isn't in the same room where the lab is, so to me it's a nice plus to be able to do that.

Anybody got some tips on setting it up, and how are you using it ?

thanks!

Hmmm, if I could get that to port forward I would be able to use it from work

See my problem is that there are a lot of tight restrictions at my place of employment. I can't VPN, etc. to my home network. I would probably be fine if it was a web interface.

Greenmet29

Roguetadhg wrote: »

no kidding. 2k new for the 16 is worth a shot at the IE.

Generally, im not seeing many better prices on ebay (at the moment) than a 2511

Just so y'all know, they have some on there right now for about 65 shipped. Unless you live in tx then you have to pay tax on it

I just bought one and the guy has 5 or 6 left.

JustFred

Well I live in Europe and it kind of sucks because i would love to pick up one of these for my home lab instead of the 2511 etc

JeanM

Still waiting for CM32 to arrive, due tomorrow

Picked up a WPN511 pcmcia card for it, hopefully it will work, I couldn't find a list of "supported" cards online, maybe it's in the 400+ page manual.

Roguetadhg

I'll be excited to try it out, if it pans out to do what it supposed to. A cheaper alternative for an access server is good.

MAC_Addy wrote: »

Yep. That or I use Kaseya.

Kaseya?

JeanM

Just powered it on today, so far so good. Working via serial port (rj45 to db9 adapter must be used, cisco console cable won't work), and via ip connect to my pc's nic.

Currently I am waiting for my pcmcia wifi card to arrive, then I can really test it and go through it's settings. The cooling fan in it is a bit loud, it's easily louder than 3x2950 and 3x2620s next to it I'll have to look into getting a different fan for it...

Front view - http://www.techexams.net/members/jeanm-albums-lab-picture2141-cm32-front-view.jpg

Rear view - http://www.techexams.net/members/jeanm-albums-lab-picture2142-cm32-rear-view.jpg

Inside (fan will be easy to replace) http://www.techexams.net/members/jeanm-albums-lab-picture2140-img-8706.jpg

My lab work in progress, the 1924s were my first purchase (only paid $20 for the pair) but they ended up having cat-os/menu driven vs. ios. So ignore those, tomorrow my 3640 should arrive, and later this week 2 more 2950-24s.

http://www.techexams.net/members/jeanm-albums-lab-picture2143-work-progress-waiting-3640-2950-24s-arrive.jpg

Roguetadhg

whats the size of the fan?

Computer Fans and Computer Fan Accessories - FrozenCPU.com   has the largest selection of fans I know of.

JeanM

Roguetadhg wrote: »

whats the size of the fan?

Computer Fans and Computer Fan Accessories - FrozenCPU.com * has the largest selection of fans I know of.

Nice site, thanks! It's something like this, I'll have to measure it - Evercool 25mm X 10mm 5 Volt Fan - (EC2510M05CA) - FrozenCPU.com

Greenmet29

Mine should be coming in today Can't wait to get it but i'm a little worried about the fan being so loud. I've unplugged the fans on my entire setup, so it's silent. I wonder if I could do the same with my digi.... hmmmm... haha ... anyway, i'm hoping to just plug it into my home network and being able to telnet/ssh into it from there. We'll see what happens. I have a pcmcia card just in case though

Edit: Got it can't wait to get home and start tinkering

Greenmet29

Well I got it home and hooked up and my first impressions are pretty good. It does what it's supposed to do, it supports SSHv2, and it was pretty easy to setup. I already have it setup so that I can log in remotely, via SSh, and it seems to work like a charm! I'm pretty excited about this and my wife just doesn't understand. haha

LinuxRacr

I'm working on setting mine up right now, and just discovered that the Cisco console cable won't work on the console port. I even tried a crossover cable from my laptop to the Ethernet port with no luck. JeanM, did you just use a generic RJ45-DB9 adapter to connect to the console? I may also look into changing out the fan to a quieter one. It is pretty loud, but not louder than the fans in my PE 2950...

EDIT: I figured it out. I ended up resetting it to factory defaults, per the manual, and I was able to use the crossover cable to reach the https://192.168.161.5 web configuration page.

LinuxRacr

Greenmet29 wrote: »

Just so y'all know, they have some on there right now for about 65 shipped. Unless you live in tx then you have to pay tax on it

I just bought one and the guy has 5 or 6 left.

When I bought mine I made an offer to a seller in Dallas, Texas and they accepted $48 + $15 to ship.

JeanM

LinuxRacr wrote: »

I'm working on setting mine up right now, and just discovered that the Cisco console cable won't work on the console port. I even tried a crossover cable from my laptop to the Ethernet port with no luck. JeanM, did you just use a generic RJ45-DB9 adapter to connect to the console? I may also look into changing out the fan. It is pretty loud...lol...

EDIT: I figured it out. I ended up resetting it to factory defaults, per the manual, and I was able to use the crossover cable to reach the https://192.168.161.5 web configuration page.

Hi,

I made an rj45 to db9 adapter using the pin-outs in the digi manual, then used a regular rj45 cable and it connected. Cisco console cables won't work. This will you'll also be able to connect to the command line via serial port as well, most if not all of it is the same as on the default ip address for https.

Greenmet29

LinuxRacr wrote: »

I'm working on setting mine up right now, and just discovered that the Cisco console cable won't work on the console port. I even tried a crossover cable from my laptop to the Ethernet port with no luck. JeanM, did you just use a generic RJ45-DB9 adapter to connect to the console? I may also look into changing out the fan. It is pretty loud...lol...

Yea, I was using a console cable plugged into a usb adapter at first. That didn't work and the manual said to use an ethernet cable plugged into a db-9 adapter and that's what I did and it worked like a charm. I used a different computer so I could plug it directly into the serial port also.

LinuxRacr wrote: »

When I bought mine I made an offer to a seller in Dallas, Texas and they accepted $48 + $15 to ship.

We probably bought it from the same guy, mine was in Dallas also and I literally got it the day after I bought it. Couldn't have been more pleased with my purchase.

LinuxRacr

I was able to get mine working with a crossover cable to the Ethernet port(after I reset it to factory settings), and to my laptop...of course I had to change the network settings on my laptop to be on the same network as the default IP for the CM32. Yeah, I pretty much had mine the next day as well..

JeanM

Anybody got a list of supported cards for these? The link in the manual http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90000301_G.pdf does not seem to work for me.

Compatible PC Cards

All compact-flash cards work with the Digi CM unit, but not all serial modem,wireless LAN, or regular LAN cards do. To see a list of compatible cards thathave been tested with the Digi CM unit, visit the Digi support site at

http://cm.digi.com.


EDIT - googling got me to this list - very short LOL

http://www.digi.com/lp/discover/pccard

two wireless cards from the list on ebay

lot of 26 Cisco AIR-PCM340 Aironet 340 Series Wireless Lan Adapters, if he would just sell singles - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310362928485

these are only $8 + s/h (ordered one of these since the wpn511 I first purchased isn't on the list, doh!)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Proxim-ORiNOCO-Laptop-Wireless-WiFi-PC-Card-PCMCIA-/220634948213

Greenmet29

JeanM wrote: »

Anybody got a list of supported cards for these? The link in the manual http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90000301_G.pdf does not seem to work for me.

Compatible PC Cards

All compact-flash cards work with the Digi CM unit, but not all serial modem,wireless LAN, or regular LAN cards do. To see a list of compatible cards thathave been tested with the Digi CM unit, visit the Digi support site at

http://cm.digi.com.


EDIT - googling got me to this list - very short LOL

Digi CM Supported PC Card List - Digi International

two wireless cards from the list on ebay

lot of 26 Cisco AIR-PCM340 Aironet 340 Series Wireless Lan Adapters, if he would just sell singles - Lot Of 26 Cisco AIR-PCM340 Aironet 340 Series Wireless Lan Adapters | eBay

these are only $8 + s/h (ordered one of these since the wpn511 I first purchased isn't on the list, doh!)
Proxim ORiNOCO Laptop Wireless WiFi PC Card PCMCIA | eBay

As an alternative, there is an ethernet port that you can use and just plug it straight into your internet router.

JeanM

Greenmet29 wrote: »

As an alternative, there is an ethernet port that you can use and just plug it straight into your internet router.

Of course I am looking at this specifically for wireless because I don't want to run a 50ft cable to another location