Putty Question....

I have downloaded putty, but I am unable to type anything after the program boots up. It says 'Hit Return To Begin", but I can't type anything. I have my serial/usb cable going from my laptop to the console port on my c2950. Nothing else attached to the switch at the moment. I have downloaded Putty & have the correct COM(port#), baud-9600, Data bits-8, stop bits-1 Parity/Flow Control turned off. Connection type is 'SSH'/Port 22. But, what needs to be entered under "Host Name(or IP address)? Any help would be appreciated because I am unable to key anything in Putty as of now. Thanks.

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Comments

jmasterj206

It is a little confusing to what you have setup. If you are connecting directly with the console cable you would select Serial. After you have an IP address configured then you would type in the IP address of the switch for Telnet or SSH after you get that setup.

M-Ant78

I have selected serial, but how do I get the IP address for the switch to enter into the 'Host Name' section?

jmasterj206

There is a serial radio button next to the SSH button in the connection type right below the Host Name. If you have serial selected Host Name does not show up. Take a look at this.

Using Putty for Connecting to Cisco Devices - YouTube

M-Ant78

Thanks a million, I can use whatever help I can get. Been messing with this for a few hours.

JeanM

If you use serial, there is no ip...you need to make sure you pick the right com port as available on your pc.

For SSH to work , you must first configure it on the device (and most likely first you would connect via serial port or telnet)

theodoxa

For Serial just type COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, or whatever COM port your Serial adapter is using. You can find this in Device Manager and if you use a USB to Serial Adapter it might change (from say COM1 to COM3, etc...) every time you reconnect it (mine does).

M-Ant78

JeanM wrote: »

If you use serial, there is no ip...you need to make sure you pick the right com port as available on your pc.

For SSH to work , you must first configure it on the device (and most likely first you would connect via serial port or telnet)

I have configured my serial port & downloaded the software. I am COM3. I am not too sure where else to go from here. All I have plugged into my switch is my laptop via the console port & my Fios router is plugged into it as well. I am really not sure what to key in under (Host Name) or IP Address. I have tried my default gateway & my laptop IP (remember I am new & desperate). Given my scenario, what do I jey in the Host Name portion? I am truly stuck here.

JoshyJ

Under the hostname. There should be a list of Connection Type you need to select Serial. Which will now show Serial Line and Speed. Which you then change to COM3 if indeed your serial connection is COM3.

Also confirm that under the Category - Connection - Serial on left hand side that the settings are set properly.

M-Ant78

JoshyJ wrote: »

Under the hostname. There should be a list of Connection Type you need to select Serial. Which will now show Serial Line and Speed. Which you then change to COM3 if indeed your serial connection is COM3.

Also confirm that under the Category - Connection - Serial on left hand side that the settings are set properly.

Thanks for the reply. I have tried everything that you suggested, and still nothing. Multiple YouTube videos & turorial sites..no good. Putty will go through its initial bootup & say "press return to get started" but now matter how many times I hit return (or any other key for that matter) nothing happens. I am truly confused. Have I downloaded the right Putty? Could it be that my USB to serial cable is bad? Being so new to this I am just trying to figure out how something that appears to be so simple to download & use is so troubling for me. Putty is just showing me a black screen w/a green cursor.

M-Ant78

It appears that the USB/Serial cable I made was done wrong, the cable I ordered on Amazon just arrived & now all is working fine. Thank you for all of the replies as I apologize for my Newbie ignorance.

ciscoman2012

Important thing here is you learned two lessons.

Lesson 1: How to use PuTTy

Lesson 2: Cables do go bad from time to time. Always be sure you're on the right COM port and your serial cable is plugged into the appliance in the correct port. Amazing how many times I accidentally plugged the console cable into the AUX port or an out of band management port instead of the console port.