Pls recommend best way to manage multiple procurve switch consoles

A

acesea

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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I am installing a couple of 2810-48 hp procurves in my first rack and data closet. I've had no experience with RJ-45 serial console ports on switches since I've only used webbased gui management thus far.

What's the recommended workflow for managing all the console ports on such equipment? Do you use serial to usb adapters and connect the computer to each appliance to work on them? Would cat5 w/ rj45 terminated and putty connect the pc and switch?

What's generally used to manage snmp?
 
Most of the time you'll use the console port for initial configuration of the switch, and once you've got the management VLAN configured and the switch is IP connectible, you'll manage it that way. As far as that first time connection, I have a laptop with an RS-232 port, but a USB dongle and DB9->RJ45 console cable works too, just make sure your dongle has a male DB9 and isn't intended to connect directly to the DCE. Then obviously just fire up Putty or Tera Term and you're in. If you want a 'permanent' solution for serial connectivity, buy yourself a console server, though unless you can connect them to the network at another point, it kinda defeats the purpose of it being 'out of band'.

HP provides ProCurve Manager for free on their website. It's a pretty heavy application, but works well. I'm not sure it's worthwhile for two switches. What sort of SNMP utility are you looking for? There are lots of different ways to use it depending on your needs.
 
Having played with the procurve manager, we manage upwards of 10 switches without it.

I hate clunky apps.
 
For just a couple of switches....web admin is fine and dandy for me. When setting them up the first time, I plug my laptop into them...change the IP of the switch to what I want (like .2 or .3).....once set, I then uplink it to the network. For me that's pretty much just as quick and doing the serial cable way.(probably saving lots of time since you don't have to go find that serial cable or null modem cable you haven't used in 8 years and take 1/2 the day to locate).
 
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