[nsp] CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC question

[Jim Mathers]

Hello,

I am currently spec'ing an Out of Band solution for the company I work
for. The solution consists of a 2610 chassis with an NM-32A and 2 x
CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC cables to connect to the con/aux ports of core routing
and switching equipment in four of our POPs.

The problem is the octopus cables are only 40 inches (1 meter)
long...much too short to reach all of my Cisco devices.

Has anyone faced this challenge before and come up with a
reliable/simple method of extending the CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC?

Or, I would be interested in other ways of accomplishing this goal that
would remain cost effective. My devices are all within 15 feet of the
desired terminal server (2610) location.

Another requirement of the project is that the device selected needs to
have 2 Ethernet/FastEthernet ports, which effectively rules out
(unfortunately) the traditional 2509 and 2511.

Also, while I am on the subject, does anyone know an IOS that supports
SSHv1 and is stable. I have been told that c2600-ik8s-mz.122-16c.bin is
a stable release but am interested in corroborating that information.

Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.