[nsp] CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC question

[Bruce Pinsky]

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Jim Mathers wrote:

| 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?
|

Yep, had this problem in data centers all the time.  Don't waste money on
expensive custom octal cables.  Instead, get patch panels that are
effectively just RJ-45 couplers (commonly called feed-thru panels).  You
plug the male end into the back of the panel and then use cheap patch cords
to extend from the panel to the equipment or even another patch panel of
house wiring.  If the equipment has RJ-45, you're done.  If it has DB25 or
DB9, then use an adapter.  The great thing is you can extend your serial
connections onto house wiring up to the effective distance limits of RS-232
using this method.

Here are some companies I found that make them:

http://www.unicomlink.com/products/cross_connectivity/cat_5e_5_feed_thru_patch_panels.asp
http://www.tecnec.com/products/pages/RJ45Patch.html
http://www.customcable.com/Connectivity/Patch-Panel-tbl.cfm

I also used Ortronix feed-thru panels as well.

| 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.
|

And I'd not use those anyway since they have fixed configuration.  With the
high density async modules that are out today, you can start small, have
room to grow, and cram a ton of serial connections on a very cost effective
platform.

| 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.
|

If you are just using it for console connections, it won't be all that
taxed.  Stability may not be you're greatest concern if you really want the
security of SSH.  What's the harm if it happens to crash once in a while?
In any case, there are several major versions that support SSHv1 including
12.2(19a), 12.3(5), and 12.2(15)T9.

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bep

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