Connecting to a serial system shell

The following procedure provides steps to use serial system shell. Examples are given based on the PuTTY program.

Prerequisites:

You have physical access to the controller and all needed items (cable, etc.).

CAUTION: In serial shell mode, normal COM1 port usage is overridden!

Perform the following steps:

Connect the necessary serial cable and adapter between the controller’s RS-232 port and the RS-232 COM port you are using on your PC.
On your PC, start your terminal emulation software.
For example to start PuTTY from the Windows Start menu, this is typically Programs > PuTTY > PuTTY.
In the tree in the PuTTY Configuration window, expand Connection and click Serial.
Set the Serial line to connect to for your PC’s RS232 COM port to use.
For example, COM1.
Set the Configure the serial line fields as follows:
- Speed (baud): 115200
- Data bits: 8
- Stop bits: 1
- Parity: None
- Flow control: None
In the tree of the PuTTY Configuration window, click Session and click to select the Connection type as Serial.

NOTE: (Optional) You can save this configuration to reuse (load) it in the future for PuTTY to controller serial sessions. To do this, type in a connection name in the Saved Sessions field (for example, JACE-S), and click Save.When you start PuTTY again to serially connect to the controller, select this name and click Load.
At the bottom of the PuTTY Configuration window, click Open.
On the controller, locate the 4-pin serial-shell connector and put a two-pin jumper on the appropriate pins. See the label on the controller to locate the mode or serial-shell connector pins.
With your terminal (PuTTY) session active, remove power from the controller, let it cycle down, then reapply power. After a few seconds, text should appear in your terminal software window similar to:
Press any key to stop auto-boot...
Do not press any key, wait for the login prompt.

NOTE: If you did press a key to stop auto-boot, select option 1 (Boot from on-board nand flash).
At the logon prompt, enter a platform user name, and at the password prompt, the platform password.

If the logon is successful, a prompt appears as:

$
At the $ prompt, type: syssh

$ syssh

The system shell-menu appears.
When finished making platform changes from the serial system shell, do the following:
- On the controller, move the two-pin jumper block back to the normal position.
- From the system shell menu, select the Reboot option.
  Type y at the Are you sure you want to reboot [y/n] prompt, and press Enter.
  
  Shutdown-related text appears in the terminal (PuTTY) window, and the connection is dropped.
Click the Close control (upper right corner) in the terminal session (PuTTY) window. Click OK in the PuTTY Exit Confirmation popup window.

Connecting to a serial system shell

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