Access Router Command-Line Interface

August 2016

If you are using a Windows or Mac operating system, follow the steps below to access your router's command-line interface (CLI), and proceed to configure your router with the instructions within this topic.

• Access router command line interface using Windows laptop
• Access router command line interface using Mac laptop

Access Router CLI from Windows

1. Connect your router to your laptop, using the console cable. If your laptop has no serial port to connect to the serial end of the console cable, use a USB to serial DB-9 adapter to connect the serial end of the console cable to a USB port on the laptop. [Show Me How]
2. Determine the serial port being used to connect your laptop to your router over the console cable. [Show Me How]
3. Start the terminal emulator program on your laptop. If you do not have a terminal emulator program installed, download and install one, such as PuTTY, to your laptop.
4. If you are using PuTTY, follow the bulleted steps below. Otherwise, follow the instructions for the program you are using to access your router's command line interface to the serial port.
   • Under Category, choose Session.
   • Under Connection type, choose Serial.
   • In the Serial line, enter the COM port on your laptop that is connected to the console port on your router, using the console cable.
   • Click Open.
   In the example below, COM3 is the port being used to connect to your router and laptop via the console cable.
   

5. In the terminal emulator window, if you do not see a command line prompt for the router CLI (such as router# or router> or Username#), press Enter until it appears.
   
   

Access Router CLI from Mac

1. Connect your router to your laptop using the console cable. If your laptop has no serial port to connect to the serial end of the console cable, use a USB to serial DB-9 adapter to connect the serial end of the console cable to a USB port on the laptop. [Show Me How]
2. Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
3. Verify that your device is connected by typing the following: ls /dev/cu.*.
   • You should see a device with "serial" or "Serial" in the name and possibly the model number of the USB serial adapter being used.
   • If you do not see an item as described above, your drivers may not have been installed correctly, so you will need to install your drivers again.
   • In the example below, there is a device name containing "Serial" (/dev/tty.KeySerial1) and also one with the model number of the USB serial adapter being used (/dev/tty.USA19Hfd13P1.1).
     
     

4. To access your router's command line interface, use the screen command. The syntax is: screen [device name].
   • In the example below, the command screen /dev/tty.KeySerial1 is used.
   • In the terminal emulator window, if you do not see a command line prompt for the router CLI (such as router# or router> or Username#), press Enter until it appears.
     
     

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