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My switch is ProCurve 2824 managed switch J4903A. I used a RS-232 cable to connect it with my laptop for some port trunking configuration work but having trouble getting console output from serial port (COM port), I tried Putty/Hyperterminal but no luck at all, all I got is an empty terminal screen with nothing. I'm not familiar with accessing serial port (last time as I can reall was 20 years ago with a dialup modem??!)..

I bought a rs-232 female-female calbe off eBAY and connected to both ends of laptop and switch, started Hyperterminal with 9600 bps/8 data bits/None parity/1 stop bits/None flow control and connected to COM1/COM2, like I said the only thing I got was a a screen with no output at all, I did try different bps but still no luck.

There's a dhcp on my network, I read some forums that people said the switch itself will get an IP assigned if there's a dhcp service enabled on the network but that's not what I found out, tried to scan my whole network but couldn't see this switch. I did clean+reset but no luck, no IP address assigned, no output on my Hyperterminal via serial port.

can someone advise me here?

9600 8 none 1

make sure you hit enter twice once the connection is made to get a login prompt.

could it be simply cable issue, do I need a 'null modem' cable for this?  not sure if my cable is a 'null modem' one or not..

Hello Henry,

The following suggestions can help ensure successful serial console sessions.

To troubleshoot difficulties with establishing serial console sessions, try:
1.Ensure that the serial cable is securely attached to the management port of the switch and the COM Port of the PC;
2.Make sure that the cable provided in the box with the switch is in use. If the cable has been misplaced, please contact HP ProCurve Networking Support, who can help administrators obtain the proper cable for the product in question;
3.Verify the correct COM Port settings. The COM Port Settings will be listed within the Installation and Getting Started Guide for the switch in question;
4.If pressing the [ENTER] key alone produces no results, try pressing [ENTER] and [Space Bar] alternately;
5.Try holding the [ENTER] key down while plugging the serial cable into the COM port of the switch;
6.If HyperTerminal is the emulator in use, save the session to the desktop, close it, and launch it again;
7.Check to be sure that the COM Port’s resources are not conflicting with another hardware device or application. Also be sure that the proper COM port has been configured in HyperTerminal; e.g., configuring for COM 1 when the cable is attached to COM 2;
8.Cold-boot the switch with the console serial cable attached;
9.To negate the possibility of problems in the serial port hardware, try a different serial port, or the COM port of a completely different PC or laptop;
10.If available, try a different console serial cable;
11.As a test, try a different switch if it is available;
12.Try different terminal emulation software that will support VT 100, such as Tera Term Pro, or related software applications.

If a session has already been established, but appears to be hung, try:1.Type "y" or "n" at the CLI, in case the "logout" command was issued and the window closed before the switch received confirmation;
2.Type [CTRL] + Q;
3.Disconnect the serial cable from the switch, open the console application as if the switch were connected and then reconnect the console port to the switch prior to pressing [Enter] multiple times;
4.Try an alternative VT100-compliant Terminal Emulator. Examples include HyperTerminal, Tera Term Pro, and ZTerm (for Mac);
5.Reboot the switch while the console session is established;
6.Double-check Software Release Notes to ensure that no console hang issues have been addressed.

To prevent future console hangs:1.Configure an Inactivity Timeout that will serve to close sessions automatically after a specified timeframe;
2.Change the Baud rate of the switch from the default of "Speed-sense" to 9600, using the command: Switch(config)# console baud-rate 9600. NOTE: This command will require a switch reboot.

The following caveats may affect the ability to create a successful management session with a switch:

1.Try to avoid using servers as the connecting computer. Some server manufacturers bundle remote management hardware with the servers, which results in the need to configure the COM port in BIOS for settings other than “serial port”;
2.The COM Port may be misconfigured in BIOS. Check with PC/Laptop support representatives for the best way to check the settings;
3.Often, changing settings on a PC or laptop may require a reboot. Sometimes, the driver does not immediately release the Flow Control setting of the COM port when it is changed on the fly. After saving a correctly configured terminal emulation session, try rebooting the PC or laptop to rule this out. Try this in conjunction with cold booting the HP ProCurve product.

Thanks and regards

Anurag Thottathil