Using Connie

The console server gives you access to the console lines on the student routers and switches. You can remotely access Connie from one of the gateway machines using the command:

  $ telnet 10.0.1.253

Connie supports both a student account and an admin account using the standard passwords. You will need to use the admin account if you need to clear any lines.

Connie supports console lines to each of the StudentRx and StudentSx devices. StudentR1 to StudentR6 are on console lines TTY1 through TTY6. The switches StudentS1 to StudentS6 are on console lines TTY9 through TTY14. The router lines are numbered in accordance to the router number, and the switch lines are found by adding eight to the router number (e.g., StudentR4's console is on line TTY4, and StudentS4's console is on line TTY12 because 4 + 8 = 12).

You can view the status of the console lines with the show line command. Here is a sample of that output:

    Connie#show line
   Tty Typ     Tx/Rx     A Modem  Roty AccO AccI  Uses    Noise   Overruns
     0 CTY               -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
  *  1 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     3       14    58048/174131
     2 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
     3 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
     4 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
  *  5 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     1       61    35951/107844
     6 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
     7 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
     8 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
  *  9 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     3       17    35928/107778
    10 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
    11 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
  * 12 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     1       15    35936/107800
    13 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     0        0        0/0
  * 14 TTY   9600/9600   -    -      -    -    -     1      139    58245/174737

The lines that are actively being used are prefixed with a *. An alternative way to see the status of the lines is to use the show users command. Here is a sample of that output:

  Connie#show users
      Line     User      Host(s)                  Idle Location
     1 tty 1             idle                 00:00:00
     5 tty 5             idle                 00:00:00
     9 tty 9             idle                 00:00:00
    12 tty 12            idle                 00:00:00
    14 tty 14            idle                 00:00:00
  * 18 vty 0   admin     idle                 00:00:00 192.168.0.98

In this case, the * marks the "current" line. The output above was obtained while logged into Connie from alpha (at address 192.168.0.98) as the user admin.

Ideally, you could use this information to determine which devices are available for use and are not actively being used. Unfortunately, it appears that some of the console lines are noisy, which confuses Connie into thinking they are being used when they are not. You can clear a console line like this:

  # clear line 1

The problem with this command is that it will disconnect another student legitimately using that line. It is best to avoid this if possible.

After you have decided which line to use, you can telnet to the console line from alpha using a port number that is 2000 plus the line number. For example, to telnet to line 4 use (on alpha) the command:

  $ telnet 192.168.255.129 2004

Here the address 192.168.255.129 is the IP address of a loopback address on Connie. The port 2004 will connect you to TTY4 which is the console line for StudentR4.

To disconnect from one of the console lines, you must first escape from the telnet session to telnet's command prompt. Type Ctrl+] (that is: the control key and the close square bracket key). This should bring up the telent> prompt. From there, use the close command to end the connection.