HWIC-8A Configuration Assistance

[jordanwill822]

Hello Community, 

I am attempting to configure my 2821 router as a terminal server. Below is what I see when I look at the router. 

!
interface Async0/3/0
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/1
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/2
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/3
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/4
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/5
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/6
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!
interface Async0/3/7
no ip address
encapsulation slip
!

Router#sh line
Tty Line Typ Tx/Rx A Modem Roty AccO AccI Uses Noise Overruns Int
* 0 0 CTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
1 1 AUX 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/0 50 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/1 51 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/2 52 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/3 53 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 1 0/0 -
0/3/4 54 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/5 55 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/6 56 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
0/3/7 57 TTY 9600/9600 - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
514 514 VTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
515 515 VTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
516 516 VTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
517 517 VTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -
518 518 VTY - - - - - 0 0 0/0 -

Line(s) not in async mode -or- with no hardware support:
2-49, 58-513

An assistances would be greatly appreciated. 

[Richard Burts]

Here is a link to a discussion about configuring a router as a terminal server. I hope that you find it helpful. One of the important parts is configuring the async ports with no exec. Another important part is matching up the line numbers with the port numbers.

https://community.cisco.com/t5/vpn-and-anyconnect/2811-term-server-config/td-p/419126

HTH

Rick

[jordanwill822]

Hello Richard,

Thank you so much for responding to my email. I played with it a little
longer and managed to get it set up, but thank you so much.

Will Jordan

[Richard Burts]

Will

Thanks for the update telling us that you got it to work. I am glad that you found a solution that works. This community is an excellent place to ask questions and to learn about networking. I hope to see you continue to be active in the community.

HTH

Rick

[jordanwill822]

Thanks Richard, 

I am extremely glad I found the community, it is helping a lot. Can I ask you another question . What cable would you use to connect a HWIC 2t to a WIC 2t.  

[Richard Burts]

Will

Both cards use Cisco Smart Serial cables. And there are a variety of cables you could use depending on how you want the connection to be.

Here is a link that describes the cables used for HWIC-2T

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/interfaces-modules/high-speed-wan-interface-cards/datasheet_c78-491363.html

Here is a link that describes the cables used for WIC 2T

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/routers/3600-series-multiservice-platforms/7261-wic-2t.html#cables

So you might, for example, use cable CAB-SS-V35MT for the connection.

HTH

Rick

[jordanwill822]

Hello Rick, 

Thank you for responding and this information is very helpful. I still am confused about what is on the other side of the the cable. For example V.35 DTE what is on the other side. I am connecting 3 routers 2 1941 (use HWIC Cards) and a 2821 (use WIC card) so if I got the CAB-SS-V35MT DTE is a DCE on the other end. I need a cable that has DTE on 1 end and DCE on the other end correct. 

I ordered 6 CAB-SS-2626X Cable Back-To-Back DTE-DCE cable. Also, can I order 4 HWIC-1T 1T cards and get the same results as ordering 2HWIC-2T 2T cards.

Cable Type Product Number Length Male/Female

V.35 DTE	CAB-SS-V35MT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male
V.35 DCE	CAB-SS-V35FC(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Female
RS-232 DTE	CAB-SS-232MT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male
RS-232 DCE	CAB-SS-232FC(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Female
RS-449 DTE	CAB-SS-449MT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male
RS-449 DCE	CAB SS-449FC(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Female
X.21 DTE	CAB-SS-X21MT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male
X.21 DCE	CAB-SS-X21FC(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Female
EIA-530 DTE	CAB-SS-530MT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male
EIA-530A DTE	CAB-SS-530AMT(=)	10 feet / 3 meters	Male

[Richard Burts · Accepted solution]

Will

I am not sure how to answer your question about what is on the other end of the cable. It depends on what you are connecting. In a live environment you would typically be connecting your router to provider equipment and your DTE connects to their DCE. But you are connecting your routers back to back. So one router will act as DTE and the other router will act as DCE. Note that the router serial interface is capable of acting as either DTE or DCE depending on configuration with DTE being the default. So in your case you do need DTE to DCE back to back cables. 

As for your second question, it is pretty obvious that 4 cards that support 1 serial connection gives the same number of connections as 2 cards that support 2 serial connections per card. But you also need to consider the capabilities of your routers. Do your routers have enough slots to user 4 cards?

HTH

Rick

[jordanwill822]

Thanks for the reply, I would use 2 cards on each router. 

[Richard Burts]

Will

Sounds like that will work.

HTH

Rick