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= How do I connect to an MF/PL server located at Telehouse via the serial port? =

Note: if you are trying to connect to a server in our XO/Bandcon, see [wiki:xo_serial_access our XO serial access page]; for Sunset Park see [wiki:sunsetpark_serial_access Sunset Park serial acess page].

== Serial Console physical setup ==

In the MF/PL Telehouse rack, we have two 8 port USB to serial adapters using the pl2303 chipset `robideau`. 

 * In:
  * First USB device 
   * `kiyoshi` (Cable 1, `sylvia`: ttyS0)
   * NOT IN USE (Cable 2, `sylvia`: ttyS1)
   * `chavez` (Cable 3, `sylvia`: ttyS2)
   * `gramsci` (Cable 4, `sylvia`: ttyS3)
   * `sontag` (Cable 5, `sylvia`: ttyS4)
   * `menchu` (Cable 6, `sylvia`: ttyS5)
   * `hubert` (Cable 7, `sylvia`: ttyS6)
   * `gabriel` (Cable 8, `sylvia`: ttyS7)
  * Second USB device
   * `shadow` (Cable 1, `sylvia`: ttyS8)
   * `goofball` (Cable 2 `sylvia`: ttyS9)
   * `tenant` (Cable 3 `sylvia`: ttyS10)
   * `karl` (Cable 4 `sylvia`: ttyS11) 
   * `algernon` (Cable 5 `sylvia`: ttyS12)
   * `bolivar` (Cable 6 `sylvia`: ttyS13)
   * NOT IN USE (Cable 7 `sylvia`: ttyS14)
   * `fred` (Cable 8 `sylvia`: ttyS15)

The serial consoles of the attached machines are all remotely accessible (to properly-authenticated people), and they are also logged and timestamped.  We are using [http://cmrg.fithhorseman.net/wiki/cereal cereal] to do this cleanly and easily.

== How to connect ==

In order to connect via serial console to one of the servers named above, ssh into `console.mayfirst.org` as ''servername''`-console`

For example:

{{{
ssh -t ken-console@console.mayfirst.org cereal attach ken 
}}}

Would give you full read/write access to the console on `ken`.

The SSH RSA host key for `console.mayfirst.org` should have a fingerprint of:
{{{
2048 76:6d:60:7e:de:5e:87:70:1f:27:d8:53:03:83:2c:f5 console.mayfirst.org,209.51.172.10
}}}

We can also setup additional users that have read-only access to the sessions created by each of these usernames, should that be desirable.  You can request such access by creating a [/newticket ticket].

In addition - we have a serial line running from `bolivar`'s `/dev/ttyUSB0` that goes to `robideau`'s built-in serial port 1, so that `robideau`'s console itself is remotely accessible, and logged.  You can connect to robideau's console with:

{{{
ssh -t robideau-console@bolivar.mayfirst.org cereal attach robideau 
}}}

== Setting up a new console user ==

To setup a new console user (this is something only admins can do), do the following as `root@sylvia`:

{{{
adduser --disabled-password --gecos='fred console user,,,' fred-console
cereal-admin create fred /dev/ttyS15 115200 fred-console fred-console
cereal-admin start fred
}}}