Navigating and Securing the Interface

Configuration menus

Security profiles

Special display characters and keys

Once you have verified that the MAX is connected and functioning properly, you might want to gain a full understanding of the user interface. Even if someone else will implement the full configuration, you probably should place some restrictions on user access.

Configuration menus

You can access the MAX configuration menus in a VT100 emulation window from a computer or palmtop-controller connected to the control port as described in Starting up the MAX. When you establish the VT100 console session, the Main Edit Menu and eight status window appear. You can also establish a console session from any Telnet workstation by opening a Telnet session with the MAX. In a Telnet session you can perform all of the configuration, diagnostic, management, and other functions that could be performed from a computer connected to the MAX control port. In either case, access is controlled by Security profiles, as described in Security profiles for related information.

You can also use the Rem Mgmt command to enable a caller at the far end of an AIM or MPP call to access the MAX configuration menus.

The Main Edit Menu

The configuration interface consists of the Main Edit Menu and eight status windows. You can configure the MAX with the Main Edit Menu which is located on the left side of the screen. The items listed in the Main Edit Menu differ depending on the system configuration. The Empty items represent expansion slots that do not contain cards as described in Understanding menu numbers.

Figure 4-1. MAX 6000 Series configuration menus

For an organizational overview of the MAX menus and profiles, see the Reference Guide for your MAX.

Making a menu or status window active

You can interact with only one window at a time. The active window has a thick, double-line border on the left, right, and top sides.

If you press the Tab key, the thick double lines move to 00-200, the next screen to the right. If you continue pressing the Tab key, you successively activate each window from left to right and down, until you reach the last window in the lower right-hand corner. Back-Tab or Ctrl-O moves you in the opposite direction.

Opening menus and profiles

The Main Edit Menu contains a list of menus, each of which can contain profiles and submenus. In the menu that is currently open, the cursor character (>) points to one item in the menu. For example, in the following Main Edit Menu, the cursor points to as Net/T1 menu item.

Main Edit Menu      

          00-000 System

          >10-000 Net/T1

          20-000 Net/T1

          30-000 Empty

          40-000 Empty

          50-000 V.34 Modem

          60-000 V.34 Modem

          70-000 Net/T1

          80-000 V.34 Modem

          90-000 Ethernet

          A0-000 Ether Data

          b0-000 Serial WAN

To move the cursor down, press Ctrl-N (next). To move it up, press Ctrl-P (previous). Depending on your VT100 emulator, you might be able to press the Down-Arrow key instead of Ctrl-N and the Up-Arrow key instead of Ctrl-P. (For a complete list of key combinations to navigate the interface, see Table 4-1.)

To open a menu, move the cursor to the menu's name and press Enter. For example, press Ctrl-N until the cursor points to 90-000 Ethernet, then press Enter. The Ethernet menu appears:

        90-000 Ethernet

        90-100 Connections

        90-200 Names/Passwords

        90-300 Bridge Adrs

        90-400 Static Rtes

        90-500 Filters

        90-600 Firewalls

        90-700 Frame Relay

        90-800 Answer

        90-900 SNMP Traps

        90-A00 IPX Routes

        90-B00 IPX SAP Filters

        90-C00 Mod Config

The Ethernet menu contains submenus and profiles related to network functions, such as bridging, routing, and WAN connections. The last menu item opens the Mod Config profile which relates to the configuration of the Ethernet interface itself. Not all of the Mod Config profile appears at the same time. Following is the initial display.

      90-B00 Mod Config

          Module Name=

          Ether options...

          WAN options...

          SNMP options...

          OSPF options... 

          OSPF global options...

          Route Pref...

          TServ options...

          Bridging=No

          Shared Prof=No

          Telnet PW=

          RIP Policy=Poison Rvrs

          RIP Summary=Yes

          ICMP Redirects=Accept

          BOOTP Relay...

          DNS...

Note: With the exception of parameters designated N/A (not applicable), you can edit all parameters in any profile. A profile is a group of parameters listed under a particular menu entry. N/A means that a parameter does not apply within the context of how some other parameter(s) or profiles have been set.

Opening edit fields

To open an edit field for a text-based parameter (such as a password):

Press Ctrl-N (next) or the Down-Arrow key and move the cursor to that parameter (for example, Telnet PW).
Press Enter.
An edit field opens, delimited by brackets, as shown under the Telnet PW parameter in the following example:

      90-B00 Mod Config

          Module Name=

          Ether options...

          WAN options...

          SNMP options...

          OSPF options... 

          OSPF global options...

          Route Pref...

          TServ options...

          Bridging=No

          Shared Prof=No

          Telnet PW:

          [ ]



          ICMP Redirects=Accept

          BOOTP Relay...

          DNS...

A blinking text cursor within the brackets indicates that you can start typing text. If the field already contains text, it is cleared when you type a character.

To modify only a few characters of existing text, use the arrow keys to position the cursor, then delete or overwrite the characters. To close the edit field and accept the new text, press Enter.

For related information, see Security profiles.

Setting enumerated parameters

An enumerated parameter has a set of predefined values. You modify it by simply placing the cursor beside the parameter and pressing the Enter, Return, or the Right-Arrow key until the proper value appears.

Saving your changes

When you exit a profile after changing any of its settings, a message prompt asks if you want to save the changes.

      EXIT?

      >0=ESC (Don't exit)

        1=Exit and discard

        2=Exit and accept

You can save the profile values by choosing the Exit and Accept option and pressing Enter, or by pressing the 2 key.

Using the palmtop-controller

If you have a standard MAX unit, or if you purchased the palmtop-controller expansion card, you can establish a console session by plugging in the palmtop-controller, which has a four-line LCD display.

In the palmtop-controller, each menu displays only four lines, and each line displays a maximum of 20 characters. The palmtop-controller screen contains a single display. For example:

Main Edit Menu

>00-000 System

  10-000 Net/...

  20-000 Host/...

The process of editing from the palmtop controller is nearly identical to the process of editing from the control-monitor, except that the Right-Arrow key replaces the functions of the Enter/Return key. Proceed as follows:

Press Ctrl-N or the Down-Arrow key and move the cursor to the Name parameter.
Press the Right-Arrow key to begin to edit.
When you press the Right-Arrow key, an edit field opens, and the current value appears within the brackets:
If you want to clear the text, begin typing, overwriting the existing value.
To modify only a few characters of existing text, use the arrow keys to position the cursor, then delete or overwrite the characters.
To close the edit field and accept the new text, press Enter.

Security profiles

The MAX has nine security profiles, which you can configure to provide up to nine levels of security. When you first receive your MAX, none of the profiles implements any restrictions.

To see the list of Security profiles:

From the Main Edit Menu, move the cursor to the System menu and press Enter.

Move the cursor to Security and press Enter.

The Security menu appears:

00-300 Security
>00-301 Default
  00-302
  00-303
  00-304
  00-305
  00-306
  00-307
  00-308
  00-309 Full Access

Assigning privileges

Powering on the MAX activates the Default profile, which is the first Security profile in the Security menu. Default profile has no password. As an administrator, you should reset the privileges in the Default profile to restrict the functions for users accessing the MAX configuration menus. You should also change the password of the Full Access profile. Do not change any other settings in the Full Access profile. Proceed as follows:

Open the Default profile.
Select Operations and set this privilege to No.
Press the Left-Arrow or Escape key to save your change.
Press 2 (Exit and Accept).
A confirmation message appears.
Press the Enter key.
Move the cursor to Full Access in the Security profile menu and press enter.
Select the password parameter, and enter a new password.
Press the Left-Arrow or Escape key to save your change.
Press 2 (Exit and Accept).
A confirmation message appears.
Press the Enter key.
Proceed to configuring the MAX.
Reset or power-cycle the MAX to activate the new, restrictive Default profile. Make sure that you remember the password for the Full Access profile, and that you have not restricted any privileges in that profile.

You can also assign various levels of access to the as yet unnamed Security profile. For detailed information about modifying Security profiles and assigning passwords, see the Network Configuration Guide for your MAX.

Activating the Full Access Security Profile

You have to activate and supply the password for the Full Access profile. To perform configuration tasks, the default password for the Full Access profile is Ascend.

To activate the Full Access Security profile:

The DO menu, a context-sensitive menu, appears:

90-C00 Mod Config
DO... 
    >0=Esc 
    P=Password
    C=Close TELNET
    E=Termsrv
    D=Diagnostics

In the DO menu, press P (or select P=Password).
The list of Security profiles appears.
Select Full Access and press Enter.
The MAX prompts for that profile's password:
Type the password and press Enter to accept it.
Note: You should modify the Full Access profile to assign a password other than the default (Ascend) as soon as possible.
A message states that the password was accepted and the MAX is using the new security level. Or, if the password you entered is incorrect, you are prompted again to enter the password.

Note: For a console session established through Telnet, the caller must first supply the Telnet password to establish a Telnet session that uses the Default security level. To configure the MAX, the Telnet user must then activate the appropriate Security profile.

Special display characters and keys

The following characters have special meaning within the displays:

The plus character (+) indicates that an input entry is too long to fit onto one line, and that the MAX is truncating it for display purposes.
An ellipsis (...) means that a submenu displays the details of a menu option.
The MAX displays the submenu when you select the menu option.

Table 4-1 lists the special-purpose keys and key combinations you can use in the palmtop-controller and the control-monitor displays.

Table 4-1. Special keys for palmtop-controller and control-monitor displays


Palmtop- controller	Control-monitor	Operation
>	Right-Arrow, Return, Enter, Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-F	Enumerated parameter: Select the next value. String value: Move one character to the right or enter the current input. Menu: Open the current selection.
<	Left-Arrow, Ctrl-X, Ctrl-B	Enumerated parameter: Select the previous value. String value: Move left one character or exit the current input. Menu: Close the current selection.
v	Down-Arrow, Ctrl-N	Move down to the next selection.
^	Up-Arrow, Ctrl-U, Ctrl-P	Move up to the previous selection.
N/A	Ctrl-V	Move to the next page of the list.
N/A	Tab, Ctrl-I	Move to the next window.
N/A	Back-Tab, Ctrl-O	Move to the previous window.
TOGGLE STAT	N/A	Toggle to a status menu from the edit menu and vice versa.
Shift->	Delete	Delete the character under the cursor.
Shift-<	Backspace	Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
Shift-^	N/A	Overwrite the character under the cursor with a space.
DO	Ctrl-D	Open the DO menu.
N/A	Ctrl-T	Return from or go to the Simplified Menus.
N/A	Ctrl-L	Refresh the VT100 screen.
N/A	Ctrl-C	Return from the MIF to the normal menus.
D	D	Dial from the currently selected profile.

Note: You always use the Control and Shift keys in combination with other keys. This document represents key combinations as two characters separated by a hyphen, such as Shift-T, which types the capital letter T. On the palmtop-controller, the main character associated with the key is large and white, and the Shift- character associated with the key is small and yellow.

Understanding menu numbers

The MAX has four built-in T1 or E1 lines and a V.35 serial port for WAN access. It also has six expansion slots, which support additional bandwidth (BRI lines), AIM-port modules to support videoconferencing, or digital modems to support analog modem connections over digital lines.

Figure 4-2. Slot and port numbering in the MAX 6000 series

The numbers in the VT100 menus relate to slot numbers in the MAX unit, which correspond to actual expansion slots or virtual slots on the MAX unit's motherboard. Following are the slot assignments.

System slot

The system itself is assigned slot number 0 (menu 00-000). The System menu contains the following profiles and submenus that are related to systemwide configuration and maintenance:

00-000 System
      00-100 Sys Config
      00-200 Sys Diag
      00-300 Security
      00-400 Destinations
      00-500 Dial Plan

E1 slots

The built-in T1 or E1 lines are slot 1 and slot 2 (menu 10-000 and 20-000). Each T1 or E1 slot includes two lines. The menus for configuring and testing the lines are organized as follows:

10-000 Net/T1 (Net/E1)
      10-100 Line Config
      10-200 Line Diag

20-000 Net/T1 (Net/E1)
      20-100 Line Config
      20-200 Line Diag

Expansion slots

The six expansion slots are slots 3 through 8 (menus 30-000 through 80-000), numbered as shown in Figure 4-2.

Ethernet and WAN slots

Slot 9 is Ethernet slot menu 90-000. The Ethernet menu contains submenus and profiles related to the local network, routing and bridging, and WAN connections.

Slot A is the EtherData slot menu A0-000. For the MAX with built-in Ethernet, this menu is not applicable.

The serial WAN port is slot B (menu B0-000).

Main Edit Menu example

Following is an example of a Main Edit Menu for a unit with expansion modules installed in slots 3 through 8. (Note that the menu item for slot A is not applicable to the MAX with built-in Ethernet.)

Main Edit Menu
      00-000 System
      10-000 Net/T1
      20-000 Net/T1
      30-000 Host/Dual
      40-000 Host/BRI
      50-000 Net/BRI
      60-000 BRI/LT
      70-000 V.34 Modem
      80-000 V.110
      90-000 Ethernet
      A0-000 Ether Data
      B0-000 Serial WAN

Now that you understand the MAX user interface, you can proceed to the Network Configuration Guide for your MAX.

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Copyright © 1998, Ascend Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.