I think you might have oversimplified the process to a degree. Remember, the issue at stake here was there was "no competent person" on the other end who could assist. What's my point? You have failed to take into consideration Murphy's Law. Murphy generally wins for those unprepared. Consider a few issues that may come up and how you would handle them. 1. Since you decided to do this operation via telnet (which is totally permissible), what happens when the router reloads to attempt to erase the flash (as it will if it is a run from flash early model 1600 series router)? Obviously your telnet connection will be broken until the router reloads. What happens if it doesn't reload? 2. While trying to execute the flash load helper, your router attempted to erase the flash. The good idea club shipped the PCMCIA flash card with the write protect on. How do you explain to "no competent people" how to reset the write protection on that flash card? OBTW, you are now under the gun and the phones are ringing. 3. Fortunately, you anticipated this eventuality and ensured that the write protect for the flash card was left off. In attempting to do this operation(flash load helper) you tried to erase the flash. The flash was erased and the new image was written. It fails a checksum. What now? 4. Luckily you tested out the new IOS to ensure it was not corrupted and your attempt to erase the flash was met with success however, you lost connectivity to the network since you are no longer routing. What do you do now? 5. Fortunately, you anticipated this eventuality and you figured out how to set a default gateway from RXboot mode. When you attempt to reach the TFTP server it is on a non-local segment. You are noticing that instead of getting a lot of bangs (!) you are getting misses. What do you do now? 6. Maybe you lucked out and the TFTP download works well. The new IOS gets properly written to flash. All appears to go extremely well. As the router reloads, you did not anticipate a bug in this software that interacts with some part of your config. Unbeknownst to you, the router is reloading every 1.3 minutes continuously. What do you do now? 7. There are other possibilities I could mention, but this is enough. My personal feeling has always been that if it is at all possible to be at the console of a router during an IOS upgrade, it is preferable. The 1600 series does not have an AUX port, so it would not be possible to set up a modem in the AUX port. Besides, you cannot do a password recovery from the AUX port. It does have a console port. Since "no competent person" is actually using that console port, It might be a really good idea to strap a modem to that port and configure it for dial-in remote control of the router. You probably have some lying around that are old 28.8 or 33.6 modems that nobody wants. They are perfect for the task. All you need is something that will do 9.6kbps. There are certain cautions about attaching modems to console ports in general, such as "Unprotected modems should not be connected to the console port. The console ports do not log users off when the carrier detect is lost, which can leave a security hole. To avoid this, use a secure modem, or connect via the AUX port." This can be overcome by modems that use authentication, such as a Codex 3260 (if my memory serves me right). Or you could just try to induce some competence in the "no competent people" by faxing them a picture of the modem and telling them how to turn the power switch on when you need it (don't forget to turn the power off when you are done). The console port does not support RS232 modem control (data set ready/Data Carrier Detect (DSR/DCD), data terminal ready (DTR). Therefore, when the EXEC session terminates (logout), the modem connection will not drop automatically; you will need to manually disconnect the session. Unlike other async lines, the console port does not support hardware (Clear to Send/Ready to Send (CTS/RTS) flow control. It is recommended to use no flow control. If data overruns are encountered, however, software (XON/XOFF) flow control may be enabled. The console port lacks reverse telnet capability. If the modem loses its stored initialization string, the only remedy is to physically disconnect the modem from the router and attach it to another device (such as an AUX port or a PC) to reinitialize. If a modem on an AUX port loses its initialization string, you can use reverse telnet remotely to correct the problem. A console port cannot be used for dial-on-demand routing; it has no corresponding async interface(not an issue for your 1600). The procedures for setting up a modem on the console port can be found here: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/471/50.html Or you can just telnet in and cross you fingers and hope Murphy is on vacation :-) HTH, Paul Werner p.s. (And totally off topic - If any body has any need for any 12000 GSR GSR16/80-SFC switch fabric cards, contact me offline) > Subject: RE: Reverse Telnet [7:9054] > > Reverse telnet? > how about > ]#telnet router > blah > >enable > blah > #copy tftp: flash: > > > - -----Original Message----- > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Reverse Telnet [7:9054] > > > I asked a question here before which related to My IOS not supporting > certain features. I mentioned that I could not update the IOS because > The > router is in a remote office with no competant staff capable of carring > out > such a task. ( even though this is very straight forward. ) > > Some one on the study group stated that the IOS upgrade could be done > using > reverse telnet, I have tried to figure this out for myself and couldn't > find enough information > Im just confused about the hole thing. Is this Possible. > > Im using a C1720 on a Serial 512k Leased Line and remote router is C1603 > ISDN dialup connection to the Net > > Can anyone shed any ligth on this theory? . ________________________________________________ Get your own "800" number Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more http://www.ureach.com/reg/tag Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=9143&t=9143 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
