USB serial adapter in FreeBSD

Last modified: Jun. 13, 2009 Contents 1 - Summary 2 - Kernel options 3 - Plug in USB serial adapter 4 - Connect to router 1 - Summary This guide explains how to use a USB serial adapter in FreeBSD. It also explains how to connect to a device like a router over a serial connection. As an example we will connect to a Cisco router. This has been tested in FreeBSD 7.0 and 7.1. 2 - Kernel options You will need to have the following options in your kernel. device uhci # UHCI PCI->USB interface device ohci # OHCI PCI->USB interface device ehci # EHCI PCI->USB interface (USB 2.0) device usb # USB Bus (required) device ugen # Generic device ucom # USB serial support device uplcom # USB support for Prolific PL-2303 serial adapters If you didn't already have them in your kernel you will need to reboot before using the USB serial adapter. 3 - Plug in USB serial adapter Log in with a normal user account. Plug in the USB serial adapter into the computer and check to make sure it was detected properly. # dmesg | tail -n 1 ucom0: Prolific Technology Inc. USB-Serial Controller, class 0/0, rev 1.10/3.00, addr 2 on uhub0 Find what the actual device is listed as. # ls -l /dev/cuaU* crw-rw---- 1 uucp dialer 0, 116 Mar 2 18:54 /dev/cuaU0 crw-rw---- 1 uucp dialer 0, 117 Mar 2 18:54 /dev/cuaU0.init crw-rw---- 1 uucp dialer 0, 118 Mar 2 18:54 /dev/cuaU0.lock In our example it's listed as /dev/cuaU0. 4 - Connect to router Connect a serial cable from the USB serial adapter to the console port on the back of the Cisco router. Type the following and press [Enter] to connect. # sudo cu -l /dev/cuaU0 -s 9600 Connected User Access Verification Username: xxx Password: xxx Welcome to router.test.com! router> When you are done type exit. router>exit router con0 is now available Press RETURN to get started. Type '~.' to exit. Press 'Shift+~' then period. ~ [EOT]