Table Of Contents

Accessing the Shell Interface

About the Shell Interface

Accessing the Login Prompt by Serial Connection

Logging In to the Appliance Shell

Navigating the Administration Interface

Accessing the bash Shell

Running bash

Exiting bash

Accessing the Shell Interface

---

This chapter describes how to access the appliance shell menu. It covers these topics:

•About the Shell Interface

•Accessing the Login Prompt by Serial Connection

•Logging In to the Appliance Shell

•Navigating the Administration Interface

•Accessing the bash Shell

About the Shell Interface

You can configure initial network settings for the ACE XML appliance from the shell menu. After installation, use a monitor and keyboard attached to the appliance or a computer connected by serial port to the appliance to access the menu. After configuring the initial network settings in the menu, you can perform day-to-day administration tasks from the ACE XML Manager web console or SSH client software, such as PuTTY.

---

Note The shell interface should not be confused with the ACE XML Manager web console. The shell is accessed by console connection or client terminal session, while the web console is the browser-based interface for developing a policy.

---

Accessing the Login Prompt by Serial Connection

To access the shell interface, connect a keyboard and console or KVM device directly to the appliance. Alternatively, you can attach a personal computer or laptop with VT100 compatible terminal emulation software or dumb terminal to the appliance by serial cable.

---

Note While you can access the appliance operating system by serial connection, in its initial default configuration the appliance writes boot messages to video console output only. (To change this setting, see "Configuring Serial Console Boot Control" section on page 11-64.)

---

The appliance serial connector is a DB-9-type connector, which appears on the left side of the back panel of the appliance. (Previous models may provide RJ-45 serial ports. However the current and Dell-model platforms only have a single DB-9 connector available for serial connections).

The laptop or personal computer used to connect to the device needs to have VT-100-compatible terminal emulation software, such as HyperTerminal or SecureCRT.

Configure the connection to use the following settings:

•Bits per second: 9600

•Data bits: 8

•Parity: None

•Stop bits: 1

•Flow Control: None

Logging In to the Appliance Shell

After attaching the console to the appliance, follow these steps to log in:

---

Step 1 Power on the ACE XML Gateway appliance if it is not already running.

Step 2 At the login prompt, enter the username of a user account on the appliance. At first installation and for most administrative tasks, you need to log in as root user.

Step 3 At the password prompt, enter the user's password.

The default password for the root user is swordfish. If using the default password, you will be prompted to change the default password after entering the credentials. Otherwise, the Main Menu appears.

Step 4 If prompted to change the password, choose OK to change the password now. For security reasons, we recommend that you change the password from its default value. However, the interface does not require you to do so. To bypass changing the password for now, press the escape key.

After entering a new password or bypassing the password change screen, the Main Menu appears, as shown in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1 Main Menu

You can now perform the initial set up of the appliance, as described in Chapter 5, "Performing the Initial Configuration."

---

Navigating the Administration Interface

The following tips apply to navigating the console menu:

•To select a menu item, type its number. Alternatively, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select menu items.

•Most screens require you to choose OK or Cancel after entering input.

•To have the system accept your input, select the OK item and press the Enter key. To exit a screen without making any changes, select the Cancel item and press the Enter key.

For an overview of the menus in the interface, see Chapter 14, "Shell Menu Reference."

Accessing the bash Shell

While most administration tasks can be accomplished in the console menu, you may occasionally need to access the bash shell command prompt to accomplish other tasks.

Running bash

To run the bash shell, take the following steps:

---

Step 1 Log into the ACE XML Shell as the root user.

For more information on logging in, see "Logging In to the Appliance Shell" section.

Step 2 From the Main Menu, choose Advanced Options > Run bash.

---

The bash command prompt appears.

Exiting bash

To exit the bash shell, enter the exit command. The Advanced Options menu appears, from where you can return to the main menu or choose other options in the Advanced Options menu.