Minicom- An alternative to putty for Ubuntu Linux

 Minicom and alternative to putty in Ubuntu Linux.

 

Today I install Ubuntu flavor of Linux to create my personal Laptop as a DevBox for Network Automation practice.

 

I install Ubuntu on machine(a powerful Laptop with 32GB RAM) and then install putty for serial connection with Cisco 2960 switch. But it was not working and getting error while opening connection.

 

To remediate it I install “”Minicom” and then connect Cisco Switch to Ubuntu machine.

 

Minicom:

 

Minicom is a text-based serial port communications program. It is used to talk to external RS-232 devices such as mobile phones, routers, and serial console ports.

Installation

Install the program with:

sudo apt-get install minicom

Alternatively, you can get Minicom via the Synaptic Package Manager.

Using the program

In order to find the name of your port(s) enter this command in terminal:

dmesg | grep tty

If it is a direct serial connection, the output will be something like this:

[   22.587279] console [tty0] enabled

[   24.186230] serial8250: ttyS0 at I/O 0x3f8 (irq = 4) is a 16550A

 

For a USB-to-Serial adapter, one may see:

[    0.000000] console [tty0] enabled

[    5.065029] usb 4-3: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0

 

Setup Mode

Step1:

What we are interested in is the name of the serial port. In the first section above it is ttyS0, the other is ttyUSB0. which we will need in order to use Minicom. Next, enter in a terminal enter:

sudo minicom -s

 

 

A prompt will appear

 

                              

 

 

Step2:

 

One will next choose "Serial port setup'. Then, adjust the Serial Device to the device one has, for example:

A -    Serial Device      : /dev/ttyS0

 

and change the setting of “A” as per your machine ports.

Step3:

Then change setting of E i.e  Bps/Par/Bits to 9600 generally used to Laptop serial connections.

Then Save as your setup with a name of your choice and Exit.

Step5:

Run Minicom with

minicom - <name you decide>