Enabling Telnet for CLI

The device provides an embedded Telnet server, which allows you to access its CLI from a remote Telnet client using the Telnet application protocol. By default, the Telnet server is enabled, but for unsecured Telnet connections whereby information is transmitted in clear text. Optionally, you can disable Telnet connectivity, or enable secured Telnet connections. If you enable secured Telnet connectivity, the device uses the TLS security protocol, whereby information is transmitted encrypted. For TLS, the device uses the TLS settings of the TLS Context at Index #0 ("default"). A special Telnet client is required on your PC to connect to the Telnet interface over the TLS connection, for example, C-Kermit for UNIX and Kermit-95 for Windows. For more information on TLS, see Configuring TLS Certificates.

For security, some organizations require the display of a proprietary notice upon starting a Telnet session. To configure such a message, see Creating a Login Welcome Message.

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To enable Telnet:

1.

Open the CLI Settings page (Setup menu > Administration tab > Web & CLI folder > CLI Settings).

2.

From the 'Embedded Telnet Server' drop-down list, select Enable Unsecured or Enable Secured (i.e, TLS) to enable Telnet.

3.

In the 'Telnet Server TCP Port' field, enter the port number of the embedded Telnet server.

4.

In the 'Telnet Server Idle Timeout' field, enter the duration of inactivity in the Telnet session after which the session automatically ends.

5.

Click Apply, and then reset the device with a save-to-flash for your settings to take effect.

For a detailed description of the Telnet parameters, see Telnet and CLI Parameters.