Gaining access to the user interface

If you are deploying your firewall on a cloud provider, you can skip this step and go directly to the Connecting to the web interface and CLI section.

When taking a new device out of the box or setting up a VM on a local hypervisor, such as VMware ESXi, Fusion, NSX, Hyper-V, and KVM, one of the first things you may need to do is to connect a console cable to gain access to the Command-Line Interface (CLI). You will need a standard DB9 to RJ45 console cable with the following pinout:

1 - Empty - Data Carrier Detect (DCD)
2 - 3 - Receive Data (RXD)
3 - 6 - Transmit Data - (TXD)
4 - 7 - Data Terminal Ready (DTR)
5 - 4 - Ground (GND)
6 - 2 - Data Set Ready (DSR)
7 - 8 - Request To Send (RTS)
8 - 1 - Clear to Send - (CTS)
9 - Empty - Ringing Indicator (RI)

Here is an example of an RJ45 to DB9 console cable:

Figure 2.1 – RJ45 to DB9 console cable

Some models also come with a micro USB port, which allows a...