Hello to the group!
Please forgive me if this is a basic thing that a netadmin should know; I have no formal training on this so much of my knowledge is from bits and blurps from the Internet searches I've been doing combined with trial-and-error.
TL;DNR Version: What is the PROPER way to get CatTools past the "Press ENTER to continue" screen that follows the "Press CTRL-Y to continue" splash screen when using SSH on an Avaya ERS4850? I rigged a way through, but I don't think it's right.
Edit: And I meant to say, I've already seen Wiki Cattools with Avaya ERS switches and the link it provides to variations...
Long Version:
Our organization uses CatTools for taking the running-config of our network gear, mostly Avaya/Nortel/BayStack equipment. For the vast majority, it's been working fine, as we were using Telnet. However, we're slowly moving to SSH and I have one switch I'm trying to get into a little more cleanly than the method I've found.
I've spent the better part of two days trying to figure this out, searching Thwack and the Internet in general, to no avail. It was by studying the debug output that I finally figured out what was happening and came up with a workaround. But I don't like my method.
Here's the debug before I figured it out:
[code]
<NEWSESSION CatTools 3.11.3 3/15/2018 1:05:07 PM>
<PROTOCOL=SSH2>
<DEVICE TYPE=Nortel.Switch.Ethernet>
<ACTIVITY TYPE=Device.Backup.Running Config>
<ACTIVITY SCRIPT=C:\Program Files (x86)\CatTools3\Scripts\Client.Device.Backup.Running Config.txt>
<USERS NAME FOR DEVICE=SomeSwitch>
<C OK 1:05:08 PM>
<R-1:05:08 PM>[13][10]
<R-1:05:08 PM> ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ##### ### ### ##### ### ### ##### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ########## ### ###### ########## ### ###### ########## ### ############ ### #### ############ ### #### ############ ### ### ### ## ### ### ### ### ### ### ###Enter Ctrl-Y to begin.****************************************************************** Ethernet Routing Switch 4850GTS-PWR+ ****** Avaya ****** Copyright (c) 1996-2017, All Rights Reserved ************ HW:15 FW:5.8.0.3 SW:v5.10.1.039******************************************************************
<W-1:05:09 PM>[25]
<R-1:05:09 PM>Last login: --[13][10]Failed retries since last login: 0[13][10]Press ENTER to continue[13][10]
================================================================================
WFMDRetVal=1 Waiting for: "Logout"
WFMDRetVal=2 Waiting for: "Enter Username:"
WFMDRetVal=3 Waiting for: "Enter Password:"
WFMDRetVal=4 Waiting for: ">"
WFMDRetVal=5 Waiting for: "#"
WFMDBuffer="last login: --[13][10]failed retries since last login: 0[13][10]press enter to continue[13][10]"
================================================================================
[/code]
I see the [##] codes, which I figured early on are ASCII. [13] is <CR>, [10] is <LF>, and [25] is <EM>. I know <CR> is <CTRL-M>, so it would follow that <EM> would be <CTRL-Y> (which we would expect with an Avaya/Nortel switch).
So the last few lines appear to show we R (Read, receive) the Avaya splash screen (all the ### ## ####) and then W (Write, send) [25] (<CTRL-Y>) and we then read from the device a quick banner showing the number of failed retries, etc., at which point we must hit <CR>.
It appears to me, however, by the five "Waiting for" lines, that CatTools doesn't think it's logged in yet. Were this Telnet, CatTools would be correct: It is AFTER the CTRL-Y where we enter login information -- in TELNET. But in SSH, we won't see the splash screen nor the "Press ENTER to continue" line without a successful (SSH) login.
So this is where I kept getting stuck. We're logged in, but CatTools doesn't seem to think so. To work around this, I set up a variation to use CTRL-Y followed by CTRL-M as a *PRE* login keystroke. The reason I don't think it's right is because (1) it should be *POST* login but CatTools doesn't seem to think it's logged in; and (2) after doing this, CatTools receives a command prompt from the device, but just sits there for about 20 seconds before continuing, claiming to be waiting for a known device prompt.
The output of the debug after the workaround is in place is as follows:
[code]
<NEWSESSION CatTools 3.11.3 3/15/2018 2:51:33 PM>
<PROTOCOL=SSH2>
<DEVICE TYPE=Nortel.Switch.Ethernet>
<ACTIVITY TYPE=Device.Backup.Running Config>
<ACTIVITY SCRIPT=C:\Program Files (x86)\CatTools3\Scripts\Client.Device.Backup.Running Config.txt>
<USERS NAME FOR DEVICE=SomeSwitch>
<C OK 2:51:34 PM>
<R-2:51:34 PM>[13][10]
<R-2:51:34 PM> ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ##### ### ### ##### ### ### ##### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ########## ### ###### ########## ### ###### ########## ### ############ ### #### ############ ### #### ############ ### ### ### ## ### ### ### ### ### ### ###Enter Ctrl-Y to begin.****************************************************************** Ethernet Routing Switch 4850GTS-PWR+ ****** Avaya ****** Copyright (c) 1996-2017, All Rights Reserved ************ HW:15 FW:5.8.0.3 SW:v5.10.1.039******************************************************************
<W-2:51:35 PM>[25]
<W-2:51:35 PM>[13]
<R-2:51:35 PM>Last login: --[13][10]Failed retries since last login: 0[13][10]Press ENTER to continue[13][10][13][13][10]<Device Hostname Here>#
================================================================================
WFDRetVal=0. Waiting for: "ctrl-ytobegin"
WFDBuffer="lastlogin:--failedretriessincelastlogin:0pressentertocontinue<DeviceHostnameHere>#"
================================================================================
<W-2:52:05 PM>[13]
<W-2:52:05 PM>[13]
<R-2:52:05 PM>[13][13][10]
.......and the debug continues, to show the running-config as one would expect, etc......
[/code]
The main reason I don't think this is right is because the output states it's waiting for the "Press CTRL-Y to continue" prompt after it's already been given, and the "Info Log" pane shows "Waiting for a known device prompt".
Is there a better way to use SSH via CatTools with an ERS 4850GTS?
Many thanks in advance. I'd love to clean / speed this process up.
Regards,
Wirefly
