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The XG Series hardware appliances will reach end-of-life (EOL) on March 31, 2025. Click here to see the XG to XGS migration documentation.

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https://docs.sophos.com/nsg/sophos-firewall/21.0/Help/en-us/webhelp/onlinehelp/index.html?contextId=CLI-console-access

Accessing Command Line Console

You can access the CLI console in two ways:

  • Locally with console cable: Connect your computer directly to the console port of your firewall. See Set up a serial connection with a console cable.

  • Remotely through a network: Connect your computer through any network interface attached to one of the ports on your firewall.

    • You must turn on SSH administrative access for the network interface if you want to connect using an SSH client. You can do this as follows:

      1. Go to Administration > Device access.
      2. Under Local service ACL, turn on SSH for the required zones.
      3. Click Apply.

    • You must turn on HTTPS administrative access for the network interface if you want to connect via the CLI Console found in the admin drop-down list at the top-right corner of the web admin console screen. You can do this as follows:

      1. Go to Administration > Device access.
      2. Under Local service ACL, turn on HTTPS for the required zones.
      3. Click Apply.

Note

The firewall closes idle SSH sessions after 15 minutes.

You can connect to the firewall using a serial cable. You can also use the micro USB port for some models.

Note

When you connect both micro USB and RJ45 serial cables, the firewall gives priority to the micro USB and redirects output to it.

The serial port baud rate 38400 is grayed out in BIOS to prevent accidental changes.

On successful sign-in, the main menu screen is displayed with the following options:

Main Menu

  1. Network Configuration
  2. System Configuration
  3. Route Configuration
  4. Device Console
  5. Device Management
  6. VPN Management
  7. Shutdown/Reboot Device
  0. Exit

Select Menu Number [0-7]:

To access any menu item, type the number corresponding to the item.

Example

To access Network Configuration, press 1.

See Connect to the CLI using a local serial console connection.