Console programs in Linux

Now that the list is up:

Hey everyone,


The Story:

=A0I was at a client site yesterday, covering for a colleague who is out =
of town =

(Hawaii damn him) and both internal and external interfaces were purporte=
d to =

be down. =A0I whipped out my laptop and presto!! Realized I had no clue h=
ow to =

connect via the Rollover cable to the console port of the router. =A0I fe=
lt =

like the guy was looking at me fumbling around looking for a way to conne=
ct. =A0
I tried all sorts of stuff, but with no internet connection, could not do=
a =

search. I could hear my bosses snide comment "Quit using that Linux crap!=
!" =

and became determined to find as many ways as possible to connect via con=
sole =

via FOSS. =A0I will be doing Google searches to round things out, but the=
re is =

no substitute for direct referrels. =


I started using linux on my laptop 6 months ago or so, and have found all=
the =

remote administration tools that I need, until yesterday that is. =A0What=
is a =

good console program, or in fact HOW, do I console into my networking =

equipment via serial port? Well I suppose I know how, but what software o=
r =

commands are available?

Luckily I removed an offending interface card and upon reboot, the ethern=
et =

port responded.

Thank you for your time,

anthony