I’m needing to configure an HP2530 switch at work, and I’m using the USB port to access it. Anyone have any favorite programs for a terminal emulator? Based on the docs, it needs to be PC, but I also have a Mac if I’m wrong on that.
I may be in the wrong category, so, mods, please feel free to move this if so.
Putty or telnet? Open up windows shell and type telnet (address you need) (port number you need)
how did you get an IT job without knowing how to use telnet? Becuase ive been trying to get an IT job for a while and want to learn your secrets 
A mac has a terminal accessible by Control + Option + Shift + T
If you really wanna go weird and hairy you could just use, like, an old MUD suite like tintin++ to look like you’re doing something really fancy with the terminal
https://tintin.sourceforge.io/
not a lot of special stuff is proably going on in teh admin back end but hey full 256 color! 
Telnet won’t work as the terminal isn’t accessible via the network, only usb or the console port on the front of the switch (com ports).
Haha! I know how to use telnet, but I’m not in IT. I’m an AV systems designer/integrator for medium to large venues. I have to configure switches maybe 2-3 times a year, and most of them have some type of web interface. This one feels more old school with its com ports unless I’m missing something in the docs.
I’ve used hyperterm and some others for terminal via com port, but I’m just curious if anyone had a favorite.
Must be my charm and good looks 
Ok, seems like telnet is an option if the switch receives an IP from a DHCP server. Easy enough 
Putty has a SERIAL setting, you just enter the COM port as a text field. It works well. If you’re worried about the physical hookup, USB-Serial adapters are a good way to go.
Nortel CLI Manager
They released version 4.2.7 to the public before going under. It seriously is still amazing for this
Your in the right area and thanks for posting.
Now, usb rs232 is fun. Just about EVERYTHING talks that. mac, linux, linux subsystem for windows, bsd, cygwin, etc. has Minicom.
Every os for the past 35 years has kermit and its highly scriptable for serial connections.
Modern windows, as pointed has putty/kitty/mputty and a host of others even hyperterm is still out there to download and use.
Point being serial comms is so dead simple one can use any thing. As long as one knows what to type they’ll get a standard in and a standard out from what ever terminal program your using.
Now for a security point; telnet is plaintext going over your network which passwords can be sniffed by just about anything, Avoid telnet in mission critical production if possible. The HP 2530 does support ssh:
Telnet is fun for toys like bbses, cli games, etc… but nothing that involves anything that must be secured going over a wire.
Personally my favorite is either uucp or kermit. But mputty is great for windows boxes that I can’t get a unix environment setup on.
I love uucp and kermit because they are very universal and don’t care about the transport layer. If I wanted to dial up a remote system over mqtt there’s a way to do that, serial; damn straight, telnet ok, ssh yeah got that, http can be done. Doesn’t matter.
Putty one is just stuck with what is programmed into it.
Plus its kind of cool using a text to speech processor, a terminal, alias for cu(1) as call and Texpander to tell a computer:
call unixlabs
or
call wopr
Then have it actually make a connection to bell labs or nasa via different tools.
The wopr one just has cu calls plumb start web https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html while unixlabs does a ftp sync with belllabs via curl.