# Setting Up Management Access

Before you power up the system, you must set up a management console. (See Connecting to a Console Terminal.) You use the console to communicate with the system during the power-up process, set an IP address, and manage the system using the command-line interface (CLI).

You can monitor and manage the router through either of these methods:

- Console terminal—Connect a console (PC, Macintosh, or UNIX workstation) directly to the system's RS-232 serial port.
- Remote console—Connect 10/100Base-T port on the SRP IOA to an Ethernet network, and run Telnet from a remote console.

For initial access to the system, you need to physically connect your console directly to the system's RS-232 port. Through this connection you use the CLI to set an IP address on the system. After you configure the IP address, you can access the system remotely (for example, via Telnet).