The management interface is the port through which an appliance is managed and administered. It is also the port through which integration of the Central Management System appliance and a managed appliance is managed. With the single-port address type, the management interface is also the port through which a managed appliance requests and downloads software updates from the DTI network.
Initial settings need to be configured to set up the management interface, and to allow access to the network, change the default administrator password, and so on. The following initial configuration methods are available:
Keyboard and VGA monitor—You can use a keyboard and VGA monitor connected directly to the appliance to log in to the CLI and configure the initial settings. This is the easiest way to configure the initial settings if you are physically near the appliance. See Configuring initial settings using a keyboard and monitor.
Serial console port—You can connect a Windows or Mac laptop, a Linux system, or a terminal server to the serial port on the back of the appliance to log in to the CLI and configure the initial settings. See Configuring initial settings using the serial console port.
LCD panel—A liquid-crystal display (LCD) panel on the front of many appliance models has navigation buttons and menus you use to select initial settings. For more information, see your Hardware Administration Guide.