Communicating with the AKD over Telnet using HyperTerminal and PuTTY

Normally, the Workbench software is used to connect to and configure the AKD drives.  However, there may be some instances where Workbench can't be used or where another communication method is preferred for troubleshooting purposes, etc.  Two terminal programs that can be used to communicate with the AKD are Hyperterminal and PuTTY.  Both of these support TCP/IP communication and can be used in the same way as the Terminal screen in Workbench.

Connection Settings

The two important settings for TCP/IP communication are the IP address and the port number:

1. You will need to know the IP address that is configured for the AKD drive.

2. The port number for Telnet communication with the AKD is always 23.

There are other settings that are specific to the software and we will get into that later.

 

Connecting to the AKD drive using HyperTerminal

Hyperterminal is a Windows Accessories program and is included in most Windows installations.  It could be missing or hidden in some versions of Windows, but it can easily be found as an attachment at the bottom of this article.

Installation Note: Get the Hypertrm.exe file and place it in a folder called Hyperterminal and put that in the Program Files folder.  So you will have C:\Program Files\HyperTerminal containing the Hypertrm.exe file.  For Windows 10, you can then pin it to the start menu for easy access.

Run the file Hypertrm.exe to start the program.  It does not require any installation.

Hyperterminal Setup

Follow these steps to set up Hyperterminal for Telnet communication:

1. Hyperterminal defaults to using a phone to make a call.  We don't want to do that, so the first step is to uncheck the box for "Use country/region code and area code."

2. In the "Select using" box, select "TCP/IP (Winsock)."

3. Enter the IP address of the AKD drive and the port number (use the default port 23).

4. On the Settings tab, click the ASCII Setup button.

5. In the ASCII Setup window, check the top two boxes.  And click OK.  The following boxes should be checked:

"Send line ends with line feeds"

"Echo typed characters locally"

"Wrap lines that exceed terminal width"

6. Click OK.

7. Click the Call button to start the connection.

8. Press enter to get the prompt symbol, -->.

9. Type AKD parameter and command names.  Press enter to execute.

 

Connecting to the AKD drive using PuTTY

PuTTY is a free terminal program that can be used to communicate over Telnet.  It does not require any installation.  Just run the putty.exe file to start the program.  In Windows 10, it can be pinned to the start menu.

PuTTY is quite a bit easier to use than Hyperterminal in terms of default settings and the number of clicks to get it connected.  However it does not have the familiarity of Hyperterminal and it does not save the connection information (at least not by default).  It may be more flexible with other settings and other types of communication, but we only use it for Telnet.

Just like with Hyperterminal, PuTTY can be used to read/write parameter values and enter AKD commands the same way as in the Workbench Terminal screen.

PuTTY Setup

1. Start the program by running putty.exe.

2. Select "Telnet" as the connection type.

Notice the port number changes to 23 when you select Telnet.

3. Enter the IP address of the AKD drive and click Open.

You will see the terminal window.

4. Press enter to get the prompt.  Type AKD parameter and command names and press enter to execute.

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