APC 9211 MasterSwitch Password Reset Procedure
- Technology |
- Hardware |
- CCIE
I recently purchased an APC 9211 MasterSwitch PDU for my home lab. I wanted the ability to remotely power up and power down devices so I can lab while on the go and not have equipment running 24/7. This specific device was acquired from a liquidator on ebay for less than $100 USD, which compared to the newer Smart PDUs on the market is a fraction of the cost.
This device has been discontinued by APC for quite some time, however these things are rock solid and so far this unit has been performing quite well. However, there was one problem when I tried to manage it... the previous owner didn't clear the password and I was locked out.
I turned to apc.com to find the user manual, which contains lots of nice information (even the default apc/apc username/password), but not how to reset the password. Then I found that an older version of the firmware had a vulnerability where you could log in with any username if you use the password TENmanUFactOryPOWER (some sort of backdoor password they used in the factory while configuring the management cards). This unit apparently was patched, because that password didn't let me in.
Finally, I found a forum post that said you can use the default username "apc" and password "apc" within the first 30 seconds of powering the unit on. Voila! It let me in. So, hopefully to save a few of you out there some time and frustration, here are the steps:
1) Plug in a console cable and set your terminal settings to 2400, 8, 1, none.
2) Power the unit on
3) Within the first 30 seconds, enter the username: apc and password: apc
This should give you the main menu screen:
American Power Conversion Web/SNMP Management Card AOS v3.0.9.a
(c) Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved MasterSwitch APP v2.2.5.a
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name : AP9211 Date : 06/23/2012
Contact : Tekcert.com Time : 17:50:54
Location : CCIE_Rack1 Up Time : 0 Days 0 Hours 27 Minutes
Status : P+ N+ A+ User : Administrator
MasterSwitch : Serial Communication Established
------- Control Console -------------------------------------------------------
1- Device Manager
2- Network
3- System
4- Logout
- Main Menu, - Refresh, - Event Log
Comments
I wish I'd had this to hand a
I wish I'd had this to hand a few months ago!
One thing I found was if you don't have the console cable it's a pain to get one. Literally no where seemed to have any replacement ones.
The problem for me was that I couldn't reset it but didn't know the IP so plugging it in with wireshark later revealed the address.
Thankfully this one was unsecurely left as apc/apc.
Console cable
I had similar issues with a APC PDU unit, but a newer model and it was a hassle to find a console cable (serial to rj12), apparently they are APC proprietary and you cant find them as accessories.
My solution was to buy a second unit that had a cable included :-)
Reset Password
I've have to try the 30 second one, but usually you have to call APC and give them the serial number and they will give you a special unlock password that works just on that unit.
APC 9610
Your blog inspired me to pull my APC 9610 out of a box where it's been sitting for years with a forgotten password. Thanks!
Turns out that the 9610 isn't exactly the same. The device doesn't have a userid, only a password, and 'apc' didn't work. The backdoor password you listed did, though.
From there, a factory testing menu appears. Option 11, dump EEPROM, prompts from a starting location. In firmware Rev. 1.00, the password starts at 012D. The password is displayed with each pair of bytes swapped; e.g. MySecretPass is displayed as yMeSrcteaPss.
Woo hoo! Thank you!
APC 9610
Great work John! Thanks for sharing the info.