==== Introduction  ====


This mini tutorial will show you how to connect to the Bone via the serial connection to determine the IP address, test the network connection and DNS. You'll need to know the COM serial port address, see the [[http://www.ladyada.net///drivers.html|Drivers]] tutorial on how to determine the COM and install drivers.



For this tutorial you will need:


  ***[[http://www.adafruit.com/products/513|Beagle Bone ]]******
  ***[[http://www.adafruit.com/products/730|Ethernet Cable]]**

Pick these parts up at the Adafruit shop!


==== Terminal Software  ====


To connect via the USB cable, you'll need a terminal program. Built into Windows is Hyperterm. You can google around to find another good terminal program.



Connect to the Bone's COM port at 115200 baud, 8 bit, No parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control

{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/com17.gif?nolink&332x301  |}}

{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/hyperterm.gif?nolink&296x301  |}}

{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/prop.gif?nolink&345x407  |}}

Hit return a few times, to show the login screen

{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/angstrom-login.gif?nolink&861x577  |}}

Log in with the user name **root **and no password

{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/rootlogin.gif?nolink&861x577  |}}

That's it you're logged in!


==== dmesg  ====


Now we can try out the Ethernet connection. Plug a standard straight-through cable from the Bone to your Ethernet router.



Our favorite tool is **dmesg** - this will tell you all the system messages, such as what hardware was found. Type **dmesg** and hit return at the **root@beaglebone: ~#** prompt



{{ http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/dmesg1.gif?nolink&861x577 |}}



{{ http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/dmesg2.gif?nolink&861x577 |}}



As you can see the last part of boot up is to bring the ethernet connection **eth0** up


==== Ethernet test  ====


You can verify the ethernet connection by typing in **ifconfig -a**



{{ http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/ifconfig--a.gif?nolink&861x577 |}}



you can see under **inet addr:** the internet address of the Bone - it uses DHCP to automatically get an IP address and this is what the router gave us back. If you don't see anything, try rebooting the system by typing in **reboot** and hitting return. Make sure your Ethernet cable is well connected to both the Bone and the router.



Now you can test the outgoing connection. Type in **ping 18.70.0.160** and hit return



{{ http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/ping.gif?nolink&861x327 |}}



If it works, you'll see the above. You can type Control-C to cancel



Next you can test the DNS system, by pinging www.google.com, which should also succeeed



{{ http://www.ladyada.net/images/beaglebone/pingdns.gif?nolink&858x448 |}}