What is the difference of console port and management port

We know that there are many kinds of interfaces or ports in a 4g sim card router. For example, WAN RJ45/LAN RJ45/USB2.0/USB3.0/Console/RJ11 etc.

As a newer when facing a 4g sim card router, we have many questions to ask. One of the questions that many of our customers and partners ask in relation to their networking scenes is what the difference between the dedicated management port and the console port on some of their networking infrastructure equipment are? To answer that question lets go back to the basics of networking.

There are 3 planes defined in the networking infrastructure world: Data Plane, Control Plane, and Management Plane.

• Data Planeis where the use traffic flows and include forwarded frames and packets that contain user data.
• Control Planeis where the routing information and protocols that control the flow if the user data in the data plane reside.
• Management Planeis where the configuration traffic such as the commands to configure the switches and routers reside.
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Now managing a network infrastructure can be done in two ways, one is known as in-band network management, where the in-band management traffic uses the same data plane as used by data traffic on the networking device. Another, more resilient way for managing networking devices, is using a dedicated out-of-band management network, where the management of network devices operate on a management plane that is separate from the data plane. And that is where the two different ports (management port, which is typically an Ethernet port and console port, which is always a serial port) come in.

It is important to note that the use of a dedicated out-of-band network using the console port is on the rise in the recent past due to increase in network attacks, and domestic and foreign cyber threats to critical network infrastructure. 

In some simple words, console port and management port are both important for 4G SIM Card Router. They undertake their own responsibility when they are required in projects. Not a single one can be omitted in a 4G SIM Card Router.