A method for providing a front-end user interface for a digital cross-connect system. The method comprises displaying a user selection menu and a command line. User input is received in response to the displaying. A TL1 command corresponding to the user input is transmitted for execution on the digital cross-connect system in response to the user input including the TL1 command in the command line or in response to the user input including a selection from the user selection menu. The TL1 command is displayed in response to the transmitting and output data is received from the digital cross-connect system in response to the transmitting. The output is displayed.