USB Console Cable USB to RJ45 Cable Essential Accesory of Cisco, NETGEAR, Ubiquity, LINKSYS, TP-Link Routers/Switches for Laptops in Windows, Mac, Linux (Blue)

I had an 8 port SFP+ switch where I didn't know what was going on. It had a separate console port so I purchased this cable. I got it the next day. I hooked it up to the switch. On my Windows 11 system I didn't have to install any drivers. It just worked. I have a couple of 48 port switches and will buy two more of these cables for those cables.

I ordered this cable to use on a little Protectli appliance I turned into a firewall (6 ports). So I wanted to upgrade the RAM, put in an mSATA SSD and run a Linux based firewall. Also I wanted to be able to upgrade or change the OS remotely if needed. This cable allows me to "console in" and watch the Protectli reboot remotely via Minicom or Picocom which are like Putty if you are on Windows. It's like out of band management for a small office that's redundantly connected to the Internet. I say "like" because I am getting there via VPN but there are 2 paths I can choose from anway. This little cable can connect to all sorts of devices and I can get to all of the via a single board coputer (SBC), all I have to do is ask someone in the office to move the cable to different labeled ports! I recommend this thing for sure. The drivers are, of course, in the Linux kernel, so unlike Windows; you don't have to pull your hair out trying to find drivers just to get a simple job done. Here is some output while I am plugging the cable in:kernel: usb 1-1: new full-speed USB device number 22 using xhci_hcdkernel: usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0403, idProduct=6001, bcdDevice= 6.00kernel: usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3kernel: usb 1-1: Product: FT232R USB UARTkernel: usb 1-1: Manufacturer: FTDIkernel: usb 1-1: SerialNumber: AD0K102Tmtp-probe[8452]: checking bus 1, device 22: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-1"mtp-probe[8452]: bus: 1, device: 22 was not an MTP devicekernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generickernel: usbserial: USB Serial support registered for generickernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver ftdi_siokernel: usbserial: USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Devicekernel: ftdi_sio 1-1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detectedkernel: usb 1-1: Detected FT232RLkernel: usb 1-1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

With the airlines reducing the carryon restrictions I needed get a smaller laptop bag and reduce what I carried. With this cable and a couple of RJ45/DB9 hoods I was able to eliminate all of my other serial cables and adapters, making a rather small and flat package that takes up next to no room and is light. Also requires no drivers on my Windows 10 tablet.I made two adapters to go with this that now allow me to get into everything I need to get into on a regular basis, primarily cisco and hp switches. For equipment that requires a null modem cable I used an RJ45/DB9F adapter, and to turn this cable back into a standard serial port (so that I can use any proprietary cables or any device that uses a straight cable like most commercial UPS systems) I used an RJ45/DB9M adapter. Both adapters slide right into the zip lock bag that is used to ship this cable.The pinouts (and standard RJ45 Hood Color Code) for these adapters is as follows:For DB9M/DTE adapter1 blue (cts) -> 82 orange (dsr) -> 63 black (rxd) -> 24 red (gnd) (cut it off)5 green (gnd) -> 56 yellow (txd) -> 37 brown (dtr) -> 48 white (rts) -> 7For DB9F/DCE/Null Modem Adapter1 blue (cts) -> 72 orange (dsr) -> 43 black (rxd) -> 34 red (gnd) (cut it off)5 green (gnd) -> 56 yellow (txd) -> 27 brown (dtr) -> 68 white (rts) -> 8Verify the color codes on your RJ45 hoods before assembling - manufacturers have been known ignore color standards.

Working with Cisco. Everything's great.

I needed to get serial console access on my Ubiquiti Unifi Security Gateway and this was an easy way to do that. Plugged right in and works. I wish it was a little more durable, mine seems to lack the mechanical stabilization for the RJ45 side where the crimp was done, so the only thing holding the RJ45 on is the actual metal pins pressed into the wires.If you have one of these and you accidentally pull out the wires, picture with this review is the ordering on mine (left to right): brown, purple, yellow, red, black, orange, blue, teal

Bought this cable to troubleshoot my Ubiquiti Edgerouter that was no longer booting. After plugging in the cable to my Windows 11 machine, the drivers installed automatically and I was able to find the COM port (COM3) by looking at the Ports section of Device Manager. I opened PuTTY and set connection type to "serial", serial line to "COM3" (yours may vary), and speed (baud rate) to "115200", then connected. As soon as I connected power to the router, I was able to see the boot sequence and troubleshoot a faulty USB drive. After replacing the USB drive, I was able to see the EdgeOS boot sequence.

Why I never bought one of these in the past is beyond me, but it sure saved me a massive amount of time on a recent project. I pulled a router from a cluster and we forgot to record where we set an accessible IP on it. This console cable hooked right up and I was able to SSH in to the console port on a FortiGate 200E and set an accessible IP and HTTPS access in a matter of minutes. Turns out we set the IP on a GBIC port, which couldn't be accessed from the home environment. So for, it works great, so I definitely recommend!

I have used this cable to connect to Cisco VG, Cubes, switches and routers. No issues so far. Highly recommended. The only consideration would be the length a longer cable might allow you to connect to equipment at the top of a tack and still be sitting on a chair or the floor. This one is not that long so you won’t be able to do it, if you don’t mind be standing in this situations this one will do fine.