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As per a few other SF questions; I have recently purchased a D-link managed switch. It's a DES-3550.

It has a serial port on the front for console access and according to the manual this uses a female DB-9 cable. That's the first thing that confused me. The port on the switch is female so surely it needs a male connector?

Secondly; when I search for a db-9 serial console cable they all seem to have RJ45 connections at the other end. I'm using a dell laptop for messing around with the switch and it's got a serial port on it. Although presumably it goes through the graphics card? So I'm assuming I would have to use the NIC with the RJ45 -> DB-9 cable.

Does anyone know which cable I need and which software I should use to access the switch via command line?

dannymcc
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1 Answers1

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Page 31 of the 3500-series manual as downloaded from D-Link's web site explains what sort of cable you'll need, software and terminal settings.

Keith Stokes
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  • I have read that page but that's where the confusion had come from. It says to connect the female end of the cable to the console port on the switch. However, the console port on the switch is a female connector. – dannymcc Apr 16 '11 at 22:04
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    I know it sounds kind of stupid, but make the males match the females. It's been awhile since I've done a lot of serial work and now I keep just the custom cable I need for my limited gear. However, my oh-no kit does include a Db9<->Db9 cable, gender changes, null modem adaptors and a tester to let me know if I need the null modem adaptor or not. However, you can just try with and without it to see which one works with everything matched. – Keith Stokes Apr 16 '11 at 22:22
  • If I just get a male to male (DB9 - DB9) cable would that be the same thing? – dannymcc Apr 16 '11 at 22:28
  • RTFM is not something we condone here. Please edit to include more details. – Jacob Apr 16 '11 at 22:40
  • If you use a M-M cable I suspect you'll also need a null modem adaptor. – Keith Stokes Apr 16 '11 at 22:56
  • @Jacob...I hate that just as much as looking for errors in the logs when you can't figure out why something doesn't work. – Keith Stokes Apr 16 '11 at 22:57
  • There's clearly an error in the manual. On the page just before the one Keith quoted (which is p31 of the pdf, but p16 of the manual), it says that the console port is a female DB9 and then immediately says you need female end on the cable, which is obviously wrong. – Ward - Trying Codidact Apr 17 '11 at 01:24
  • Am I right in thinking with the M-M cable I can use the serial vga port on the laptop? – dannymcc Apr 17 '11 at 07:28
  • VGA ports are for monitors, not for RS232 connections. On PCs they are typically female 15-pin d-sub connectors and RS232 serial are typically male 9-pin d-sub connectors. – Keith Stokes Apr 17 '11 at 16:17
  • Yeah, the 9-pin serial port is the same overall size and the 15-pin VGA, but you can't fit them together. Unless your laptop is pretty old, it probably doesn't have a serial port and you'll need a USB-serial coverter. – Ward - Trying Codidact Apr 17 '11 at 18:53