What type of cable is used to connect workstation serial port to a Cisco router console port?

Workstation owners might ask, “What type of cable is used to connect a Workstation serial port to a Cisco Router Console Port?” Workstations can connect to router console ports and access router information without using the router’s browser-based software. In many cases, routers come with console cables and adapters to make it possible to connect directly to the console.

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Which Cable Do You Require to Establish Connection between Workstation and Cisco Router Console?
Which Pinouts of Rollover Cables Connect to Cisco Router Console Port?

Nevertheless, you may not know which cable to use when connecting the Workstation to Cisco Router. So, which cable is it? Rollover cables help connect serial ports on workstations to console ports on Cisco routers. Light blue or red is usually its color, making it easier to identify than other network cables. Rollover cables also connect computer terminals to router consoles.

Which Cable Do You Require to Establish Connection between Workstation and Cisco Router Console?

The rollover cable will help you connect the Workstation to Cisco Router. Its color usually remains light blue or red to distinguish it from other network cables.

It is also possible for a cable to connect to a switch or router and a computer. When making a Local Area Network connection, you must ensure that the cable connects correctly at both the sender and receiver sides.

Unlike other crossovers, coaxial and straight-through cables, these rollovers do not aim to take data but rather to interface with the device.

Doubtless, many other cables can center the complete network programming process. However, network hardware upgrades, troubleshooting, and maintenance programs still need rollover cables.

Which Pinouts of Rollover Cables Connect to Cisco Router Console Port?

Two boxes are head-to-head connectors that differ from each other in Rollover cables. One End of the cable contains RJ45 connectors.

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The cable has eight wires, and the right-hand side wire gets sequenced in descending order (top to bottom). In contrast, the left-hand side gets numbers in ascending order (bottom to top).

Pinouts of both ends are opposite but the same in numbers. After establishing the connection, the cable gets Rollover properly, which is why this cable is named Rollover.

When the cable is connected, you can get hold of the device by using Terminal emulation software like HyperTerminal or Putty. Then you must set up the workstation serial port to pair the console port settings. Here are some default features:

No hardware flow control
No parity bits
9600 baud
8 data bits
One-stop bits

Conclusion

Connecting workstations to router console ports is possible, eliminating the need for browser-based software to access router information.

The router often comes with a console cable and adapter that makes it possible to connect directly to the console. Rollover is one of the null-modem cables that connect the workstation serial port to the cisco router console part.

Its appearance is flat and blue, so you can easily distinguish it from other networking wires. Further, these unshielded twisted wire pairs are available in various setups for use in various operations.

Different situations may require UTP cables to be wired according to different wiring conventions. This means that the individual wires in the cable have to be connected in different orders to different sets of pins in the RJ-45 connectors.

The following are main cable types that are obtained by using specific wiring conventions:

Ethernet Straight-through: The most common type of networking cable. It is commonly used to interconnect a host to a switch and a switch to a router.

Ethernet Crossover: An uncommon cable used to interconnect similar devices together. For example to connect a switch to a switch, a host to a host, or a router to a router.

Rollover: A Cisco proprietary cable used to connect to a router or switch console port.

Using a crossover or straight-through cable incorrectly between devices may not damage the devices, but connectivity and communication between the devices will not take place. This is a common error in the lab and checking that the device connections are correct should be the first troubleshooting action if connectivity is not achieved.

The figure shows the UTP cable type, related standards, and typical application of these cables. It also identifies the individual wire pairs for the TIA 568A and TIA 568B standards.

A rollover cable is usually shipped with each Cisco device. This cable connects a serial port on your computer to the console port of the device and it is used for the device’s initial configuration. It is called rollover because the wires on one end are rolled at the other end – the wire at pin 1 connects to the pin 8 on the other side, the wire at pin 2 to the pin 7, etc.

The cable is of light blue color with a DB-9 connector at one end and a RJ-45 connector at the other:

You connect the rollover cable to the serial port on your computer. On the Cisco device, there is a blue console port (usually marked in blue) to which you connect the other end of the cable:After the cable is connected, you can access the device using the terminal emulation software (e.g. Putty or HyperTerminal). You need to configure the PC’s serial port to match the console port settings. Here are the defaults:

9600 baud
no hardware flow control
8 data bits
no parity bits
1 stop bit

NOTE
Newer Cisco devices usually include a USB console port, since serial ports are rare on modern PCs.

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