Connect up devices – console cables & adapters

The Operations Manager connects to the widest variety of target device consoles, typically without the need for any special cabling or adapters.

The Operations Manager also features Console Autodiscovery to automatically discover and set the port speed, pinout and label.

Connect up typical RS-232 RJ45 device consoles, e.g. Cisco switch

By default, all Operations Manager RJ45 serial ports use the X2 (aka "Cisco Straight") RJ45 serial pinout.

You can generally connect your target device's RJ45 serial port (e.g. the light blue CONSOLE port the back of a router or switch) directly to the Operations Manager using a Cat 5 straight-through patch cable.

Select models, e.g. OM2200, support software selectable "Cisco Straight/Rolled" aka "X2/X1" pinouts.  In this mode, use a Yost/rollover cable rather than a straight-through cable.  This option is particularly useful if rollover cabling is already in place. For details on port pinouts, refer to this article.

While there is no official standard pinout for RS-232 over RJ45, the vast majority of devices utilize the same pinout as Cisco.

Connect up atypical RS-232 RJ45 device consoles, e.g. APC PDU

For a device with an idiosyncratically pinned console, you can either crimp a custom cable or use the original cable that shipped with the target device connected to the optional 319016 adapter, as shown below:

Connect up RS-232 DB9 device consoles, e.g. PC server

DB9 console ports tend to be wired in the standard DTE configuration, ala the serial port you would find on a PC or laptop.  Connect the included 319015 adapter to the target device, and then to the Operations Manager using a straight-through patch cable.

For DB9 ports that are wired in the standard DCE configuration, ala the serial port you would find on a dial-up modem, use the optional 319014 adapter instead.

Connect up USB device consoles, e.g. Cisco router alternative console

The Opengear device's USB console ports use a standard Type A connector, ala the USB port you would find on a PC or laptop.  Use an off-the-shelf USB cable to connect to your target device's USB console.

While USB consoles have no special pinout or cabling requirements, they do have software driver requirements. Supported USB chipsets include FTDI, CP210X, CP2303, CDC ACM, MCT U232, Exar – which covers the vast majority of USB consoles.

Example RS-232 cables & adapters

The below chart contains examples of the adapters required to connect to various vendors' devices.  Note that this is by no means an exhaustive list.

MANUFACTURER	MODEL	CONSOLE INTERFACE	X1 PINOUT	X2 PINOUT
3Com	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Alcatel	7450 ESS	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
APC	Use with APC cable	DB9F DCE	319019	319016
Arista	7000 Series Data Center Switches	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Avaya	IP Office 500	DB9F DCE	319019	319016
Barracuda Networks	Legacy models	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Bay Networks	ASN	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Bluecoat		DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Brocade	TurboIron 24X	DB9M DCE	319017	319014
	MLXe Series Routers	DB9F DCE	319019	319016
	FastIron ICX 66xx	RJ45 DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
	FastIron ICX 7450	RJ45 DTE	Straight CAT5
	FCS624S FCX6xxS	DB9M	319015	319014
	5100 Switch	RJ45 DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Cabletron	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Checkpoint	Firewall	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Checkpoint	Power1 9070 & 2200	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Cisco	25xx/26xx/29xx/52xx/53xx/TGX/PIX & some Catalyst	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
	40xx/70xx/120xx & some Catalyst	DB25F DCE	-	-
	SG300	DB9M DCE	319017	319014
	WAAS 674	DB9F DCE	319019	319016
Citrix	Netscaler	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Dataprobe	iBootBar	DB9F DCE	319019	319016
Dell	PowerConnect Switches PowerEdge Servers	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Dell/Force10	S55, S4810 Switches	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
EMC	Isilon	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Extreme Networks	3408 Alpines 6808 Black Diamonds Summit 400-48T	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Fortinet	RJ-45 Fortigate	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
	DB-9F Fortigate	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Foundry Networks	BigIron switch and Foundry Routers	DB9M DCE	319017	319014
F5	BIG-IP 3-DNS / 6900	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
F5	BIG-IP 4000S LTM	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Hewlett Packard	ProCurve with DB-9	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Hewlett Packard	ProCurve with RJ-45	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Intel	Express hub/switch	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Infoblox	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
IBM	RS6000	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Juniper	M series	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Juniper	MX, EX, SSG, ISG, SRX, EX series, 4500	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Lucent	FibreReach Mux	DB25F DCE	-	-
NetApp	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
	3270	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
	FAS62xx	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Netscreen	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Netscreen	-	RJ45F DCE	-	-
Nokia	IP440/700	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Nortel	Contivity 2500/4500 Passport 8610	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Packeteer	-	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Paloalto	PA-5000, PA-3000, PA-2000, PA-500, PA-200 series	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
	PA-4000 series	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Paradyne	Frameserver	DB25F DCE	-	-
Radware	Alteon	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
Riverbed	Steelhead	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
Server Technology	Switched CDU	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5
SilverPeak	EdgeConnect S (EC-S)	RJ45F DTE		Straight CAT5
Sun	Enterprise & some Blade/Fire/Netra	DB25F DTE	-	-
	RaQ & some Blade	DB9M DTE	319018	319015
	Fire V & Netra t1	RJ45F DTE	Rolled Cable	Straight CAT5