Initial console to DIGI, portserver II/16. what is the cable pinout?

Question

I have a home-grown "datacenter" of mixed devices, SUN/AIX/HP/Cisco/Adtran/Juniper, etc. I bought 2 Digi Portserver II 16 so I could reduce the cable clutter. I checked the manuals for console connectivity on initial setup, and bought the shells assemble the cables. I have yet to get a successful session on either of the digis. If I power them on, I do see a character appear on the screen so there is some type of connectivity. On my end, Im using a USB to serial adapter and DB9 to RJ45. The adapter blanks I bought have RJ45 pin 1 and pin 10 empty. Colors in sequence beginning at 2 are gray green black blue white yellow red orange. I've tried 3 different pinouts already based on suggestions from various internet groups, finally decided to join here and get (hopefully) a good answer so I can stop wasting adapters with different non-functioning pinouts. Just to clarify this is to connect to the digi, for initial setup/configuration. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Have you factory reset the unit to ensure the serial ports are available for login?

http://knowledge.digi.com/articles/Knowledge_Base_Article/Resetting-a-PortServer-II-Configuration-to-Factory-Defaults

Comments

Thanks for the info. I reset it, now it shows P0 on the front. When I power cycled it, I got a character on the terminal display, but no login prompt,so I'm guessing this particular pinout is invalid, which means I'm back to my initial question, but one step closer since I should be able to log in when I finally get the pinout right. Thanks.

Answer 2

P0 is not normal, the unit should show AC. The unit may be in need of repair.

Comments

My mistake. I reset it again. It paused on P0, then after about 5 seconds resumed and went to AC.

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Have you tried logging into other ports besides 1?   The settings are defaulted to 9600 baud, 8 character bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.  Make sure you are using crossover (null modem) cable.  If you still don't get a login prompt, it would indicate a problem either with the serial ports on the unit or the cable.

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I suspect the problem is with the cable pinout, which was why I asked about pinout in my original question.

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What device are connecting to the serial port currently?  It is important to note that the Cisco/Sun cable ends are not interchangeable and should be labeled, the Cisco/Sun end needs to plug into those devices, while the other end into the Digi port.

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I haven't connected any devices to the digi yet. It's temporarily on my desk in my office so I don't have to go up and down stairs repeatedly while I'm trying to troubleshoot/configure. I wanted to do the initial network config and test connectivity before I start adding devices. As I've said, I don't even get a login prompt.

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The cabling pinouts depend on what you are attaching to the serial ports.  If you are connect a PC with a DB9 connector:

http://ftp1.digi.com/support/cabling/term_print_rj45_8pin_altpin_db9m.pdf

DB25 PC connection:

http://ftp1.digi.com/support/cabling/term_print_rj45_8pin_altpin_db25m.pdf

Cisco/Sun Console:

http://ftp1.digi.com/support/cabling/rj45_8pin_altpin_cisco_rj45_8pin.pdf

*Note the cable ends are not interchangeable.

The ports are set for 9600 baud, 8 character bits, 1 stop bit and no parity by default.

If you continue to experience problems, you might want to consider purchasing a cable/adapter from Digi.

Answer 3

Most of these, with the exception of the AIX console, will require specific pin-outs:

http://ftp1.digi.com/support/cabling/rj45_8pin_altpin_cisco_rj45_8pin.pdf

AIX would use a standard null-modem (crossover cable), however carrier is required on this OS:
http://knowledge.digi.com/articles/Knowledge_Base_Article/AIX-console-information-not-displaying

Comments

Thanks for the response. I'm afraid I didnt phrase my question accurately. i have pinouts for the clients, I'm just having no success connecting to the digis for the initial configuration. As I mentioned, I've tried 3 different pinouts to attempt a connection on port 1 of the digi in order to configure the digi ports for the clients, but I haven't gotten a response on the term to do even an initial login.

Answer 4

UPDATE: I managed, thanks to Professor Google, to get a working pinout, was able to log in, set the password, etc. Now my issue is how to test port configurations. I'll post this as a separate question. Thanks to everyone who answered.