# RJ45 Console Cable

**URL:** <https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603>\
**Category:** Portserver TS\
**Created:** [August 7, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603 "2008-08-07T21:56:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jpettit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4af34b/32.png) [@jpettit](https://forums.digi.com/u/jpettit)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603/1 "2008-08-07T21:56:34Z")

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Hello. We are using a PortServer TS 16 to connect to a number of different devices’ RJ45 console ports. Since these console ports come from many different manufacturers, we figure this must be a pretty standard configuration. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to find any pre-made cables that will do the job.

It appears that the pinout is very similar to the Cisco layout, with the only difference being the CTS and RTS being reversed. If we build custom cables with the following order, everything works fine:

Digi-\>Console  
1 -\> 2  
2 -\> 1  
3 -\> 4  
4 -\> 6  
5 -\> 3  
6 -\> 5  
7 -\> 8  
8 -\> 7

Our cables are pretty slow to make and ugly, so we’d like to just purchase a bunch. Is there a standard configuration?

Thanks!

–Justin

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**Author:** ![userid0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f6c823/32.png) [@userid0](https://forums.digi.com/u/userid0)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603/2 "2008-08-08T12:42:34Z")

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Yes, Digi does sell the “Cisco/Netra” RJ45 to RJ45 cables. The part numbers (based on quantity) and pin-outs are available here:

[http://supportold.digi.com/support/techsupport/common/cables/async/rj45-8pin-altpin--cisco-rj45-8pin.htm](http://supportold.digi.com/support/techsupport/common/cables/async/rj45-8pin-altpin--cisco-rj45-8pin.htm)

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**Author:** ![jpettit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4af34b/32.png) [@jpettit](https://forums.digi.com/u/jpettit)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603/3 "2008-08-10T02:36:24Z")

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Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, we need a cable similar to the Cisco cable but with pins 1 and 8 (CTS and RTS) swapped. Since we have hardware from a bunch of different vendors that work with this configuration, I would think this should be fairly common.

–Justin

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**Author:** ![userid0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f6c823/32.png) [@userid0](https://forums.digi.com/u/userid0)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://forums.digi.com/t/rj45-console-cable/6603/4 "2008-08-11T13:09:01Z")

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Sorry, not sure what you mean by pins 1 and 8 swapped? Unfortunately, there is no standard for RJ45 pinouts. You may want to consider purchasing custom cables from a cable vendor. Here are some recommendations:

[http://ftp.digi.com/support/techsupport/common/cables/reference/custom\_cable.html](http://ftp.digi.com/support/techsupport/common/cables/reference/custom_cable.html)
