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I have a USB to Cisco console port cable, and as far as i'm aware, its just a standard rollover serial cable. Correct me if i'm wrong?
I'm also looking at getting a HP ProCurve 2510-48 J9020A. On the front of this switch is an RJ45 connector labelled Console.
My question here is, can I use my USB FTDI Cisco console cable with this switch, as they have the same pinout, or is the pinout different and I will need a specific cable for this switch?
Thanks.
To me, this cable might be a passive USB-to-8P8C adaptor cable. This means that the console port needs to talk USB and the cable is just an electrical adapter. The lengthy USB plug could mean it's active but I wouldn't be sure.
The HP 2510 doesn't support USB on its console port - it might well destroy USB devices connected to it with a passive adapter. (Serial ports use +12V/-12V signaling while USB uses levels of up to 5V.)
You'll need an active USB-to-serial converter and an appropriate serial 8P8C-to-DE9 cable console cable compatible with Procurve switches.
The Procurve and Cisco console cables are compatible with each other according to this and one of my HP manuals.
So, if this cable is an active converter it'll work. If it's a passive adaptor it'll destroy your USB port/device.
I have personal experience with that exact USB-to-console cable in question and can confirm it does work with both HP and Cisco devices. It worked so well, in fact, that my previous employer bought several of those cables to replace the old ones.
