Connecting 1721 to a laptop without a serial connection

[chiboy162]

I have a 1721 router and am having problems connectioning it to my laptop. The laptop doesn't have a serial connection. I purchased a usb to ethernet adapter but can't seem to make it work. My thinking was to have the cable plugged into the console port and the adapter and then the adpater plugged into my usb port. I can't seem to make hyperterminal recongize it. BTW I am using Vista.

[mohammedmahmoud]

Hi,

You need to use a USB to serial converter to connect to the router console port.

BR,

Mohammed Mahmoud.

[sanchezej]

Yes... usb to ethernet will not do anything for you. You will need to buy a usb to serial (db-9) connector. The only trick is that the com port will not be the standard com 1 and that is based upon the setup that comes with the connector.

[graemeporter]

It is possible to change the COM port number via Windows Device Manager, which is part of the Microsoft Management Console. I use one of these adapters myself.

Access it by right-clicking on "Computer" in the Start menu or on the desktop and selecting "Manage".

Within "Computer Management", click "Device Management", and then expand the "Ports (COM & LPT)" tree. You should see a list of COM ports; right-click your USB-to-Serial adapter, select "Properties", and go to the "Port Settings" tab. You should see the option there to change which COM port number your serial port is assigned to.

My question is, what are Cisco going to do for CONSOLE connections when serial ports are extinct on PCs? They're becoming more and more rare as it is.

Hope this helps!

Cheers

Graeme

[chiboy162]

Thanks for your answers.