What is Reddit's opinion of Plugable USB to Serial Adapter Compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux (RS-232DB9 Female Connector, Prolific PL2303HX Rev. D Chipset)?

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I managed to communicate with the DexDrive on my Windows 10 machine. I'm using this USB to Serial Adapter(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00425S1H8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1), and the software named Dexter. I also have the original DexDrive software just in case. If you have not found Dexter I can send it over. Hope it helps.

Others may not like prolific, but one that I've never had an issue with across any of my devices/operating systems over the years is plugable. I had my company buy like 20 because people kept stealing them, I have two in my backpack at all times.

Lots of the reviews on that USB to serial cable say something like

"This is not a cable used to connect to any server/networking hardware. This is purely for some other kind of programing cable and cannot be used for typical virtual terminal work."

I always use these ones; works great with linux/windows (and mac once you install drivers from plugable.com)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00425S1H8

This one from Amazon. It's $14USD And just to make sure, it's attached to my Linux machine at work. I've tested it using a ASA 5505, ASA 5515, AP1142 and AP1252 so it's definitely compatible.

Edited to add: You have to be careful with USB to Serial adapters sometimes as the signalling on the serial side is +12V/-12V whereas USB is only +5V. This comes in to play as a "1" requires positive voltage anywhere between +3V and +15V and a "0" is negative voltage between -3 and -15. Some cheap UARTs from China don't perform the voltage conversion properly and coupled with the expectation of the UART in the device you're connecting to, some devices will work fine and others won't work at all. I've encountered name-brand USB to Serial adapters I've had to take back because they didn't work, but a bottom-barrel Chinesium adapter works perfectly.

FYI, unless you have a PC w/ a serial port and a serial cable or can already use the RJ45 to serial console cable, you will need this or this to interrupt the boot process and reset a TL-SG3428, as there is an inherent delay with the onboard micro USB console port that doesn't allow you to interrupt the boot process successfully, thus forcing you to use ONLY the RJ45 console port for boot interrupt actions. I went around and around w/ TP-Link support to discover this limitation. I personally prefer the RJ45 to USB console cable I linked, it worked like a charm.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Plugable-Adapter-Prolific-PL2303HX-Chipset/dp/B00425S1H8

Something like that.

COM port numbering is local and doesn't matter. You can use whatever (local) COM port is appropriate for your serial device.

As for what went wrong, the cable you bought is for Cisco compatible console connections. The Sonicwall uses the same physical RJ45 (8P8C) connector as the Cisco, but it is wired differently.

What I've done, since I do this often enough to have to keep one handy.... I bought a generic serial adapter, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00425S1H8/ (mine is a "different brand" but these are chinese knockoff adapters that are relatively cheap, mine has the same housing and everything but a different branding - can't tell you what it is, because it's been worn off for a long time). These are fine for connecting for short periods of time, I wouldn't rely on it for any long-term use (more than an hour or so of being connected), as they seem to malfunction after a while, and you need to disconnect them for a bit, let them cool off and reconnect them to get them working. If you're doing anything permenant installed, I would suggest either a keyspan adapter ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GXBVDNM ) or something like a get-console airconsole with an adapter for the Sonicwall (since they're all pinned for Cisco). Either of those will be good for a long-term connection. You really just want something with a proper chipset for it.

you can also just make an adapter with an RJ45 cable and a keystone style jack, and RJ45 crimped end, to rewire the Sonicwall to the Cisco pinout and connect your existing cable.

The pinouts are easily google-able so I'll let you do that part. if you have RJ45 ends (both male and female) and both a crimper and punchdown tool (or honestly, a pair of scissors and a flathead screwdriver can be your punchdown tool), you can probably jerry rig an adapter with minimal effort.

All the best.

You need something like this, but for whatever reason your linksys is male as well, do also a gender changer.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00425S1H8/

That may work. I haven't used one like that personally.

I use something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Compatible-RS-232-DB9-Connector-Prolific/dp/B00425S1H8/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=usb+serial&qid=1574990295&sr=8-16

+

https://www.amazon.com/Cisco-72-3383-01-Rollover-Console-Female/dp/B005S2KPPU/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?keywords=cisco+console+cable&qid=1574990384&sprefix=cisco+co&sr=8-15

This gives you some flexibility to also use it with some network equipment that uses a db9 serial port instead of rj45

We bought several of these at work and have had no issues with them other than needing to load the drivers off the disc in Windows 7:

• https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Adapter-Prolific-PL2303HX-Chipset/dp/B00425S1H8

Then just get some kind of console cable like this:

• https://www.amazon.com/Console-Cable-Cisco-Router-Switch/dp/B005FTYR14

We use "official" Cisco console cables, but I'm sure anything saying it's compatible will work. We use them for all kinds of Dell, Cisco, Checkpoint, and Palo Alto equipment.

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Adapter-Prolific-PL2303HX-Chipset/dp/B00425S1H8

This one should work.

What about the Acer Swift 3?

• 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U Processor (Up to 3.4GHz)
• 14"
• 1920 x 1080
• 8 GB RAM
• 256 GB SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce MX150 with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
• Windows 10 Home
• 10 hours battery life
• 3.75 lbs.

It also has good build quality (aluminum case), a backlit keyboard and an IPS screen for wider viewing angles.

This latest gen quad core CPU should be useful for video/photo editing and general use.

The MX150 should can handle some light/medium gaming (for example Overwatch on high settings).

I can't think of a laptop that has a serial port, but maybe a USB adapter like this one would work for you. You can probably test that using any existing laptop.

For more options you can check this list of gaming laptops (including some gaming benchmarks). I keep this updated, so if you are not buying right now you can check back there later on.

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Adapter-Prolific-PL2303HX-Chipset/dp/B00425S1H8

Bought this 2 years ago, works with Ubuntu, Windows XP, 7, 8.1 Pro and 10 - in my personal experience.

IMHO, best usb to serial adapter I have ever bought.

> I've used them too and they fail and we're talking about machines with eISA or ISA slot motherboards not even close to PCIe.

The context of this discussion was that we were suggesting to use a modern PC with a USB or PCIe serial port instead of using an ancient PC just because you need a serial port and an ancient PC is the only thing that has that. The suggestion was to use virtualization on a modern machine.

> They are hit and miss.

Sure, like everything else in IT. You go through a little trial and error to find a brand that works consistently and then use that. I use these because I had read that they were reliable and didn't suffer from OS compatibility issues.