So I don't doubt that most everyone on here has a good-sized coil/mashup of Cisco standard-issue light blue RJ45 to DB9 cable in their bag. Here's how to get rid of that clutter and just use a straight-through CAT5 cable for all your console needs.

First you'll need a DB9 to RJ45 adapter, I got a blank one here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067RSY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $1.80 for a blank adapter, when it comes it will come with the pins out from the DB9 part.

Once you have the adapter you'll need to set the pinout. When you look at the DB9, you'll see numbers for the pins, here's the pinout for a "internal rolled" cable:

2 - Black

3 - Yellow

4 - Brown

5 - Green (could also try red, they are crimped together on the one I took apart)

6 - Orange

7 - White (possibly grey)

8 - Blue

Connect pins FULLY into adapter until they click, twist DB9 plug to shorten cables and seat in adapter, plug USB to Serial adapter and Cat5 in from the Cisco device and you're ready to drop some configs. Hope this helps everyone carry one less thing in their bags. :)

Can they both be used in the same way? I get the pins are different.

crossover cable,

1---3
2---6
3---1
4---7
5---8
6---2
7---4
8---5

rollover cable

1---8
2---7
3---6
4---5
5---4
6---3
7---2
8---1

Thank you.

I wasn't sure if ccent and/or ccna would have been a better place to answer this, I wanted to try here, first. I am familiar with a rolled cable, but I have always used the cable that comes with the equipment. I know that they are not compatible between vendors, for example, my HP console cable doesn't work when connected to a sonicwall. I have not cross tested each manufacturer, so there is no need to say that HP works with x, etc...

My question is specifically for cisco devices. If I create my own rolled cable (hypothetical situation, I know you can get them cheap and I have a handful already) can I use any type of rj-45 to serial adapter or is the pinout on the adapter not always what it needs to be (hopefully that makes sense)?

Let's say I bought this, would it work or are the pins not in the correct order from the rj-45 to serial portion? I know some of these devices come apart and you can set the pins however you want, but is there a specific order for the 232 side?

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Modular-Adapter-P450-000/dp/B0029L0V48/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1477754001&sr=8-7&keywords=rj45+to+serial

Thanks.