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Hardware Installation Guide for the Cisco 4451-X Integrated Services Router
OL-27644-01
Chapter 2 Preparing for Router Installation
Network Cabling Specifications
Console and Auxiliary Port Considerations
The router includes an asynchronous serial console port and an auxiliary port. The console and auxiliary
ports provide access to the router either locally using a console terminal connected to the console port,
or remotely using a modem connected to the auxiliary port. This section discusses important cabling
information to consider before connecting the router to a console terminal or modem.
The main difference between the console and auxiliary ports is that the auxiliary port supports hardware
flow control and the console port does not. Flow control paces the transmission of data between a
sending device and a receiving device. Flow control ensures that the receiving device can absorb the data
sent to it before the sending device sends more. When the buffers on the receiving device are full, a
message is sent to the sending device to suspend transmission until the data in the buffers has been
processed. Because the auxiliary port supports flow control, it is ideally suited for use with the
high-speed transmissions of a modem. Console terminals send data at speeds slower than modems do;
therefore, the console port is ideally suited for use with console terminals.
Console Port Connections
The router has both EIA/TIA-232 asynchronous (RJ-45) and USB 5-pin mini Type B, 2.0 compliant
serial console ports. The console ports do not have any hardware flow control. Shielded USB cables with
properly terminated shields are recommended.
EIA/TIA-232
Depending on the cable and the adapter used, this port appears as a DTE or DCE device at the end of the
cable. Only one port can be used at the same time.
The default parameters for the console port are 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity. The
console port does not support hardware flow control. For detailed information about installing a console
terminal, see the “Connecting to a Console Terminal or Modem” section on page 3-14.
For cable and port pinouts, see the Cisco Modular Access Router Cable Specifications document located
on Cisco.com.
USB Serial Console
The USB serial console port connects directly to the USB connector of a PC using a USB Type A to 5-pin
mini USB Type-B cable. The USB Console supports full speed (12Mb/s) operation. The console port
does not support hardware flow control.
Note Always use shielded USB cables with a properly terminated shield.
The default parameters for the console port are 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. For
detailed information about installing a console terminal, see the “Connecting to a Console Terminal or
Modem” section on page 3-14.
For operation with a Microsoft Windows OS version older than Windows 7, the Cisco Windows USB
Console Driver must be installed on any PC connected to the console port. If the driver is not installed,
prompts guide you through a simple installation process. For detailed information about installing the
Cisco Windows USB Console Driver see “Installing the Cisco Microsoft Windows USB Device Driver”
section on page 3-16.