Date: Sun, 25 May 2003 21:15:13 -0700 From: Will Andrews <will@csociety.org> To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Cc: Will Andrews <will@csociety.org> Subject: Best serial console server construction method? Message-ID: <20030526041513.GP81874@procyon.firepipe.net>
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Hi all, In my quest to make my little network of computers more useful for kernel hacking and testing, I'm attempting to build a very cheap serial console server. Basically, the idea is that I'm going to use a computer that will be used for other purposes and add 8 serial ports. How am I going to do that cheaply? Well, N-port serial cards (where N is >= 4) cost a few hundred dollars from everywhere I could see (granted, they're niche items and are accordingly priced). So I came up with the following scheme. If the computer in question has two USB ports, I could purchase two 4-port USB hubs and get 8 single-port serial adapters. So far as I can tell, the total cost would be approximately: 8 x USB->RS232 DB9 Male @ $8/ea = $64 2 x 4-port USB hub @ $8/ea = $16 extra $ for misc. costs $20 Total: $100 Average per port: $12.50 So my question is: has anyone else done this kind of thing before? I am well aware of the flakiness in FreeBSD's USB stack, but supposedly USB hubs and USB->RS232 adapters work without a hitch. If so, this could be the most economical approach to building a serial console server. Thanks for any comments. Please Cc: me as I am not subscribed to freebsd-hackers at this space-time vector. Regards, -- wca
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