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The back of our APC Smart-UPS 2000 has a USB port so that it can be monitored from a server it supplies.
However, this USB port doesn't appear to be a standard USB connector. It looks a little like an RJ-45 connector, I tried an Ethernet cable in case the port was just mislabeled but that didn't fit either.
Can anyone help identify the type of USB it is?
21FWIW, if you are looking to buy new APC UPS units, the company has done something completely “crazy” and now that port is a standard USB port. Why it was this thing for years is baffling. Wonder if it was something connected to licensing or the USB standard and power supplies. – JakeGould – 2017-12-05T15:37:24.853
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@JakeGould It's likely a legacy format rather than a licensing issue. RJ-45 connectors for serial ports have been around a long time. I know as recently as 2010 I had Cisco gear on my desk that used an RJ-45 to serial adapter to get a console connection. This question should help clarify https://serverfault.com/questions/629436/why-is-rj45-db9-console-cable-still-used-when-all-the-latest-computer-do-not-ha
– Freiheit – 2017-12-05T19:05:45.387@Freiheit You know, you might be right. Back in 1991-1992 I had an AST Premium Exec 383SX/20 notebook computer that had an option for a modem or a serial port and the serial port was and RJ-45 port.
– JakeGould – 2017-12-05T20:48:07.78032Technically that is an RJ-45. It just happens to be wired for USB instead of Ethernet. – chrylis -on strike- – 2017-12-05T22:45:04.183
9I bet someone got a really nice bonus for that feature. (To quote Raymond Chen) – user253751 – 2017-12-06T01:14:53.147
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FWIW, I was trying to look up some specs if you wanted to “roll your own” cable and found this cheap custom USB to APC UPS DataPort cable this place called “Obsolete Laboratory” is selling. And also found a good discussion—with pinouts—on how to make your own APC USB to RJ-45 UPS cable.
– JakeGould – 2017-12-06T02:32:20.8938Fun fact : USB male fit into a RJ45 slot. So when our user says "yeah I plugged it in" don't trust him... – Goufalite – 2017-12-06T08:15:32.823
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@Freiheit: For console cables, RJ-45 might be quite intentional since a rollover cable greatly simplifies serial connections (no need to distinguish between regular and null-modem cables or use DTE/DCE gender changers, and of course no need for a massive DB-9 port).
– user1686 – 2017-12-06T08:42:12.8832@Freiheit RJ45 serial connectors are very common on enterprise network gear. My (freshly bought) Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite has an RJ45 serial connector. – Eric Brown – 2017-12-06T21:54:18.007
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@chrylis, well, if you trust Wikipedia, that's technically not an RJ45, but just a quite similar-looking modular connector.
– ilkkachu – 2017-12-07T16:13:22.7701@Goufalite That's way too real. I tried debugging a wireless issue of a client through the phone once. Turned out that the client had a wireless usb dongle plugged in to the RJ-45 port. Needless to say I was stunned. – siebz0r – 2017-12-08T08:27:42.077