Appendix B. Serial Cables

This appendix contains information on using various types of serial cables with the Challenge S server. It contains the following sections:

Printer/Character (ASCII) Terminal Serial Cable

The serial cable shipped with the Challenge S server can be used to connect a printer or character (ASCII) terminal. You can also use a three-wire standard Macintosh (Plus, SE, or II computer) to Imagewriter I cable. (Note that the Imagewriter II cable does not work). The cable connector pin assignments for this cable are shown in Table B-1.

Table B-1. Cable Connector Pin Assignments for Printer/Character (ASCII) Terminal Serial Cable

Signal Description

Pin Number
DIN-8 Connector
(Male)

Pin Number
DB-25 Connector
(Male)

 

1

N/C

 

2

N/C

Transmit Data (TXD)

3

3

Signal Ground (GND)

4

7

Receive Data (RXD)

5

2

 

6

N/C

 

7

N/C

Signal Ground (GND)

8

7


Modem Cable

Use a full-handshake serial cable, which includes request-to-send (RTS) and clear-to-send (CTS) connections, for a modem with RTS/CTS flow control. You can use this cable for all serial devices except terminals and serial printers (any application that doesn't need RTS flow control). For example, you can use this cable for a three-wire application. This cable can be used with a null modem adapter for serial printers and dumb terminals. You can purchase the full-handshake serial cable from Silicon Graphics or your local service provider.


Note: You cannot use a standard Macintosh serial cable. The Macintosh cable does not have the correct pinout for full flow control.

The cable connector pin assignments for this cable are shown in Table B-2.

Table B-2. Cable Connector Pin Assignments for a Modem Cable

Signal Description

Pin Number
DIN-8 Connector
(Male)

Pin Number
DB-25 Connector
(Male)

Data Terminal Ready (DTR)

1

20

Clear to Send (CTS)

2

5

Transmit Data (TXD)

3

2

Signal Ground (GND)

4

7

Receive Data (RXD)

5

3

Request to Send (RTS)

6

4

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

7

8

Signal Ground (GND)

8

7


Serial Devices Using a Silicon Graphics Adapter Cable

To use the devices below, you'll need a serial adapter cable supplied by Silicon Graphics.

  • dial and button box

  • dials box

  • digitizer tablet

  • Spaceball®

  • optical mouse

The Silicon Graphics adapter cable is used to convert the serial cable that came with the device to a Silicon Graphics DIN-8 serial cable connector. This cable then connects to the serial connector on the back of the Indy chassis. The cable connector pinout assignments are shown in Table B-3.

Table B-3. Pinout Assignments for the Silicon Graphics Adapter Cable

Signal Description

Pin Number
DIN-8 Connector
(Male)

Pin Number
DB-9 Connector
(Female)

Data Terminal Ready (DTR)

1

9

Clear to Send (CTS)

2

5

Transmit Data (TXD)

3

2

Signal Ground (GND)

4

7

Receive Data (RXD)

5

3

Request to Send (RTS)

6

4

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

7

8

Signal Ground (GND)

8

7

 

N/C

6

 

N/C

1


Serial Devices Using a PC Adapter Cable

To use a serial device designed for personal computers using a DB-9 connector, you'll need a PC adapter cable. To obtain the cable, contact your local service provider. This adapter cable is used to convert from the PC's DB-9 pinout to the Indy workstation's DIN-8 pinout.

The cable connector pinout assignments for the PC adapter cable are shown in Table B-4.

Table B-4. Cable Connector Pin Assignments for the PC Adapter Cable

Signal description

Pin Number
DIN-8
(Male)

Pin Number
DB-9
(Male)

Data Terminal Ready (DTR)

1

4

Clear to Send (CTS)

2

8

Transmit Data (TXD)

3

3

Signal Ground (GND)

4

5

Receive Data (RXD)

5

2

Request to Send (RTS)

6

7

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

7

1

Data Set Ready (DSR)

8

6

 

N/C

9


Challenge S to Indy and Indigo2 Cable (DIN-8 to DIN-8)

You can use the DIN-8 to DIN-8, null modem, RS-232 serial cable described in this section to connect a Challenge S server to any one of the following Silicon Graphics workstations:

  • Indy

  • Indigo2

  • Personal IRIS 4D/30

  • Personal IRIS 4D/35

Table B-5 describes the pin-to-pin connection of this cable.

Table B-5. DIN-8 to DB9 Server-to-Workstation Serial Cable

DIN-8

Signal

DIN-8

Signal

Pin 1

Data Terminal Ready (DTR)

Pin 7

DCD

Pin 2

Clear to Send (CTS)

Pin 6

RTS

Pin 3

Transmit Data (TXD)

Pin 5

RXD

Pin 4

Signal Ground (GND)

Pin 4

GND

Pin 5

Receive Data (RXD)

Pin 3

TXD

Pin 6

Request to Send (RTS)

Pin 2

CTS

Pin 7

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

Pin 1

DTR

Pin 8

Signal Ground (GND)

Pin 8

GND


Challenge S to Onyx Cable (DIN-8 to DB9)

You can use the DIN-8 to DB9, null modem, RS-232 serial cable described in this section to connect a Challenge S server to any one of the following Silicon Graphics workstations:

  • Onyx

  • Personal IRIS

  • POWER Series

Table B-6 describes the pin-to-pin connection of this cable:

Table B-6. DIN-8 to DB9 Server-to-Workstation Serial Cable

DIN-8

Signal

DB9

Signal

Pin 1

Data Terminal Ready (DTR)

Pin 8

DCD

Pin 2

Clear to Send (CTS)

Pin 4

RTS

Pin 3

Transmit Data (TXD)

Pin 3

RXD

Pin 4

Signal Ground (GND)

Pin 7

GND

Pin 5

Receive Data (RXD)

Pin 2

TXD

Pin 6

Request to Send (RTS)

Pin 5

CTS

Pin 7

Data Carrier Detect (DCD)

Pin 9

DTR

Pin 8

Signal Ground (GND)

Pin 7

GND