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Will the Serial Console Ever Die?
simpz writes "Will the serial port as a console connection ever be displaced — especially for devices such as switches, routers, SAN boxes, etc.? In one sense it's a simple connection. But it is the only current port that, in order to use, you need to know about wiring / baud rates / parity, etc. It has non-standard pinouts. And it is becoming too slow to upload firmware to dead devices, as the firmware updates get larger. Also, the serial port is rapidly disappearing from new laptops — which is where you often really need it, in data centers. Centronics, PS/2, and current loop are mostly defunct. Is there any sign on the horizon of a USB console connection?"
I upload firmware and program various devices at work via USB or TCP/IP - and it is great because the connections are fast. However, when something goes very wrong with the devices, the RS232 port always works. Also, being able to get serial data just by listening to a couple pins is far easier than trying to deal with USB connections/drivers you have no clue about.
When it comes down to it, serial works, its easy and it's a life saver.
Other than cisco routers and switches
Are you serious? The only examples anyone on Slashdot can find seem to be routers and switches? The reasons RS232 isn't going away is because an awful lot of industrial automation equipment (large and small-scale) still uses it. Why? Because a) all of the existing industrial automation equipment uses it, so new equipment is designed to be compatible with existing interface and control systems, b) it has proven itself to be incredibly reliable over the years, c) it's cheap (in terms of money, but also in terms of the amount of supporting hardware required). Also, while it may not be fast enough to transfer huge firmware images or run high-bandwidth stuff like video over, it's fast enough for what it's used for. If a firmware update takes 5min to do on a $100,000 piece of factory equipment, so what? The company probably spent a month planning for the upgrade, and will spend a week testing it after the update to make sure it still meets performance and safety requirements before re-deploying it anyways. There are billions of dollars invested in RS-232 by some highly conservative companies that don't change things on a whim, when a complication arising from an unnecessary change could cause 5-figure-per-minute damages or loss of life.
Why is RS-232 still around? Because it ain't broke, and it don't need fixin'!