I have an i686 mono core system configured as a CentOS-5.2 server. It has one DB9P RS-232 serial connector and six USB connectors. The DB9p is configuered as STTY0 for the attached MultiTec MT5638ZBA fax modem. I would very much like to connect my MS WindowsXPpro laptop, which only has USB connectors, to this server via telnet or ssh over a direct connection. Is there a way to connect / configure a comm port to a raw USB port in windows / centos and to use a direct cable connection between the two? Or, is a usb to serial converter device required at both ends? I expect to use either puTTY or hyperterm as the windows client. What I need to know is: Is this is even possible? How do you configure the tty ports on CentOS for this to work? How do you configure the comm port on MS-WinXPpro? What cable does one require? I have never had this problem before since all our hosts have previously come equipped with two serial ports. However, the next generation machines apparently have no RS-232 serial ports at all, just six usb ports. So, this problem might as well be faced now as later, when it is unavoidable. Regards, -- *** E-Mail is NOT a SECURE channel *** James B. Byrne mailto:ByrneJB at Harte-Lyne.ca Harte & Lyne Limited http://www.harte-lyne.ca 9 Brockley Drive vox: +1 905 561 1241 Hamilton, Ontario fax: +1 905 561 0757 Canada L8E 3C3