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What I'd like to do is have a cable with two male USB ports, and somehow have this act as a serial (UART) connection between two computers. One idea I've thought of is as follows:

(USB -> Serial converter) -- (Serial -> USB Converter); that is, two converters (such as this one: http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?product=MCP2221) just cross connected in the middle. Would this work? Is there a simpler way, and is this device/cable available off the shelf in any way?

Thank you,

Tom

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    1) Yes, it will work. 2) Yes, there are off-the-shelf solutions.
    – Eugene Sh.
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 19:46
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    You will need a crossover/null modem cable or adaptor between the USB<->Serial adaptors. The null modem cable simply exchanges the RX and TX (pins 2 and 3) between ends.
    – Peter Bennett
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 20:28
  • You could also probably use USB Ethernet adaptors on the two PC's.
    – mkeith
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 20:40
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    FTDIchip.com has excellent device driver support on multiple OS (windows, mac, linux). Just get a couple FT232 based cables or breakout boards, connect GND-GND but swap TXD-RXD (and also swap RTS-CTS if you want to use hardware handshake).
    – MarkU
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 21:26

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There are specials cables that you plug into USB of two PC and you can share mouse / keyboard, clipboard and network and easy file transfer (not necessary all at the same time - different types of this usb links provide different features).

Something like this one: LINE5 Gold A820.

It can be bought - for example - here.

Look for this kind that provide network connection for example and there you go.

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    Ah ok - I was explicitly looking for serial as I was planning on having one end connected to a Linux machine, so I'm just wondering what driver support for those machines would be like. At least with a serial connection I have a known base.
    – Tom H
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 19:53
  • If only serial is acceptable, then your idea is good, I think. You can buy RS232<->USB converters very cheap (all packed in cable). They can be bought almost everywhere (ebay, some shops with PC accessories or electronics). Then you only need a cable to connect two outputs of these converters. When connecting, connect Tx from first one with Rx from the other one, and similarly Rx with Tx. And of course grounds. And it should work fine.
    – zupazt3
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 20:48
  • If one wants a network rather than serial connection a pair of USB-Ethernet adapters and a UTP patch cable may well prove cheaper than a specialized USB data transfer cable, and find better Linux support. Static IP addresses or running a DHCP server on one machine will be necessary - so not as turnkey for the Windows crowd, but perhaps better fitting the Linux one.
    – Chris Stratton
    Commented Dec 1, 2015 at 0:41

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