<s>
A	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
electrical	O
test	O
equipment	O
used	O
to	O
support	O
integration	O
testing	O
,	O
expedite	O
maintenance	O
,	O
and	O
streamline	O
the	O
troubleshooting	O
process	O
at	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
subsystem	O
,	O
and	O
component-level	O
by	O
simplifying	O
the	O
access	O
to	O
test	O
signals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
span	O
a	O
wide	O
spectrum	O
of	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
have	O
electrical	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
others	O
have	O
optical	B-Device
fiber	I-Device
connectors	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
serves	O
as	O
a	O
troubleshooting	O
tool	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
wiring	O
of	O
an	O
electrical	B-Protocol
connector	I-Protocol
interface	O
on	O
a	O
networking	O
device	O
or	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
a	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
is	O
inserted	O
between	O
two	O
electrical	O
devices	O
to	O
determine	O
which	O
signal	O
or	O
power	O
interconnects	O
are	O
active	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
are	O
handy	O
in	O
troubleshooting	O
connection	O
problems	O
resulting	O
from	O
manufacturing	O
errors	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
miswiring	O
)	O
or	O
defective	O
interconnects	O
resulting	O
from	O
broken	O
wiring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
are	O
specific	O
examples	O
of	O
a	O
more	O
general	O
category	O
of	O
network	O
testing	O
equipment	O
called	O
"	O
status	O
monitors	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
such	O
monitoring	O
devices	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
testing	O
serial	B-Protocol
interfaces	I-Protocol
,	O
including	O
RS-232	O
,	O
RS-449	O
,	O
V.35	O
,	O
and	O
X.21	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
specialty	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
is	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
mechanical	O
enclosure	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
connector	O
's	O
aggregate	O
connections	O
are	O
separated	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
broken	O
out	O
)	O
into	O
the	O
individual	O
signal	O
or	O
current-carrying	O
wires	O
or	O
cables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
,	O
if	O
there	O
are	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
connections	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
breakout	O
cable	O
(	O
also	O
called	O
an	O
octopus	O
cable	O
)	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
,	O
as	O
is	O
common	O
on	O
notebook	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
use	O
D-subminiature	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
(	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
D-sub	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
and	O
sometimes	O
erroneously	O
as	O
DB	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
)	O
and	O
are	O
configured	O
with	O
both	O
male	O
and	O
female	O
DE-9	O
,	O
DA-15	B-Protocol
,	O
DB-25	B-Protocol
,	O
DC-37	B-Protocol
or	O
DD-50	B-Protocol
standard	O
density	O
connectors	O
and	O
related	O
test	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
for	O
post-production	O
studio	O
editing	O
suites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
(	O
also	O
called	O
patch	B-Protocol
bays	I-Protocol
or	O
patch	B-Protocol
panels	I-Protocol
)	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
patch	O
audio/video	O
output	O
signals	O
from	O
multiple	O
sources	O
and	O
connect	O
them	O
to	O
other	O
devices	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Industrial	O
I/O	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
piece	O
of	O
electronic	O
test	O
equipment	O
used	O
for	O
diagnosing	O
problems	O
in	O
computer	B-Architecture
communications	I-Architecture
,	O
typically	O
over	O
a	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
sits	O
between	O
two	O
pieces	O
of	O
equipment	O
and	O
usually	O
has	O
some	O
LEDs	O
to	O
display	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
the	O
different	O
signals	O
in	O
the	O
serial	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
will	O
usually	O
have	O
connector	O
pins	O
that	O
let	O
the	O
user	O
short	O
pins	O
together	O
using	O
electrical	O
jumpers	B-Device
or	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
individual	O
signal	O
lines	O
with	O
an	O
oscilloscope	O
or	O
other	O
test	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RS-232	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
:	O
Typically	O
,	O
RS-232	O
breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
offer	O
complete	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
RS-232	O
interface	O
,	O
test	O
,	O
re-wire	O
,	O
and	O
open	O
signal	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
DA15	B-Protocol
connector	O
on	O
the	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
board	O
is	O
often	O
broken	O
out	O
into	O
DIN	B-Architecture
connectors	I-Architecture
for	O
MIDI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
professional	O
audio	O
applications	O
use	O
rackmount	B-Application
breakout	B-Protocol
boxes	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
patch	B-Protocol
panel	I-Protocol
can	O
also	O
function	O
as	O
a	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
,	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
multi-channel	O
DB25	B-Protocol
(	O
or	O
other	O
)	O
connectors	O
used	O
for	O
multi-track	O
recording	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Docking	B-Device
stations	I-Device
for	O
notebook	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	B-Device
control	I-Device
units	I-Device
(	O
ECUs	O
)	O
in	O
automotive	O
engines	O
have	O
proprietary	O
connectors	O
that	O
are	O
densely	O
packed	O
,	O
environmentally	O
sealed	O
,	O
and	O
difficult	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
without	O
causing	O
damage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
manufacturer	O
sometimes	O
provides	O
a	O
breakout	B-Protocol
box	I-Protocol
to	O
allow	O
service	O
engineers	O
to	O
test	O
the	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
