Reddit reviews StarTech.com 16in (40cm) 9 Pin Serial Male to 10 Pin Motherboard Header Slot Plate - motherboard Serial Port Adapter (PLATE9M16), Gray
We found 4 Reddit comments about StarTech.com 16in (40cm) 9 Pin Serial Male to 10 Pin Motherboard Header Slot Plate - motherboard Serial Port Adapter (PLATE9M16), Gray. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Add an extra serial port to the back of your PC from your motherboard.motherboard adaptermotherboard serial portmotherboard adapter
If it has a serial header, get a backplate for it
You need this thing usually. I wouldn't call it a jumper though. You may have to turn it on in the BIOS too.
Looks like you might be right. I set my server up with enterprise hardware which came with graphics support without the need for a GPU or iGPU. I did some digging into the board and thought that you might be able to achieve everything through the onboard COM header and a serial connection.. I've read some advice that this won't work but I find that difficult to believe. IF you're technically minded this might be a route you could explore:
https://github.com/ynkjm/ubuntu-serial-install
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SerialConsoleHowto
The unclear part would be how to enable serial connections in the bios without the monitor. It does seem like an easier solution to just buy a cheap GPU though.
If you were to get this working, you could install the OS, and PMS via terminal - i.e. from another computer you've connected to the headless server. You could use terminal screen or PuTTY to connect.
I might just try ordering a couple ribbon cables, just for laughs. But i don't now if they are A or B type.