Cable designs and methods are provided herein to enable remote end access to active cable controllers for monitoring and upgrade operations. One illustrative network cable design includes: a first end connector configured to couple with a first host port and a second end connector configured to couple with a second host port, each of the first and second end connectors configured to convey a data stream in each direction via optical or electrical conductors connected between the first and second end connectors; a controller and a powered transceiver circuit included in the first end connector, the controller operable to configure operation of the powered transceiver circuit; and electrical contacts in the second end connector for a management bus to convey information from the second host port to the controller in the first end connector.