Selective role setting by a management controller

A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that upon execution cause a management controller of an electronic device to:

• receive an indication of a connection of an external device to a service port of the electronic device;
• access a power role indicator to determine a power role of the electronic device relative to the external device;
• obtain, from the external device, type information indicating a type of the external device;
• selectively set, based on the power role indicator, a role of the electronic device by controlling a role setting of an interface controller for the service port, the role selected from a host role or a device role on the connection between the electronic device and the external device;
• and
• interact with the external device having the type indicated by the type information based on the set role.

A method comprising:

• detecting a connection of an external device to a port of an electronic device;
• determining, by accessing a power controller for the port, whether a management controller of the electronic device is to operate according to a host role or a device role;
• selectively setting, by the management controller, a role setting in an interface controller for the port based on the determining, wherein the interface controller is part of the management controller, the role setting settable to a first value to indicate that the interface controller has the host role, and a different second value to indicate that the interface controller has the device role;
• and
• interacting by the management controller with the external device based on the set role.