Many instruments and devices—such as card readers, PLCs, power meters, and data acquisition modules—use RS-232 and RS-485 communication. RS-232 and RS-485 Serial Device Servers offer the flexibility and convenience of network-enabling serial devices, allowing you to communicate with them over Ethernet networks or from remote locations. Most serial devices can interface with Windows-based data acquisition software through Virtual COM ports.
Power the serial device server using the appropriate DC voltage or a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch if the device supports PoE.
For example:
tDS-715 can be powered through a 12–48 VDC jack using a FRA05-S12-SU power supply.
It can also be powered by a PoE switch such as NS-205PSE-24, which itself is powered by a 10–30 VDC supply like the DIN-KA52F.
Connect the serial device server to your network using an Ethernet switch such as the NS-205, or through a router if you’re not using a PoE switch.
Once connected, configure the device server with an appropriate IP address, subnet mask, and gateway.
Your Network Administrator can provide these network settings.
Install a configuration utility on your PC—such as VxComm—which allows you to assign the IP address and map Virtual COM ports for your Serial-to-Ethernet device server.
Use the configuration utility to search for the Serial-to-Ethernet device server.
When it appears in the list, double-click it and enter the desired Ethernet settings (IP address, subnet mask, and gateway).
Click OK to save the configuration.
Click Search Servers in the utility, then select your device server from the list.
Click Add Server, assign a COM port number, and click OK.
This COM port will be used by your software to communicate with the serial device over Ethernet/Internet.
To finalize the configuration, click Tools → Restart Driver, then click the Restart Driver button.
