The PDS-700 series is a family of Programmable Device Servers, also known as "Serial-to-Ethernet gateway", that are designed for linking RS-232/422/485 devices to an Ethernet network.
Device talks with other devices to exchange information. But with large number of various devices, legacy serial devices have reached their limits and can no longer allow a variety of new languages to be understood by other devices. By programming, PDS acts as a real-time translator (protocol converter) to enhance the communication between the serial devices. Also, by skillful programming and design, users can take advantage of PDS to integrate devices and DI/DO channels for complex applications which a non-programmable device server never achieves.