Serial Device Server with intelligent control functions
Due to the integrated CPU and the special firmware, serial device servers offer additional intelligence. The controller manages the communication, especially if several serial devices are addressed in parallel or several masters access one serial device at the same time. Setup and configuration of the serial device servers are very easy via the embedded web browser.
With the installation of the VxComm Utility on the PC, the computer becomes a master in the network. Virtual COM ports in the Windows operating system are set up via the VXComm driver, after that they are available to all software programs as COM ports.
Serial device servers from ICPDAS-EUROPE
ICPDAS-EUROPE offers serial device servers, Modbus gateways and programmable device servers in its product range. Various versions with one Ethernet port and 2 to 8 serial interfaces (RS-232, RS-422 and RS-485) are available.
Depending on the requirements profile, different product series of serial device servers are offered. For professional use and extensive applications we recommend the PPDS series and PDS series with their powerful controllers. For the entry into the product portfolio of serial device servers, ICPDAS offers an attractive alternative with the compact DS and tDS series.
Special functions of the serial device servers:
- Power can be supplied via PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) or a separate power supply (+12V ~ +48 V).
- Serial Tunneling allows serial devices to be connected directly to each other via Ethernet (1-to-1 connection)
- Multi-Client capable with up to 20 ports
- According to the Multi-Master principle, several PCs have equal access to the serial ports.
- Using the Virtual I/O function, digital I/Os can be connected directly to the device server.
- The Self-Tuner function with automatic recognition of the data flow direction and baud rate simplifies software programming.
In order to prevent electrical interference from the sensitive circuits, the serial device servers are equipped with 2.500 VDC isolation and +/-4 kV ESD protection. They can be used in a temperature range of -25°C ~ +75°C and can be mounted on DIN rail. This makes the serial device servers ideal for use in industrial environments.
Modbus Gateways
With the tGW-700 Modbus Gateways from ICPDAS-EUROPE, several serial terminals are integrated into an Ethernet network. Up to 32 ModbusTCP masters can access a maximum of 247 ModbusRTU slaves. The Modbus gateways are equipped with up to three COM ports (RS-232/422/485). This ensures simple and fast data communication for connecting existing automation technologies to modern systems.
The Modbus Data Concentrator series MDC-700 from ICPDAS-EUROPE are compact Modbus gateways that collect data from the serial devices like a communication center. The data of the ModbusRTU salves are then available to all ModbusTCP masters. Of course, the communication between master and slave takes place in both directions. Due to the independent polling of the Concentrator Modbus Gateways MDC-700, the access times to the data of the serial terminals are reduced compared to conventional Modbus RTU communication.