Serial device servers

The EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 serial device servers allow RS232/422/485 serial devices to be remotely monitored, managed and controlled over ethernet and internet protocol (IP) networks. Equipped with dual 10/100Base-Tx ethernet ports, these devices ensure data transmission even in the event of a network link failure. With redundant ethernet connections, communication is not interrupted in the event of a network problem. With one connection automatically assigned as primary and the other as backup, loss of the primary connection initiates an immediate and automatic switchover to the backup.

The EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 offer a number of conventional operating modes that allow connections to be initiated by either attached serial devices or remote ethernet hosts using both UDP and TCP protocols. For applications beyond simple point-to-point connections, two multi-access modes allow one-to-many and many-to-one communications. The first allows up to five ethernet hosts to access a single serial device and the second allows a single serial device to simultaneously send data to as many as 16 ethernet-connected hosts.

Serial transmission speeds have been increased to 921 Kbps, allowing a much broader range of serial devices to be network enabled. More importantly, optimisations in serial-to-ethernet handling have yielded an ultra-fast round-trip latency of less than 10 ms where network traffic is not an issue, allowing the use of timing-sensitive serial protocols and increased polling rates.

EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 serial device servers are packaged in a compact and thin DIN rail mount chassis. They are ruggedised for demanding industrial applications with 4000 VDC ethernet ESD protection, dual 12 to 48 VDC power inputs with power line surge (EFT) protection of 3000 VDC and feature an operating temperature range of 0 to 60°C to ensure system uptime.