User's Manual

GridRouter™ User Guide
54
7 Examples
7.1 Serial Passthrough to a Serial Device
The GridRouter can provide network connectivity to a device that only talks over serial (RS232/RS485).
A single TCP port can be mapped to a serial port such that all traffic sent or received from either one is
passed through to the other. For instance, a software application that traditionally connects to a serial
port (i.e. COM5), could connect to an IP address and a TCP port and communicate to the end device.
The steps required to enable serial passthrough on the GridRouter are as follows:
1. Attach a serial cable (generally null modem) between one of the GridRouter’s serial ports and the
device’s serial port.
2. Visit the web-based utility’s Network > Serial Passthrough screen.
3. Click the “Enable“ button on an instance of the serpass process (i.e. serpassA).
4. Enter the correct serial port settings (baudrate, data bits, parity, stop bits).
5. Enter the correct TCP settings (port and timeouts).
6. Click Save Changes and wait for the page to refresh.
7. Verify configuration values.
8. Click Apply Changes & Reboot.
Once the GridRouter reboots, the serpass process will be running and passing data between the
specified TCP port and the specified serial port.
Note: The GridRouter’s firewall will automatically allow incoming traffic on the specified TCP port for
serpass.