User`s manual

NPort 6000 Series User’s Manual Introducing Serial Port Operation Modes
4-3
Real COM and Secure Real COM Modes
The NPort 6000 comes bundled with Real COM
drivers for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/ 2000/XP/2003
systems and TTY drivers for Linux systems. Real
COM mode includes optional data encryption
using SSL. (For Windows systems, this option is
only supported for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/XP
x64/ 2003/2003 x64/ Vista x64.)
In Real COM mode, the bundled drivers are able
to establish a transparent connection between a
host and a serial device by mapping the serial port
on the NPort 6000 to a local COM/TTY port on
the host computer. Real COM mode supports up to
8 simultaneous connections that enable multiple
hosts to simultaneously collect data from the same
serial device.
RS-232/422/485
Driver Mode
COM3 = IP Port
Device
TCP/IP
Ethernet
One of the major conveniences of using Real COM mode is that it allows you to use software that
was written for pure serial communication applications. The Real COM driver intercepts data sent
to the host’s COM port, packs it into a TCP/IP packet, then redirects it through the host’s Ethernet
card. At the other end of the connection, the NPort 6000 accepts the Ethernet frame, unpacks the
TCP/IP packet, and then transparently sends the data through the serial port to the attached serial
device.
ATTENTION
Real COM mode allows several hosts to have access control over the same NPort 6000. The
drivers that come with your NPort 6000 control host access by checking the host’s IP address.
Please refer to the Accessible IP List section in
Chapter 9, System Management Settings, for more
details.
RFC2217 Mode
RFC-2217 mode is similar to Real COM mode. That is, a driver is used to establish a transparent
connection between a host computer and a serial device by mapping the serial port on the NPort
6000 to a local COM port on the host computer. RFC2217 defines general COM port control
options based on the Telnet protocol. Third party drivers supporting RFC-2217 are widely
available on the Internet and can be used to implement Virtual COM mapping to your NPort 6000
serial port(s).
Socket Applications
For socket applications, the NPort 6000 offers the following modes: TCP Server/Secure TCP
Server, TCP Client/ Secure TCP Client, and UDP.