Installation guide

1-1
1
1
1. Introduction
Welcome to Moxa’s NPort Server Lite, an industrial serial device server that
greatly enhances the ability of a Windows host (i.e., PC) to control multiple
serial devices over a TCP/IP-based Ethernet network.
This chapter is an introduction to the NPort Server Lite and includes the
following:
y
Features
y
Specifications
y
Package Checklist
y
Parts of the Server
The NPort Server Lite connects a Windows host to an asynchronous RS-232 or
RS-422/485 serial port through a 10/100Mbps TCP/IP Ethernet network. Any
device that supports the asynchronous communications protocol can be
connected to the network. The NPort Server Lite works like an add-on multiport
serial board but with one major advantage—the TCP/IP network. By networking
the serial ports, the NPort Server Lite allows you to control asynchronous serial
devices from virtually anywhere in the world.
The following table illustrates the number of ports and type of serial interface for
each NPort Server Lite model:
1 port 2 ports 4 ports
RS-232
NPort
DE-301
NPort
DE-302
NPort
DE-304
RS-422, RS-485
NPort
DE-331
NPort
DE-332
NPort
DE-334
Real COM drivers are included that allow the Windows operating system to
recognize the networked serial ports as if they were physically attached to the
host, simplifying application development. The NPort Server Lite provides basic