334 Third Edition

2-2 NPort Server Lite User’s Manual

Knowing Your Application

NPort Server Lite is an advanced Industrial Serial Device Server designed to fit into today's

ever-expanding networking world. It extends the usage of traditional COM ports on a

PC—an isolated machine with restricted ports—to being able to access the ports over a

TCP/IP network. Through the nature of networking, you can control your serial devices

from a distance, either over a LAN, or even over the Internet.

Since NPort Server Lite is connected through a TCP/IP network, you will need to know

some basic facts about networking in order to get the server hooked up correctly. In this

section we discuss the Host-Based Mode application.

Host-Based Mode

Traditional serial port communication uses a COM port board that slides into one of the

slots on the back of your PC. In this case, only the computer containing the board can

access the serial port. With Moxa’s 2/4-port NPort Server Lite serial device server,

communicating with COM ports is much more versatile, since you are now able to access

the COM ports from a distance. For example, the server could be located in Stockholm, and

the serial devices in Frankfurt.

Figure 2-1. NPort Server Lite—Host Based Mode