Server User Manual

195
Port Buffering
Remote Port Buffers
The Remote Port Buffering feature allows data received from serial ports on the IOLAN to be sent to
a remote server on the LAN. The remote server, supporting Network File System (NFS), allows
administrators to capture and analyze data and messages from the serial device connected to the
IOLAN serial port.
Remote Port Buffering data can be encrypted or raw and/or time stamped. The data is transmitted to
an NFS server where a unique remote file is created for each serial port using the configured serial
port
Name for the file name. If the serial port Name parameter is left blank, the IOLAN will create
unique files using the IOLAN’s Ethernet MAC address and serial port number. It is recommended
that a unique NFS directory and serial port
Name be configured if multiple IOLANs use the same
NFS host for Remote Port Buffering.
The filenames will be created on the NFS host with a .ENC extension to indicate data encrypted files
or
.DAT for unencrypted files. If the data is encrypted, the Decoder utility application must be run on
the NFS server to convert the encrypted data to a readable file for administrators to analyze. The
Decoder Utility can be found on your installation CDROM or on the Perle website (
www.perle.com).
The data that is sent to the remote buffer file is appended to the end of the file (even through IOLAN
reboots), so you will want to create a size limit on the file on your remote NFS host, to keep the
buffer file size from becoming too large for your system.
Field Definitions
Port buffering displays or logs data received on the IOLAN serial port.
Configure the following parameters:
Enable Local
Buffering
Enables/disables local port buffering on the IOLAN.
Default: Disabled
View Port
Buffering String
The string used by a a session connected to a serial port to display the port
buffer for that particular serial port.
Data Options: Up to an 8 character string. You can specify control
(unprintable) codes by putting the decimal value in angle brackets < > (for
example,
Escape b is <027>b).
Default: ~view
Enable Remote
(NFS) Buffering
Enables/disables port buffering on a remote system. When you enable this
option, you have the ability to save the buffered data to a file(s) (one file is
created for each serial port) and/or send it to the Syslog host for viewing on the
Syslog host’s monitor.
Default: Disabled