Given the relevance of this problem, many manufacturers of RS232 to LAN adapters, console servers, or serial to Ethernet converters tend to improve the functionality of their products by making them able to connect to COM ports over the network. The most efficient solution to make this possible is Electronic Team Port Virtualization (EPV) Technology. Integrated into the core of hardware servers, the technology provides any serial over IP adapter with the ability to connect to a remote COM port wherever it is.
EPV technology is developed to convert the RS232 data into TCP or UDP protocol data, depending on the type of network selected. Such conversion of the data stream is possible thanks to EPV technology coming as a part of the operating system of a hardware appliance (Android, ARM, etc). Without the serial port redirection technology, data sent over the network by a serial to Ethernet connector won’t be received by a client side. This way, by implementing the EPV Technology in the software program of their products, hardware manufacturers resolve the issue of access to remote COM ports. With that, converting data from a serial protocol to a network one, the EPV Technology lets in fact create an unlimited number of virtual serial ports in any client system. Connected via a virtual COM port, a remote serial device is recognized by a client system and displayed in its Device Manager like a local one.
Integration of EPV Technology into your hardware solution will give you many benefits. With the competitive advantage over other manufacturers of serial to Ethernet converters you get the chance to open new markets, as EPV solution lets you:
Above that, EPV Technology supports RFC 2217 that provides a standard protocol to transfer data from and to serial device servers as well as CAN bus to Ethernet Gateways. With Electronic Team Port Virtualization Technology that adds virtual COM ports to a client PC, hardware device makers can focus on the firmware and other parts of software development.
Another benefit Serial to Ethernet technology brings to big enterprises is the ability to access multiple remote serial ports from a single data server. As it usually happens at large factories, bulky industrial equipment is connected to a single control center, a data server. By means of the server, streams of serial data are redirected to the network. Integration of EPV Technology directly into the server part allows accessing an unlimited number of remote COM port devices over the network, thus eliminating the need for physical connection.
Opengear
NetBurner