Advantech EDG-4508, User Manual

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Chapter 2 Getting Started 9
Knowing Your Application
EDG-4508/4516 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 are able to control your serial devices from
a distance, either over a LAN, or even over the Internet.
Since EDG-4508/4516 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 the next section we discuss the Single-
Host Mode.
Single-Host 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 Advan-
tech’s 8/16-port EDG-4508/4516 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. Traditional Multi-Port Serial Communication