TD060100-0MA
6
1
Introduction
Description
The
Metasys Ethernet Router
(JC-MER-CXB)
provides either router
or gateway c
onnectivity between ARCNET and Ethernet networks.
Sometimes
in
router/gateway applications, a desktop
PMI/OWS
compatible
computer is dedicated to the task of executing the applica
-
tion
program from either a hard disk or floppy disk. On the
PMI/OWS
motherboard, two network interface modules are used to connect to
the two networks of interest.
With
the
JC-MER-CXB,
this same
functionality can be provided in a compact and reliable
configuration.
On the front
panel of the
JC-MER-CXB
is
a BNC connector for the
ARCNET
an
d an
RJ-45 connector
for
the Ethernet.
Resident in the
JC-MER-CXB
is an embedded computer with a solid-
state
flash disk capable of executing a
n
application program. This user
-
supplied application program
route
s
packets between ARCNET
and
Ethernet networks that
utilize the same network layer or serve as
a
gateway between
different protocols used by the ARCNET and
Ethernet networks.
For example, a popular transport layer for
Ethernet is TCP/IP.
T
o route between ARCNET and Ethernet at the
network layer
(IP), ARCNET would need to be operating a TCP/IP
stack as well.
For all other situations where different higher
-
level
protocols are
involved, a gateway program would be needed to effect
connectivity
between ARCNET and Ethernet. Either situation can
be addressed
by the
JC-MER-CXB
.
To provide ARCNET
-
to
-
Ethernet connectivity within a Metasys
system, the
JC-MER-CXB
was created by
installing the necessary
application program onto the
flash disk
. This product replaces the
JC-MH-16, JC-EP-RG and JC-EP-CS version or model of the
Ethernet
router.
To
configure the
JC-MER-CXB
, a laptop computer
running a terminal
emulation program, like HyperTerminal, is
attached to one of the
COM ports using a
null-modem cable. Once
configured, the
program runs continually.