CHAPTER 6
SERIAL APPLICATIONS
Revised: 19 Jan 16
6-3
EST P/N AA107-Horizon
USING THE RS-232 DATA PORT
The ESTeem Horizon has a serial data port that can provide RS-232 communication between two or more serial devices
using the wireless broadband link. The serial data is encapsulated and transferred as a standard Ethernet packet over
an operating Horizon wireless Ethernet system. The configuration for a serial Horizon network will be the same as an
Ethernet or a serial (RS-232) based communication network.
The serial interface option can be used to link two or more serial devices in a new or existing system. The serial data
has very little impact on the network bandwidth and will allow for both Ethernet and serial applications simultaneously.
A possible application would be installation of the Horizon in an existing serial based network that was looking for future
upgrade to an Ethernet based system. Another would be using the high-bandwidth Ethernet connections to provide a
link to remote video hardware while also providing a serial link to the existing PLC in a SCADA type application.
SERIAL CONNECTIONS
The RJ-45 serial data port is the far-left port on the face
of the Horizon (Figure 4). Using the ESTeem AA0621.1
interface cable, the Horizon can be connected to a
standard DTE-device (PC) with a male 9-pin Sub-D
connector. The complete cable configuration is
available in Appendix C – Interface Ports.
SERIAL CONFIGURATION
Configuration of the serial port is completed during the standard setup of the Horizon. After completion of the Repeater
Peer configuration screen, the Serial Port Setup screen (Figure 5) will be displayed. Each section in the Serial Port
Setup screen is described in detail with the following:
Enable the RS-232 Data Port
Enabling the serial data port allows the modem to send RS-232 data over the broadband wireless connection
established with the ESTeem repeater peers. The modem can be configured in a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint
system. Select
Yes
if you wish to enable the serial data port.
Mode of Operation
There are two distinct modes of operation for the serial port in the Horizon. The Redirector mode will provide two-way
serial communication between two or more serial devices, while the Terminal Server mode will allow serial
communication to a specific remote site by connecting through telnet or SSH. Select one of the following modes of
operation:
Full Redirector Mode - This mode allows bi-directional RS-232 data communication with other ESTeem Horizon’s. The
RS-232 data transmission will appear transparent to the connected devices as if a serial cable is connected between
the two ports. This mode will also be used in a multi-point serial network were all serial devices will need bi-directional
communication (Figure 6).
Terminal Server Mode - This mode of operation translates RS-232 serial data into a network-oriented terminal protocol,
such as telnet or SSH. This mode would be selected if an interactive RS-232 session at remote locations is desired
over the wireless Ethernet link.
Baud Rate
Select the data rate of the RS-232 connection to match your serial device.
Figure 4: Horizon Front Panel Overview
