Introduction
Manual Documentation Number: ESP901-902_4105m
Chapter 1
1
B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax 815-433-5104 –
www.bb-elec.com
B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Pk – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph +353 91-792444 – Fax +353 91-792445 –
www.bb-europe.com
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VLINX Models ESP901 and ESP902 Ethernet Serial Servers
provide
Ethernet to Serial connections for RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 devices.
The ESP901 features a single serial port and the ESP902 features two
serial ports. The serial ports can be accessed over a LAN/WAN using
Direct IP Mode
,
Virtual COM Port
, or
Paired Mode
connections. The
10/100 Mbps Ethernet connection auto-selects 10BaseT or 100BaseTX
and indicates the type of connection with a bi-color link light.
Figure 1.
VLINX ESP901 and ESP902 Ethernet Serial Servers
Introduction
2
Chapter 1
Manual Documentation Number: ESP901-902_4105m
B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax 815-433-5104 –
www.bb-elec.com
B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Pk – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph +353 91-792444 – Fax +353 91-792445 –
www.bb-europe.com
Features
•
Multi-interface serial ports
o
ESP901 and ESP902 Port 1 software selectable for RS-
232, RS-422, RS-485 (DIP Switch selects Console Mode)
o
ESP902 Port 2 is RS-232 only
•
10/100 Mbps Ethernet
with Auto Selection
•
LAN and WAN Communications
•
TCP or UDP Client or Server operation
- configurable
•
Software Support -
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP or NT 4.0
•
Firmware Upload
for future revisions/upgrades
•
Configuration
of Ethernet and serial port settings can be
accomplished using any of four methods:
o
VLINX ESP Manager Software for Windows
allows
configuration via a network connection or directly from
the Ethernet port of a computer (using an Ethernet
crossover cable).
o
Web Server
allows configuration via the network using
any web browser.
o
Telnet
allows configuration via the network by accessing
the setup configuration menu.
o
Console Mode
allows configuration through an RS-232
serial port in using a VT100 Terminal Emulation program
and an RS-232 crossover cable.
•
Virtual COM Driver Software for Windows
- installs virtual
COM ports, viewable in the Windows Device Manager under
Ports (COM & LPT)
. Virtual COM port provides access to any of
the ports on the ESP901 and ESP902, like any other serial port
(legacy, PCI, USB or PCMCIA) on the computer. Any program
running on the computer and using Windows-based COM ports
can access the serial devices attached to the
Serial Server
. The
LAN becomes transparent to the serial device and the software
running on the PC.
•
Heart Beat Connection
- selectable protocol
ensures reliable
communications in Virtual COM Port or Paired Connection
modes. This feature restores the connections if communications are
temporarily lost at either end due to loss of power or the Ethernet
connection.
