The
Industrial Automation Group of Advantech introduces
the EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 Serial Device Servers,
which allow RS-232/422/485 serial devices to be
remotely monitored, managed and controlled over
Ethernet and Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Equipped
with dual 10/100Base-TX Ethernet ports and dual
Media Access Controllers (MACs), these innovative
devices ensure data transmission even in the event
of a network link failure.
Dual
Ethernet LAN Redundancy
With redundant Ethernet connections, communication
is not interrupted in the event of a network problem.
With one connection automatically assigned as primary
and the other as backup, loss of the primary connection
initiates an immediate and automatic switch-over
to the backup, ensuring data integrity and peace-of-mind.
Advanced
Multi-Access Functionality and Low-Latency Processing
The EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 offer a number of conventional
operating modes that allow connections to be initiated
by either attached serial devices or remote Ethernet
hosts using both UDP/IP and TCP/IP protocols. For
applications beyond simple point-to-point connections,
two new multi-access modes allow one-to-many and
many-to-one communications. The first allows up
to five Ethernet hosts to access a single serial
device and the second allows a single serial device
to simultaneously send data to as many as 16 Ethernet-connected
hosts.
In
addition to these exciting new features, serial
transmission speeds have been increased to 921Kbps,
allowing a much broader range of serial devices
to be network enabled. More importantly, optimizations
in serial to Ethernet handling have yielded an ultra
fast round-trip latency of less than 10 milliseconds
where network traffic is not an issue, allowing
the use of timing-sensitive serial protocols and
increased polling rates.
"It's
an industry first to offer both redundant LAN connections
and round-trip serial throughput under 10 milliseconds
in optimal conditions" said Paul Wacker, Advantech's
Product Manager for Industrial Communication products.
"Applications previously only attempted with
direct serial connections are now able to leverage
the power of networks, without any sacrifice in
performance or availability."
Harry
Forbes, Senior Analyst at Boston-based ARC Advisory
Group noted that "The capability to serve a
number of serial and network devices at high performance
emphasizes the 'server' aspect of these device servers.
The value to end users and system integrators is
that using these new high performance interfaces
does not require re-engineering of existing designs
or replacement of systems in the installed based."
Transparent
Access to Serial Devices
For easy integration with COM-port based Windows™
applications, included redirection software allows
remote serial devices to be accessed just like a
built-in COM-port. In the event of the primary network
connection interruption, the redirection software
automatically activates the backup connection, re-routing
serial data over the secondary connection to ensure
critical data delivery.
Ruggedized
for Industrial Applications
Like the other members of the EKI Industrial Ethernet
family, the EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 Serial Device
Servers are packaged in a compact and thin DIN-rail
mount chassis. They are ruggedized for demanding
industrial applications with 4,000 VDC Ethernet
ESD protection, dual 12 to 48 VDC power inputs with
power line surge (EFT) protection of 3,000 VDC,
and feature an operating temperature range of 0
to 60° C to ensure system uptime.
Click
here
for more about the EKI-1521.
