Moxa Technologies NPort 5100A Series - RFC 2217 Mode; TCP Server Mode; TCP Client Mode

NPort 5100A Series Choosing the Proper Operation Mode
4-3
ATTENTION
Real COM Mode allows several hosts to have access control of the same NPort 5100A. The driver that comes
with your NPort 5100A controls host access to attached serial devices by checking the host’s IP address. Refer
to the Accessible IP Settings section of Chapter 5 for more details.
RFC 2217 Mode
RFC 2217 mode is similar to Real COM mode in that a driver is used to establish a transparent connection
between a host computer and a serial device by mapping the serial port on the NPort 5100A to a local COM port
on the host computer. RFC 2217 defines general COM port control options based on the Telnet protocol. Third
party drivers supporting RFC 2217 are widely available on the Internet and can be used to implement Virtual
COM mapping to your NPort 5100A serial port(s).
TCP Server Mode
In
TCP Server Mode
, NPort 5100A is configured with a unique
IP:Port combination on a TCP/IP network. In this case, the
NPort 5100A waits passively to be contacted by the host
computer. After the host computer establishes a connection
with the serial device, it can then
proceed with data
transmission. TCP Server mode also supports up to 4
simultaneous connections, so that multiple hosts can collect
data from the same serial device
—at the same time. As
illustrated in the figure, data transmission proceeds as follows:
1. The host requests a connection from the NPort 5100A
configured for TCP Server Mode.
2. Once the connection is established, data can be
transmitted in both directions—from the host to the
NPort 5100A, and from the NPort 5100A to the host.
TCP Client Mode
In TCP
Client Mode, the NPort 5100A
can actively establish a
TCP connection
with a pre-determine
d host computer when
serial data arrives.
After the data has been transferred,
the NPort 5100A can
disconnect automatically from the host computer
by using
the
TCP alive check time or Inactivity time settings.
Refer to Chapter 5 for detailed configuration instructions. As
illustrated in the figure, data transmission proceeds as
follows:
1. The NPort 5100A configured for TCP Client Mode
requests a connection from the host.
2. Once the connection is established, data can be
transmitted in both directions—from the host to the
NPort 5100A, and from the NPort 5100A to the host.