Generally about Serial Ethernet / Device Servers:
A Serial Ethernet server, also called a device server or serial RS232 to Ethernet converter, is a very useful device for connecting serial devices to communicate over an Ethernet network.
A Serial Ethernet / device server can convert a serial RS232, RS485 or RS422 signal to a packet size data signal which can be sent over any Ethernet network. The serial Ethernet / device server does this bi-directional meaning that it converts data in both directions, from serial to Ethernet and from Ethernet to serial data. This means that with a serial Ethernet device server you can access a serial RS232, RS485 or RS422 device from anywhere in a standard Ethernet (LAN) network. Many serial Ethernet device servers even allow you to access serial Ethernet device server applications over the Internet.
So as you can imagine a serial Ethernet device server is a very convenient and useful device. For example you can use a serial Ethernet device server to access and re-program your house alarm in Omaha via the Internet while you are on vacation sunbathing on beach in Bahamas, provided that your alarm has a serial Ethernet device server RS232, RS485 or RS422 interface.
Another example could be a serial Ethernet device server allowing you to connect to and configure your machines serial Ethernet device server interface at the other end of the factory over the local LAN network while you sit in your office. This is a great advantage with the serial Ethernet device server since you do not have to install new wires to connect to the machine and you do not have to walk all the way to the other end of the factory to configure the machine.
A Serial Ethernet device server typically comes with 1, 2, 4 or 8 serial ports which can be either serial Ethernet device server interfaces of RS232, RS485 or RS422 ports or a combination hereof. A 1 and 2-port serial Ethernet server generally has the size of a packet of cigarettes, 4 and 8 ports typically have the size of a cigar box.
The serial Ethernet device server is often used in industrial environments, however many serial Ethernet device servers are also used in office and consumer applications. Typically a serial Ethernet device server is used for connecting a machines serial Ethernet device server interface with a PC so the machine can be monitored and even controlled remotely via the serial Ethernet device server.
Setting up serial Ethernet device server is usually a fairly simple task, however if you want to use the serial Ethernet device server to access a device over the internet then it becomes more advanced, we have a setup guide for this here.
