What is VIP ?

Windows applications using asynchronous serial ports RS232 / RS422 / RS485 are widely used in industrial datacommunications to connect sensors, PLCs, card readers and any other data collection and acquisition systems.
Serial link topologies allow medium distance and multidrop connections depending to cabling.

This kind of connections presents several drawbacks:

       Limited number of devices per COM port
       Limited distance from the control computer
       Maintenance & evolution is made difficult by dedicated cabling


VIP solve these issues by:

       Replacing the dedicated cable by a network connection
       Giving the application software the "look & feel" of a COM port
       Keeping the dedicated cable on the device side

VIP adds virtual COM ports to your system that enable Windows applications to use serial device servers, eliminating the distance and cabling limitations of locally connected serial equipments.
All data from the serial equipments are re-directed to the Ethernet TCP/IP network.


VIP allows to:

       Use existing Ethernet network to replace dedicated serial cables
       Reuse COM port application software as it is with network
       Move your serial device far away from the computer
       Handle more devices from the same computer
       Drive devices through standard radio network tunnels (WiFi)

Comparison between standard COM port and VIP use





Case 1 illustrates a standard COM port use, the application software access diretly to the data of the serial equipment through the legacy serial port of the computer.
Case 2 illustrates access to the serial equipment through the TCP/IP network and the serial device server, application software still continue to use the standard COM port API of Windows through the VIP software.
Serial equipment can be located anywhere on the Internet / Intranet TCP/IP network.



Some VIP screens







General characteristics

 

    

       Compatible with virtually any Windows program
       Install on any Windows NT, 2000, Server 2003 & XP computer
       Recommends available COM ports not used by hardware
       Connect to any TCP/IP network
       Connect to any ACKSYS serial COM port servers (wired & wireless), free of charge
       Easy setup
       Compliant to RFC2217 COM port control extensions of the TELNET protocol
       VIP is a Windows service
 

Benefits
 
 

       Remotely drives and monitors serial data and all control signals
       Serial data format set by application or on the serial device server (raw mode)
       Handles all classic flow control modes
       Up to 255 COM ports (no port count limit), controlled within the same control panel
       A single VIP licence can be installed on as many computers as you want
       Automatic reconnection in case of temporary network failure
       Serial device server access can be checked while configuring the port
       Activity display for signals and diagnostic trace to record & view communication events

 

VIP is free of charge on ACKSYS serial device servers


Serial ports device servers over
Ethernet TCP/IP		 Get VIP for free Wireless solutions for the industry
(IEEE 802.11)



OEMs: VIP is also available for your own Serial to Ethernet / WiFi gateways, please consult us (sales@acksys.fr) to get licence price information ...

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