Overview

Lantronix, Inc.
Version 1.0 (Build 107)
May 23, 2002

Support for up to 256 virtual COM ports, on the following platforms:
Windows 2000; Windows NT 4.0; Windows XP single processor PC’s.

Lantronix DeviceComm Manager is a COM port redirection software application for PC platforms.  Its function is to re-direct customer application data destined for a local serial (COM) port on a PC.  Rather than going out the local port, the data is transmitted across the Ethernet network using TCP/IP.  A device server attached to the network receives the data and presents it on its serial port.  Conversely, data into the serial port of the device server is sent back to the customer application via the network to the DeviceComm Manager.  The DeviceComm Manager then presents the data to the customer application as if it were from a local serial COM port.

One of the main objectives of the DeviceComm Manager software is to eliminate the need for a customer to modify his/her application.  If the application knows how to connect to a local serial port, it can by default talk to a remote serial port on a device server using the DeviceComm Manager software.  No understanding of how to develop networking software is required.

Breaking down the DeviceComm Manager software application, it consists of a Control Panel applet, a device driver, and a Windows service.  These components are wrapped in an installation application (InstallShield).

Installation

If you have received DeviceComm Manager on a CD, place the CD in the drive and execute “setup.exe”.

If you have downloaded the “.zip” file, unzip the contents to a sub-directory on the target PC and then execute “setup.exe”.

Setup

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Double click on the “DeviceComm Manager” Icon.
3. Ports marked “N/A” are being used by other hardware / software on your system.
4. Select one of the “DISABLED” ports by clicking on it, and then press the “Edit” button.

5. Select the “Enabled” check box.
6. Type in the IP address of the target device server in the “Host:” section.
7. Enter the Port number of the target device server in the “Port:” section.
      ****Please Note:****
      Because this is a raw mode redirector:
      a. On UDS and CoBox products, you cannot use ports 14000 through 14009.
      b. On MSS, ETS, LRS, and SCS products you should use the 3001, 3002, 3003 ...  ports.

You will be required to reboot your system when enabling COM ports. You may want to set them all up at one time and then reboot.

8.  Select the "Enable Connection Status” checkbox at the bottom of the screen titled “DeviceComm Manager” if you wish to be notified via screen pop-up when the connection to the remote port is established.  If your application is very time sensitive regarding the initial connection, or you do not wish to have a screen pop-up, leave this box unchecked.

9.  No other setup is required.  In the above example, all data sent to COM4 will be sent across the network to the device server at “172.20.197.50”, port “10001”.

There is also a “settings” button, which allows for advanced configuration.  Some serial applications do not work well when redirected because they are not expecting the latency (delay) that an Ethernet network may cause.  Increasing the “Read Network Timeout” and the “Write Network Timeout” values may help the situation.  Network latency varies depending on a number of factors.  You can get a rough idea of the delay at a given time by “pinging” the device server from the PC and looking at the “time” column.  You may also find the PC command “tracert” helpful.  See your Windows OS documentation for more details on these commands.  Both “ping” and “tracert” are DOS prompt commands.

Miscellaneous

1.  Other possibilities for the “status” column in the control panel applet are “IDLE” and “CONNECTED”.  “IDLE” means that an IP address and port number have been associated with the COM port.  “CONNECTED” means an active TCP/IP connection exists between the COM port and the device server.

2.  Baud rate, parity, stop bits, etc. must be set manually on the device server.

Because this is a raw mode redirector:

3.  On UDS and CoBox products, do NOT use ports 14001 through 14009.

4.  On MSS, ETS, LRS, and SCS products DO use the 3001, 3002, 3003, etc. ports.