Moxa Technologies DE-334 - Manual (Page 12)

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NPort Server Lite User’s Manual
Knowing Your Application
NPort Server Lite is an advanced Industrial Serial Device Server designed to fit into today's
ever-expanding networking world. It extends the usage of traditional COM ports on a
PC—an isolated machine with restricted ports—to being able to access the ports over a
TCP/IP network. Through the nature of networking, you can control your serial devices
from a distance, either over a LAN, or even over the Internet.
Since NPort Server Lite is connected through a TCP/IP network, you will need to know
some basic facts about networking in order to get the server hooked up correctly. In this
section we discuss the Host-Based Mode application.
Host-Based Mode
Traditional serial port communication uses a COM port board that slides into one of the
slots on the back of your PC. In this case, only the computer containing the board can
access the serial port. With Moxa’s 2/4-port NPort Server Lite serial device server,
communicating with COM ports is much more versatile, since you are now able to access
the COM ports from a distance. For example, the server could be located in Stockholm, and
the serial devices in Frankfurt.
Figure 2-1. NPort Server Lite—Host Based Mode