Introduction
Many front-end applications require Digital Input/Output signals to control serial devices and monitor the status of I/O devices. UC-7408 is the best choice for customers who need serial ports, Ethernet ports, and DI/DO signals. Applications that can benefit from using UC-7408 include Tank Storage Monitoring, Ground Water Monitoring, Weather Monitoring, Alarm Systems, and Flow Control.

UC-7408's built-in web server (Apache Web Server for Linux system and WinCE IIS for Windows CE 5.0) allows you to access custom web pages to monitor and control front-end serial and I/O devices. With UC-7408, remote monitoring and control of your facility can be done conveniently with the web browser. Whether you're at home, in the office, or anywhere else in the world, you can easily access UC-7408's web pages to monitor and control your facility. The following figure shows the architecture of a typical UC-7408 front-end application.

Protocol Conversion and Front-End Data Processing
UC-7408 is ideally suited for front-end protocol conversion and data processing, since the user can easily implement a C program to process data retrieved from serial devices and to control I/O devices. If future changes involve adding or removing devices, the programmer simply needs to modify the C code, recompile it, and then download the executable program over the network to the UC unit.

Connecting to the Network and the Internet
In addition to being programmable, UC-7408 also offers users with an array of connection options. To begin with, data entering the serial ports from attached sensors can be processed and then forwarded through one or both of the dual Ethernet ports to the LAN. One of the serial ports can also be connected to a V.90 or GPRS/GSM modem for PPP connections, and a PCMCIA port is available for installing a wireless LAN card for 802.11b/g networks.

CompactFlash for Storage Expansion
For front-end applications, different types of data need to be stored for future reference. However, it's not necessary to maintain a network connection between UC-7408 and the central computer all the time. The system can be set up so that the central computer retrieves data from UC-7408 at certain times. To handle large amounts of data, UC-7408's CompactFlash slot can be used to provide more storage space. If needed, Flash memory cards with storage capacity up to several Gigabytes can be used to store data until it's convenient to transfer the data to a central computer.