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Industry Continues to Rely on Serial Devices |
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| The serial port has been an industrial communications standard for decades, and this trend shows no sign of reversing. According to recent studies from major research firms, industrial devices with RS-232/411/485 interfaces will still see significant annual growth of 5 to 6%. Consequently, there will be many devices where the only access available to a system integrator is the serial port. However, serial communications comes with many limitations when used in industrial application scenarios, most significantly communications distance limits and star topology requirements. |
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| Because it is easy to wire, simple to manage, and has flexible topologies, Ethernet has become the backbone for digital communications for the IT field. Industry, and in particular industrial automation, is close behind in adopting Ethernet. Many industry insiders believe that Ethernet will be soon used throughout the information, control, and device levels for industrial automation networks. However, many serial devices are unable to connect to the Ethernet network. |
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| In the past, system integrators used front-end computers equipped with both Ethernet and serial communications capability at the device level in order to connect serial devices to the Ethernet network. This was a costly solution that wasted resources; an expensive computer was used just to enable serial-to-Ethernet communications. |
The Emergence of Serial Device Servers
As a alternative to front-end computers, serial device servers are playing a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of Ethernet technology in industrial automation applications. Compared to a front-end computer, a serial device server is more cost-effective, easier to manage, simpler to maintain, and operates with higher reliability. |
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