How to use the Box2Box mode

The I/O Controller 2 is used in this example.

I/O Controller 2 can be connected to a PC over the LAN in order to use the I/O Controller 2's serial port as a Virtual Serial Port (VSP). HW group offers HW VSP – a free virtual serial port application that supports up to 100 remote serial ports (support includes Windows 7 and x64 systems). I/O Controller 2 offers a truly full RS-232 serial port (9 pins).

Two devices can be connected back-to-back (Box-2-Box mode). In this mode, the digital I/O as well as the RS232/485 serial line are extended (tunneled) over the LAN.

Horizontal menu

Support

We assume that both I/O Controllers are in factory default settings.

Let us open the WWW interfaces of the two I/O Controllers side-by-side in two different browser windows (not just two different tabs). The side-by-side view of the two I/O Controller interfaces then looks like this:

Click Login and log in to both devices. The default credentials are admin/1234. At both devices, open the Network page:

The left device will be the client, the right device will be the server. The TCP connection is established by the client; that is, if the state at the device on the left changes, the changes are communicated to the device on the right.

In the left window, fill in the S and U parameters:

Switch to the TCP Mode Setup page in both windows and set the V: NetworkVirtualTerminal parameter to ON:

In the left window, click Save Setup & Restart and then click Reboot. Wait for the page to refresh. If the page does not refresh after 20 seconds, press F5. Everything should work now. If not, compare the TCP Setup listings.