Serial communications are widely used to in industrial automations. Devices like sensors, computers, data loggers etc. can be connected using the serial communications. However, the simple serial communications have several limitations. Some of them are distance, speed, accessibility etc. All these limitations have led to a need for using the serial over Ethernet communications.

Some of the advantages of these serial communications over Ethernet are:

1.    The lifetime of these devices like the serial over Ethernet keypad can be extended.
2.    These devices can be remotely maintained at a fairly low cost. This helps to reduce the system downtime and also helps to reduce the labor cost.
3.    These devices can be aptly used to carry out the business decisions. These provide the intelligence for controlling and maintaining the business systems.
4.    The serial communications without the Ethernet were very vulnerable. They operated without any kind of data encryption. This left the data vulnerable. However, with Ethernet these have an added security as these provide end-to-end data transfer.
5.    These also offer support for POE. This further reduces the cabling and installation cost.
6.    Ring redundancy is another latest technology that is being widely used in industrial networks. All serial over Ethernet devices support this.
7.    These devices can be used to reach any baud rate. These can also be customized to perform at a particular rate.

Most of the serial based devices can be easily integrated with the Ethernet protocols. In addition to the ease of integration, minimum requirement of processing power and reliability of the connectors further helps to favor these serial over Ethernet communications.

A device server is used to control the whole setup via a networking technology. This server has a processor, memory, a TCP/IP stack and an operating system. It also has a keypad display attached and the other required hardware interfaces like the RS232, RS422, RS485 etc. This server can customized beforehand to carry out the pre-defined tasks. It can transfer as well as process the data.

One of the most viable choices is the use of Device Server technology. Device Servers are hardware merchandises that connect serial devices to LAN. They create sense as serial ports are present on most of the industrial devices and serial communication has always been a dependable means of sharing info. Paired with the readily available, inexpensive, ever-reaching Ethernet users will be provided with a great alternative for the factory floor.Experts agree that serial-over -Ethernet technology can be a very vital strategy in IP enabling your web site, but the variations in Device Servers are as different as the instrumentation they plug into.