B&B Electronics ESR902W, ESR901W485, ESR901W232, ESR904W User Manual

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Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m pn#6876-rev001

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

International Headquarters

B&B Electronics Mfg. Co. Inc.

707 Dayton Road

Ottawa, IL 61350 USA

Phone [phone] -- General Fax [phone]

Website: www.bb-elec.com

Sales e-mail: [e-mail]

Technical Support e-mail: [e-mail]

European Headquarters

B&B Electronics Ltd.

Westlink Commercial Park

Oranmore, Co. Galway, Ireland

Phone [phone] -- Fax [phone]

Website: www.bb-europe.com

Sales e-mail: [e-mail]

Technical Support e-mail: [e-mail]

© B&B Electronics – November 2005

-- Fax [phone]

-- Fax [phone]

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m pn#6876-rev001

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

©

2005 B&B Electronics. No part of this publication may be repr od uced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photograp hy, r ec or di n g, or a n y i nformation storage and retrieval s ystem without written consent. Information
in this manual is subject to change without notice, and does not represent a commitment on the part of B&B Electronics.

B&B Electronics shall not be liable for incide ntal or consequential damages resulti ng from the furnishing, perfo rmance, or use of
this manual.

All brand names used in this manu al are the registered tr ademarks of their respectiv e owners. The use of tradem arks or other
designations in this publicatio n is for reference purposes only and does not constitut e an endorsement by the t rademark holder.

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................1

ABOUT YOUR VLINX ESR90XW WIRELESS SERIAL SERVER ................................... 1

Features................................................................................................................ 2

Communication Modes.............................................................. ...........................2

802.11 WIRELESS NETWORKING BASICS ................................................................... 3

802.11 Wireless Networking.................................................................................4

ESR90XW STARTUP PROCEDURE.............................................................................. 6

1. Package Checklist.............................................................................................6

2. Hardware Setup................................................................................................6

3. Power Up.............................................................. ............................................ 7

4. Set Up PC..........................................................................................................8

5. Configuration............................................................ ........................................8

6. Operation........................................... ...............................................................8

CHAPTER 2: VLINX ESR90XW HARDWARE............................................9

PACKAGE CHECKLIST ................................................................................................ 9

HARDWARE FEATURES............................................................................................ 10

Indicators............................................................................................................10

Reset Switch........................................................................................... ............. 10

Connectors..........................................................................................................11

RS-485 Receiver Biasing..................................................................................... 12

RS-422/485 Terminating..................................................................................... 12

CONNECTIONS FOR SERVER CONFIGURATION.......................................................... 12

OTHER HARDWARE CONNECTIONS.......................................................................... 13

CHAPTER 4: DEVICE CONFIGURATION VIA WEB CONSOLE...........15

ACCESSING THE WEB BROWSER.............................................................................. 15

CONFIGURING THE SERIAL PORT ............................................................................. 16

CONFIGURING COMMUNICATIONS MODES AND PROTOCOLS ................................... 16

CONFIGURING NETWORK PROPERTIES..................................................................... 17

CONFIGURING WIRELESS PROPERTIES..................................................................... 17

MANAGING USERS ACCOUNTS ................................................................................ 18

USING DEVICE STATUS INFORMATION .................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 5: ADJUSTING THE BEHAVIOR OF DEVICE

COMMUNICATION PORTS.................... .............................................................21

CHAPTER 6: DEVICE DISCOVERY AND VIRTUAL COM PORTS ...... 23

APPENDIX A: VLINX ESR90XW TECHNICAL DATA...................................25

APPENDIX B: RS-232/422/485 CONNECTIONS.................................................31

APPENDIX C: CONFIGURAT ION PORT CONNECTIONS............................35

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY.................................................................357

POLLING STRINGS .................................................................................................... 22

TIMEOUTS................................................................................................................ 22

DATA QUANTITIES................................................................................................... 22

USING MULTIPLE CONDITIONS ................................................................................ 22

DEVICE DETECTION UTILITY................................................................................... 23

VCOM PORT SETUP ................................................................................................ 24

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS....................................................................................... 25

DEFAULT SERVER PROPERTIES................................................................................ 27

VLINX ESR90XW DIMENSIONAL DIAGRAMS ......................................................... 28

DB-9 PIN-OUTS FOR RS-232 AND RS-232/422/485 CONNECTIONS ......................... 31

TERMINAL BLOCK PIN-OUT FOR RS-422 AND RS-485 (VLINX ESR901W485 ONLY)

................................................................................................................................32

RJ-45 PIN-OUT FOR CONFIGURATION PORT CONNECTION....................................... 35

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m Table of Contents i

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

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ii Table of Contents Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Introduction

Introduction

Features

CChhaapptteerr 11:: IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn

Thank you for purchasing a Vlinx ESR90xW Wireless Serial Server!

Like all B&B Electronics products, your serial server has been manufactured
to high standards of quality and performance to ensure your complete
satisfaction. Please read this manual and carefully follow the instructions to
achieve best results. For additional information on this and other B&B
products, and for technical support, and for technical support, call
815-433-5100 option 3, or access B&B Electronics’ website at: www.bb-

elec.com

About Your Vlinx ESR90xW Wireless Serial Server

Vlinx ESR90xW Wireless Serial Servers are part of B&B Electronics

growing family of device servers, products that allow you to connect
equipment with available serial connections into existing networks. Vlinx
ESR90xW wireless serial servers connect RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485
devices to a wireless network via wireless access points, eliminating the need
for network cabling. Devices connected to the serial ports on your Vlinx

ESR90xW can be accessed from any node on the LAN using Direct IP
Mode, Virtual COM Port, or Serial Tunneling (Paired Mode) connections.

Based on the 802.11g wireless standard, Vlinx ESR90xW servers operate at
up to 54Mbps over the 2.4 GHz band, which does not require licensing.

• Backward compatibility with 802.11b (up to 11 Mbps)

• Multi-interface serial ports

o The Vlinx 901W232 features one RS-232 serial port using a

standard DB-9M connector

o The Vlinx 901W485 features one RS-422/485 serial port using

a removable terminal block connector

o The Vlinx 902W features two serial ports (one RS-232 and one

software-selectable RS-232/422/485) using DB-9M connectors

o The Vlinx 904W features four serial ports (two RS-232 and two

software-selectable RS-232/422/485) using DB-9M connectors

• Rugged DIN rail or panel mountable IP30 enclosure

• Accepts AC or DC power over a wide voltage range

• LAN and WAN Communications via wireless access point

• TCP or UDP Client or Server operation - configurable

• Software Support - Windows 98/ME/2000/XP or NT 4.0

• Field upgradeable

• Configuration of wireless and serial port settings using:

o Vlinx Web Console, which allows configuration via the

network using a web browser.

Communication Modes

Vlinx ESR90xW Wireless Serial Servers enable communication with

serial devices over a wireless network. The three main types of

communications supported by ESR90xW Wireless Serial Servers are Direct

IP Mode, Virtual COM Mode and Serial Tunneling Mode.

Vlinx ESR90xW Wireless Serial Servers

(ESR902W shown)

Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial servers are built for use in industrial
environments and feature rugged DIN or panel mountable enclosures. They
operate from AC or DC power supply voltages and feature removable screw
terminal power connectors.

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m Chapter 1 1

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Direct IP Mode

Direct IP connections allow applications using TCP/IP or UDP/IP socket

programs to communicate with the asynchronous serial ports on the serial
server. In this type of application the serial server is configured as a TCP or
UDP server. The socket program running on the PC establishes a
communication connection. The data is sent directly to and from the serial
port on the server. When using UDP protocol the server can be configured to
broadcast data to and receive data from multiple IP addresses.

2 Chapter 1 Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Introduction

Introduction

Virtual COM Mode

Virtual COM Mode allows application programs to effectively extend their

COM ports across the network. Data sent to that port is redirected via the
network to a COM port on the serial server. Windows programs using
standard Windows API calls are able to interface to these virtual COM ports.
When a program on the PC opens the port, it communicates with the remote
serial device connected to one of the ports on the serial server.

After connection, the LAN is transparent to the program and serial device.
Applications are able to work just as if the serial device is connected directly
to a physical COM port on the computer. The virtual COM port software
converts the application’s data into IP packets, sends it across the network to
the serial server, which converts the IP packet back to serial data and sends
the data out a serial port located on the serial server.

Serial Tunneling Mode

Serial Tunneling is also called paired mode. In this mode any two serial

devices that can communicate across the wireless link will be able to
communicate using two serial servers.

One server is configured as a TCP or UDP client and the other as a
TCP/UDP server. When setting up the server the remote IP address section
must contain the address of the client. This will allow the client’s IP address
to pass the IP address-filtering feature of the server. Conversely, the Remote
IP address of the client must contain the server’s IP address. Both
communication port numbers must be the same.

802.11 Wireless Networking

IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards that defines how multiple devices can

communicate on a wireless network. The standard has grown into a set of
several standards that define various features and functions. The 802.11g
standard defines the physical and data link layers for a wireless network
using the 2.4 GHz frequency band, a band that does not require licensing. As
a part of the IEEE family of standards, 802.11 WLANs are easily connected
to 802.3 (Ethernet) LANs. Higher layer LAN protocols, network operating
systems and internetworking protocols such as TCP/IP integrate seamlessly.

Under the IEEE 802.11 standard there can be two different types of devices

on the wireless network: stations and access points (AP). A station often is a
PC equipped with a wireless network adapter. An 802.11 access point is a

radio with an interface that allows connection to a wired LAN. Access points
run bridging software to facilitate the connection from wireless to wired
network. The access point becomes the base station for the WLAN. It
aggregates access to the wired network for multiple wireless stations. An
access point may be a standalone device or a card in a PC.

Wireless Network Configurations

The 802.11 standard defines two modes of operation: infrastructure mode
and ad hoc mode. Infrastructure mode makes use of one or more access

points connected to a wired LAN. Wireless stations communicate with access
points to gain access to each other and/or the LAN. In the Basic Service Set
(BSS) several stations communicate with one access point, which is
connected to a wired LAN. In the Extended Service Set (ESS) two or more
access points connect to the LAN creating a subnetwork.

802.11 Wireless Networking Basics

Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial servers allow you to connect non-network-

enabled serial devices into a wireless network, giving you the capability to
gather more data and implement remote programming and management.
Serial devices no longer are limited to a physical connection to a PC. The
serial device can be connected to a Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial server
anywhere within range of an 802.11g compatible wireless access point.
Communication occurs transparently using TCP/IP or UDP/IP over a
wireless link. This allows traditional Windows PC software access to serial
devices anywhere on the wireless network.

The enabling technology for Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial servers is
based on the IEEE 802 standard. Some background on the standard follows.

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m Chapter 1 3

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

In ad hoc mode, also called Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS), access

points are not used. Wireless stations communicate directly with each other
in a peer-to-peer fashion. This mode allows individual computers to set up a
network where wireless infrastructure does not exist.

Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial servers can be configured to operate in
infrastructure mode only, ad hoc mode is not supported at this time. During
device configuration a wireless configuration wizard guides you through the
process of setting up the type of network, naming the network (specifying the
SSID, or service set identifier) and other parameters.

4 Chapter 1 Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

Introduction

Introduction

ESR90xW Startup Procedure

IEEE 802.11g

IEEE 802.11g standard specifies a WLAN that operates on the 2.4 GHz band
at data rates up to 54 Mbps, but is backward compatible with the earlier

802.11b standard (which operates at up to 11 Mbps). Systems can
incorporate 802.11b and 802.11g equipment and they will interoperate.
However, when connected into the same network the 802.11g equipment will
operate at the 11 Mbps limitation of the 802.11b equipment.

For media access, 802.11 wireless networks use CSMA/CA, a scheme in
which a station that intends to transmit ‘listens’ for traffic on the radio carrier
frequency and sends data packets if the frequency is clear. If the receiving
station receives the packet intact it sends an acknowledgement (ACK) to
confirm the packet has been received. If the transmitting station does not
receive an ACK it assumes a collision occurred and transmits again after a
random delay period.

Communications distances vary depending on the type and thickness of
material around an 802.11g node. The transmitter power output, the type of
antenna used and the amount of attenuation through materials also affects the
useable range. Electromagnetic noise, reflections, the amount of network
traffic, other radio devices operating in the same frequency band also affect
range and overall performance. In an infrastructure network the number of
access points and their coverage pattern also affect how well the system
operates. Typically an 802.11 device operating indoors will have a range
from 100 feet minimum to about 300 feet maximum. Outdoors, some
products, using high gain antennae may achieve line-of-sight ranges of five
miles or more.

Security is a significant concern for WLAN users. Whether security threats
originate intentionally or unintentionally, wireless systems are more
susceptible than wired systems. Vlinx ESR90xW offer several security
options including WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), LEAP (Lightweight
Extensible Authentication Protocol) and others.

Setup and configuration of your Vlinx ESR90xW wireless serial server is
fast, straightforward and simple. You have several options from which to
choose. The following procedure outlines an easy way to get your server set
up and operational.

1. Package Checklist

To begin, check to see that you have everything you will require. The
contents of your ESR90xW package should include:

• One Vlinx ESR901W232, ESR901W485, ESR902W or ESR904W

Wireless Serial Server

• One SMA antenna

• One Operation Manual

• One Quick Start Guide

• One CD containing

o Device Detection software
o Serial-IP Virtual COM Port Software
o the Operation Manual (in pdf format)
o the Quick Start Guide (in pdf format)

2. Hardware Setup

1. Connect the antenna to your ESR90xW

2. Connect a standard Ethernet (CAT5/RJ-45 straight through) cable

from the PC network adapter to the ESR90xW Configuration Port

3. Connect 24 VAC or 12 to 30 VDC power to the ESR90xW

4. Connect the serial port on the ESR90xW to the serial port on your

serial device. This is optional during the initial configuration steps
but will be required for operation.

For RS-232 operation, your ESR90xW is configured as a DTE and uses a DB­9M connector. Use a straight through RS-232 cable if your serial device is
configured as a DCE. If your serial dev ice is configured as a DTE you will hav e
to use a null modem (crossover) cable.

Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m Chapter 1 5

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com

6 Chapter 1 Documentation Number: ESR90xW-4905m

B&B Electronics Mfg Co Inc – 707 Dayton Rd - PO Box 1040 - Ottawa IL 61350 - Ph 815-433-5100 - Fax [phone] – www.bb-elec.com

B&B Electronics Ltd – Westlink Commercial Park – Oranmore, Galway, Ireland – Ph [phone] – Fax [phone] – www.bb-europe.com