KL, Malaysia. - April, 2008 – The Industrial Automation Group of Advantech introduces the EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 Serial Device Servers, which allow RS-232/422/485 serial devices to be remotely monitored, managed and controlled over Ethernet and Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Equipped with dual 10/100Base-TX Ethernet ports and dual Media Access Controllers (MACs), these innovative devices ensure data transmission even in the event of a network link failure. Moreover, with redundant Ethernet connections, communication is not interrupted in the event of a network problem. With one connection automatically assigned as primary and the other as backup, loss of the primary connection initiates an immediate and automatic switch-over to the backup, ensuring data integrity and peace-of-mind.

Advanced Multi-Access Functionality and Low-Latency Processing
The EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 offer a number of conventional operating modes that allow connections to be initiated by either attached serial devices or remote Ethernet hosts using both UDP/IP and TCP/IP protocols. For applications beyond simple point-to-point connections, two new multi-access modes allow one-to-many and many-to-one communications. The first allows up to five Ethernet hosts to access a single serial device and the second allows a single serial device to simultaneously send data to as many as 16 Ethernet-connected hosts.

In addition to these exciting new features, serial transmission speeds have been increased to 921Kbps, allowing a much broader range of serial devices to be network enabled. More importantly, optimizations in serial to Ethernet handling have yielded an ultra fast round-trip latency of less than 10 milliseconds where network traffic is not an issue, allowing the use of timing-sensitive serial protocols and increased polling rates.

“It’s an industry first to offer both redundant LAN connections and round-trip serial throughput under 10 milliseconds in optimal conditions” said Paul Wacker, Advantech’s Product Manager for Industrial Communication products. “Applications previously only attempted with direct serial connections are now able to leverage the power of networks, without any sacrifice in performance or availability.”

Harry Forbes, Senior Analyst at Boston-based ARC Advisory Group noted that “The capability to serve a number of serial and network devices at high performance emphasizes the ‘server’ aspect of these device servers. The value to end users and system integrators is that using these new high performance interfaces does not require re-engineering of existing designs or replacement of systems in the installed based.”

Like the other members of the EKI Industrial Ethernet family, the EKI-1521 and EKI-1522 Serial Device Servers are packaged in a compact and thin DIN-rail mount chassis. They are ruggedized for demanding industrial applications with 4,000 VDC Ethernet ESD protection, dual 12 to 48 VDC power inputs with power line surge (EFT) protection of 3,000 VDC, and feature an operating temperature range of 0 to 60° C to ensure system uptime. For more information, please contact Advantech.

Advantech Co., Ltd. - Industrial Automation Group – Founded in 1983, the Industrial Automation Group has grown into a global business organization with more than 30 branch offices in 17 countries, and a worldwide partner network comprised of leading Automation corporations. As a pioneer in open Automation technology, Industrial Automation Group is proud of its efforts as global stewards; providing vertical-focused products, solutions and value-added services for a wide array of sectors, including; Building Automation, Machine Automation, Power & Energy, and Intelligent Transportation Systems. (www.advantech.com.my).

Courtesy of Advantech