Sharing COM Ports over Network

Virtual Serial Port Tools includes two optional server components. They may be installed either among with other components or as stand-alone components. Both server components can be configured to run as Windows Services, or as stand-alone applications.

Remote Serial Ports Server

This component shares local COM ports over the network. It is best suited for local-area networks or domain networks. It provides the following features:

• Automatic advertising of shared COM ports.
• Fine-grained access control allows administrators to configure which users and groups have access to shared COM ports.
• Full emulation of underlying COM port is provided.
• Remote Ports are used on the “client” side to connect to shared serial ports.

The following topics provide more information on Remote Serial Ports Server component:

• Remote Serial Ports Server
• Server Configuration Utility
• Server Command-Line Parameters

TCP/IP Serial Ports Server

This component shares local COM ports over the TCP/IP network. It provides the following features:

• Support for RFC2217 standard serial port protocol.
• Support for RAW serial port protocol.
• Default port configuration parameters may be specified. They will be used if not overridden by applications.
• Full emulation of underlying COM port is provided.
• TCP/IP Ports are used on the “client” side to connect to shared serial ports.

The following topics provide more information on Remote Serial Ports Server component:

• TCP/IP Serial Ports Server
• TCP/IP Server Configuration Utility
• TCP/IP Server Command-Line Parameters