[TriLUG] serial to ethernet converter

[James Brigman]

On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 12:34 -0400, Jason Tower wrote:
> i need to get some industrial equipment (cnc lathes, milling machines, turning 
> centers, etc) hooked up to a lan.  however, most of them are fairly old and the 
> only communications medium is serial.  can anyone recommend a serial to ethernet 
> converter product?

Jason - Axis has a good one: 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812997033

About $300 from NewEgg - I have no fiduciary interest in NewEgg or Axis,
just a satisfied customer/user. They do list the device as "in-stock".

I haven't installed it myself but I had to use one at a previous
employer, never had any trouble out of it (and it was a crummy network
that I had to rebuild from scratch). 

Note that the Axis has RS422, which you might need in that environment. 

Please, no one take this the wrong way, but I would avoid the Intel
Netport - no support (Intel disavows all knowledge, just like they do
with the Shiva products) and they go offline when they get rogue control
characters from the hosted serial device. I had two at same employer
that drove me nutso, but I had to keep 'em because that's all the
supplier (check printer co.) would allow their product to work with.

Good luck: you're working in a harsh environment for networks and
computing!

JKB