Application-Specific Serial Port Redirector for Protocol Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing serial port redirectors are limited to a single application protocol and transport protocol pair, leading to inefficient data transfer and increased network costs due to the transmission of unnecessary control information, especially in wireless networks.
Innovation Solution
An application protocol-specific serial port redirector that dynamically supports multiple application and transport protocol pairs, allowing for the manipulation and reduction of control data before transmission, enabling seamless communication across different protocols and reducing network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing serial port redirectors are used with a single application protocol and transport protocol pair, then protocol compatibility is maintained, but adaptability to different protocol combinations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The serial port redirector is designed to support multiple application protocols (Modbus ASCII, Modbus RTU, DF1) and multiple transport protocols (TCP, UDP, Telnet, SSL) simultaneously, making it universally applicable across different protocol combinations without requiring separate redirectors for each protocol pair
Solution Approach 2:
The redirector dynamically detects the application protocol and transport protocol from the socket configuration and automatically selects the appropriate handling mechanism, enabling flexible adaptation to different protocol combinations without manual intervention
2Loss of energy
If all control data is transmitted to serial devices over the network, then complete data fidelity is maintained, but network costs increase due to unnecessary data transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The redirector extracts and removes unnecessary control data (such as DTR, RTS, CTS, and other modem control signals) from the data stream before transmission over the network, retaining only the essential serial device commands and responses
Solution Approach 2:
The redirector applies different data handling quality to different data types: essential control commands are transmitted with full fidelity, while unnecessary modem control signals are filtered out, optimizing network usage without compromising serial device operation
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system are illustrated to redirect serial device requests from an application on a computer to a plurality of serial devices connected to the computer via a network. The method and system include receiving serial device requests from one or more applications existing on the computer. Each serial device request may be associated with a specific application protocol and directed to one of the plurality of serial devices over the network. The method and system include determining, for a respective serial device request, an application protocol associated with the respective serial device request and forwarding the respective serial device request as a serial redirector message according to the determined application protocol. The method and system include associating the forwarded serial redirector message with a transport protocol. The method and system further include transmitting the serial redirector message over the network as a function of a transport protocol associated with the serial redirector message.