RU2746170C1 - Network data translator architecture with automatic detection of serial interface devices that support the execution of ascii identification command - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: network data translators.

SUBSTANCE: network data translator contains a module that implements data exchange via serial interfaces and a module that implements data exchange via Ethernet interface. The translator is designed to control data exchange between interfaces, provide search for connected and available devices via serial interfaces and store information about them in the internal memory of the translator, generate and publish an identifying document on the built-in web service of the translator with a list of interfaces available for data exchange and connection addresses, with a certain frequency of sending an identifying information message to all nodes of the local computer network, and also to notify local network computers about available devices connected to serial interfaces. The detection of such a notification is implemented by computers software that implements the VISA standard.

EFFECT: invention is aimed at providing possibility of automatic detection of devices having serial connection interface and supporting the execution of ASCII identification command on computers and in local computer networks.

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Description

The invention relates to the structure, information connections and interconnection with devices having a serial connection interface and supporting the execution of an ASCII identification command in local computer networks.

There are types of devices that support the execution of the ASCII identification command, are directly connected to a computer via a serial interface and do not have an Ethernet interface implementation for connecting to computer networks. For example, means for measuring and switching measuring signals.

The disadvantages of such devices include:

- the physical location of the end device is limited by the type of serial interface;

- the device exchanges data only with the computer to which it is connected. Thus, for use with another computer, a hardware reconnection of the device is required;

- the computer controlling the connected device has no information about the availability of the device (whether the device is turned on and available or not) without sending an ASCII command to the device.

To ensure control of the described devices in local computer networks, special network translators are used to exchange data between computers of the local computer network and end devices.

Tibbo (Serial-over-ip) can be considered as a translator reflecting the current state of the art. The translator contains at least one serial interface for connecting devices and an Ethernet interface for connecting to a local computer network. To ensure the operability of the translator, special software must be installed and specially configured on the target computer.

The implementation of this architecture and its use imposes the following restrictions:

- it is required to install and configure additional system software (drivers) on the computer to enable data exchange;

- the computer does not have information about the devices actually available for data exchange, since the translator only organizes a data transfer channel between the computer (via virtual COM (Serial) ports) via the Ethernet network interface through the local computer network to all hardware serial interfaces.

- to determine the presence and availability of devices connected to the translator, a request (ASCII identification command) must be sent from the computer to each virtual COM (Serial) port. Thus, the software installed on the computer and control devices must have functionality for determining the availability of devices, which leads to the complication of computer software.

The objective of this invention is to create an architecture of a network data translator that allows automatic detection of devices having a serial connection interface and supporting the execution of ASCII identification commands in local computer networks.

The technical result consists in creating an architecture of a network data translator that provides automatic detection of devices having a serial connection interface and supporting the execution of an ASCII identification command on computers in local computer networks.

The technical result is achieved through the use of specially developed software in the translator. The software implements: control of data exchange between interfaces, as well as: provides search for connected and available devices via serial interfaces and storing information about them in the translator's internal memory; generates and publishes on the embedded web server of the translator an identification document listing the interfaces available for data exchange and connection addresses; with a certain periodicity, it sends to all nodes of the local computer network an identifying information message.

Due to the application of the invention, the computer: does not require the installation of special software, individual for each type of translator, for virtualization of the physical COM (Serial) port; does not require the application software to implement the functionality for determining the devices available for connection; to implement automatic device detection requires the installation of software that implements the VISA standard.

The network translator contains at least one serial interface for connecting devices and an Ethernet interface for connecting to a local network. At the moment of turning on (powering up) the translator and then with a certain frequency, to determine the connected devices, an ASCII identification command is sent to all serial interfaces. From the received responses, a list of interfaces to which the devices available for data exchange are connected is formed and saved. At a certain frequency, an information message about the working translator is sent to all computers of the local computer network.

The computers that received the message connect to the translator to get a list of interfaces available for data exchange and register the received interfaces in the operating system for data exchange as available network interfaces.

Thus, the translator organizes a communication channel between the computer and available devices. No preliminary configuration of communication channels is required.

The present invention can be implemented both as a separate unit and as a functional (composite) unit built into a device.

The essence of the invention is illustrated with the help of diagrams, which show:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram of determining the devices connected to the translator;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram of sending information messages to computers on the local network and computers receiving information about interfaces with connected devices available for data exchange.

Determination of the devices connected to the translator (see Fig. 1) is carried out by sequentially sending the ASCII identification command "* IDN?" into each physical serial interface at different speeds and by reading the execution result. Upon successful receipt of a response, the translator software saves the interface number and baud rate in the internal memory.

Upon completion of the polling of all physical serial interfaces, an LXI identification document (XML Identification Document) is generated with a list of interfaces for accessing devices in the form of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses in the format - <IP address>: <port>, thus, for each device connected to the translator via the UART serial interface, a unique pair of IP-address-port is assigned. The address of the data translator itself is used as the IP address, the connected devices differ only in the port number, the uniqueness of which for each device is ensured by the translator software. An example of a description of a connected device is the following fragment of an identification document:

<InstrumentAddressString>

TCPIP0 :: <IP-address> :: <port> :: SOCKET

</InstrumentAddressString>.

The generated identification document is available on the built-in web server of the translator via the HTTP protocol at the address HTTP: // <IP address of the translator> / lxi / identification and can be obtained by a GET request.

Notification of computers in the local network (see Fig. 2) is carried out by sending a Multicast Domain Name System (response) message over the UDP protocol. The message contains the key information for the present invention - the IP address of the translator and the availability of data exchange via the LXI protocol. A computer connected to the local network with preinstalled system software that implements the VISA (Virtual Instrument Systems Architecture) standard, upon receipt of the above message, upon availability of the LXI protocol, determines the presence of an identification document and requests it from the data translator. The devices described in the requested document are registered by the system software that implements the VISA standard as network devices, without any additional configuration steps, both of the translator itself and the devices connected to it, by the computer user.

National Instruments VISA or Keysight 10 Libraries Suite and others can be used as system software implementing the VISA standard.

Claims (1)

Network data translator with automatic detection of devices with a serial interface that support the execution of the ASCII identification command, containing at least one module that implements the exchange of data via serial interfaces, a module that implements the exchange of data via the Ethernet interface, characterized in that the translator is configured to control the exchange of data between interfaces, search for connected and available devices via serial interfaces and save information about them in the internal memory of the translator, generate and publish an identification document on the built-in web service of the translator with a list of interfaces available for data exchange and connection addresses, with a certain frequency of sending to all nodes of the local computer network of an identifying information message, as well as with the ability to notify computers of the local network about available devices connected to serial interfaces, and This notification is triggered by the computer software that implements the VISA standard.

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