A gadget like this, (for example the Tibbo DS100 Serial Device Server) is nothing more than a standard serial port, that can be located anywhere in your network. It can be accessed by any computer in the network by installing a "Virtual COM Port" in the operating system -
drivers for Linux are available. This way, the serial port is no longer stuck with the computer, it can be anywere in the (inter)net - very useful (yes, even forwading through routers and stuff possible!).
In my case, the ZM box is very far from the location where I'd put a panel with LEDs and Switches - and if Serial is the way to go, this Serial Device Server would be my solution.
Check it out:
http://www.tibbo.com/ds100.php Extensive documentation is available.
Applications:
alarm visualisation, ptz, remote controlling, external event trigger capturing...
Opinions?
