Serial over LAN software and hardware solutions - full guide

Updated: Aug 7, 2024

As businesses scale up, there’s an emerging need to share devices over increasingly longer distances. For serial devices, this is accomplished with the Serial over LAN (SOL) technology. In this article, we will review some of the top SOL software and hardware solutions.

Best Serial over LAN Solutions

Application

Serial to Ethernet Connector

Serial to Ethernet Connector is an application that connects a serial port over LAN to a remote machine with the use of a local computer. An Internet connection is possible as well, but with a complex setup, and the server needs to be self-hosted.

This app can create many different types of connections. The simplest is one server/one client with the use of the RFC 2217 protocol, with port emulation on the other end, in case the computer doesn’t have any COM ports. It can also connect multiple TCP servers to a single client, or multiple clients to a single server, with clients either having SEC installed or being connected purely through TCP. Finally, the port can send data to a client via UDP and broadcast UDP messages to a non-fixed amount of clients.

Nearly anything about the connection can be configured: delay between packages and message symbol limits. An option is also available to only send in response to a specified symbol.

Pros:

Unlimited devices
Flexible connection and port settings
Possible to create virtual ports
Complex multi-client/server connections
Same app can act as a server and a client
RFC 2217
UDP support
Signal line control

Cons:

Needs a computer to share the COM device
Windows and Linux hosts only
Internet connection difficult to set up
No HTTPD support

Price: $260

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Application

FlexiHub

FlexiHub is a simpler software solution. Unlike SEC, it only supports one connection type - single server to single client, with port emulation and RFC 2217. However, this serial over LAN technology has one major advantage. FlexiHub works over the Internet without any additional setup - the app takes care of routing, hosting, and the other things necessary for a connection.

As long as you’re connected to the Internet, you can see and connect to any serial devices that are plugged into machines with FlexiHub installed and signed into your account. The cheapest plan, Personal, has a limit of 3 simultaneous connections. You can read more about Serial to Ethernet Connector and FlexiHub comparison by the link.

Pros:

Works over the Internet, no need to host
Port emulation
Three or more simultaneous connections (plan-dependent)

Cons:

Account needed to use
Does not support complex setups with multiple servers or clients

Price: From $14/month

Adapter

Moxa NPort

NPort 5100 Series devices are single-port serial-to-Ethernet adapters. Depending on the model, the device’s port may either be compatible with RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485. Some models support multiple protocols, or all three. Notably, NPorts 5100 include a pull high/low resistor.

The adapter can be configured over Telnet, in its web interface, or a Windows or Linux utility. On Linux, the user will need to install Real TTY drivers to connect serial port over a network, which is a pretty involved process.

Pros:

No need for a host computer
Supports RS-485, which standard serial ports do not

Cons:

Complicated setup
Needs a driver to be installed on Linux to even work
Only 1 port

Price: $168

Adapter

The IOLAN Device Server

The DG1 TX has an RS-232/422/485 port, which is only usable for RS-232 by default; other protocols require software to be enabled. The connected device can be shared to multiple TCP or UDP servers.

It’s claimed that TX has the most powerful processor on the market, which helps when you connect a COM port over LAN. Perle provides an IOLAN software development kit as well, with tools for process automation, data storage, and logging.

Pros:

IOLAN SDK available
RS-485 support
UDP support with multiple receivers

Cons:

Expensive compared to similar alternatives
Software required to fully set up

Price: $468

Component

Anybus by HMS Networks

As an embedded chip, the CompactCom 40 Brick is significantly different from every other serial over LAN solution we’ve presented. While it’s not ready to use out of the box, it offers other benefits - mainly, to hardware manufacturers. As a hardware component, it’s compact, and you’re free to choose the surrounding components as well.

The chip supports SPI and UART with various parameters, such as configurable baud rate, making it compatible with a massive variety of serial communication protocols.

Pros:

Compact size
Very flexible in regards to protocols

Cons:

Not a standalone piece of hardware
Still expensive, despite not being a complete solution

Price: Starting at $200

Comparison chart

Serial to Ethernet Connector

FlexiHub

NPort 5100

IOLAN DG1

CompactCom 40 Brick

Type

Application

Adapter

Component

Software OS

Up to Windows 11

Windows 11, Ubuntu Linux

Up to Windows 10

None

Simultaneous connections

Unlimited

Up to 3

1

Price

$260

From $14/month

$168

$468

Starting at $200

Protocols

RS-232

RS-232, 422, 485

Nearly any

Common usage scenario of Serial over LAN software

After migrating your software to the cloud, you may have issues connecting remotely to your serial-based equipment. You need to implement Serial over LAN functionality so peripherals attached to your serial ports are accessed through the cloud environment. Serial to Ethernet Connector provides the capability to establish COM over LAN connectivity.

Learn about Serial over LAN software and how you can use it in cloud infrastructure. First, you have to establish a connection to a server in the cloud environment that has a real IP address. After creating the connection, you need to configure the Serial to Ethernet Connector on the machine that is directly connected to the hardware device you want to access remotely using COM over LAN software.

Once this connection is correctly configured, this serial over LAN software solution redirects COM interface to the cloud. You can now access equipment attached to this port from anywhere with an Internet connection.

How to redirect a COM over LAN using this advanced software solution

Let’s imagine that you have a COM-based barcode reader which is located at a distance from your local computer. You need to access the device from an app installed on your machine. To achieve this, you should follow these simple steps:

1

Download Serial over Ethernet Connector and install it on the computer (server) to which the device is attached physically and your local computer (client) that will reach the serial over LAN. Note that a client can be any real or virtual machine running Windows or Linux OS.

2

Next, start the program on the server machine, set up the required parameters and create a Server connection by clicking the corresponding button. This will make the serial port device accessible over the network.

3

Then, launch the software on the client and “Connect” to the serial port over network.

This is it! Now, all data from the remote COM device will be available on your computer as if it were your local peripheral.

Serial over LAN video Guide

When you establish a client connection to the server machine, in essence, the software creates a virtual port on the client and connects it to the real physical port of the server PC via a virtual null-modem cable. Once linked, the virtual port copies the behavior of the real port on the remote side. So, with Serial to Ethernet Connector, you are free to share COM over LAN in a couple of simple steps.

How to share serial over LAN on Linux

If a user wants to work with serial ports on a machine running Linux, that’s no problem: the native methods are available on the recent versions of Linux.

Using netcat, you will be able to redirect serial over LAN on Linux:

netcat www.example.com port /dev/ttyS0

Please note: described RS232 over LAN sharing method will require users to run new instances of the netcat utility for each new connection the user wants to create.

To have a persistent serial over LAN connection, the user will need to create a xinetd service using the configuration provided below:

service testservice { port = 5900

socket_type = stream

protocol = tcp

wait = yes

user = root

server = /usr/bin/netcat

server_args = "-l 5900 < /dev/ttyS0" }

Users should then change the /dev/ttyS0 to the required serial port. To configure COM port parameters (such as baud rate and parity), use the commands: stty or setseri al.

Serial to Ethernet Connector

Access COM port over LAN

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