At 04:57 PM 5/6/2008, Eric Smith wrote:
If I plug this hypothetical "just works"
serial-to-Ethernet box onto
a serial port on an old computer, and plug the ethernet into the
switch along with my desktop computer, laptop, and wireless router,
what exactly should the box do? And what should I, as the user, do?
I imagined it would work like a zillion other $40 web-configured
network bridge/router devices these days. Emphasis on "bridge".
Out of the box, it wakes up on a static IP. I can point a web
browser at it and change the settings: at this IP, at this baud rate.
I do the same to the second box: this IP, these serial settings.
Maybe it converts between mismatched baud rates, too.
So both devices are on the net, and they talk to each other. I connect
one's serial port to one old computer, I connect the other to the other
old computer's serial port. A serial port bridge, over Ethernet.
They talk. One end sends a byte, it gets delivered to the other end
and emitted, and vice-versa. Isn't that what Tony wants?
I'm waving my hands as to whether the ends are DTE or DCE, and how much
they're buffered. I'll wave my hands about how bytes are packaged
to be sent in Ethernet-sized packets. I'll also wave my hands about
what other useful status info the web interface might show, and
I'll dodge any arguments about whether a serial interface for its
configuration would be more sensible than http.
- John