StarBus Tech Reference Information

StarBus connects RS-232 / serial equipment using a single cable - either a twisted wire pair or any Ethernet. Each serial device becomes a 'master', connecting to any address, group of addresses, or everyone else at once! Every port is remotely configurable. Getting network status or queuing to popular ports is simple. There is virtually no training! There's also no switch, no server, no front-end software, and no rigid layout rules. Just string everyone to one wire or to your Ethernet, and then watch out! StarBus buffers and multiplexes each datastream up to network speed. Everyone is in control and yet everyone gets their own private connection. There are no bottlenecks, because StarBus is not a software mux...It's a collection of individual-port hardware multiplexers. StarBus makes distributed multiplexing very flexible. For details, see the 1-screen web spiff , or tour the three page white paper . StarBus is very intelligent. You don't need software to control it. To make a remote connection, you can: a) use built-in menus - very simple! HELP screens come via your serial port. or b) embed commands in data by using an attention string that you configure. or c) choose a remote port or group of ports as default destination for data. In this case, no commands are needed at all. Just send whenever you like! Likewise, you may break a connection by menu, command, timer, or the delay since the last character sent. You can even configure a 2nd timer to take priority, only if others are waiting quened to use a popular target port. StarBus-for-Ethernet is available in two new compact versions: starbus pIPer/TNC Connect direct from your PC to any RS-232 device over Ethernet. Now you don't need a box at your Ethernet equipped PC.