Add communication settings to a communication device

Choose Resource Management > Devices in the Navigation Pane.

Choose the tab Communication Devices in the Data Pane.

Choose a communication device.

Choose the vertical tab General > sub tab Communication Settings.

In option group Communication Type choose one of the following options:

Option	Explanation
FTP	Choose this option if the communication device is driven by FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
Serial	Choose this option if the communication device is connected to a serial port or if it is connected to an Ethernet conversion via a serial connection.
Parallel	Choose this option if the communication device is connected to the parallel port.
TCP	Choose this option if the communication device is connected to the network.

Depending on the chosen communication type, enter the following settings:

Field	Explanation
Host	Enter the network IP address (fixed) or communication device host name here.
Port	Enter the port used for FTP here. In many cases the default FTP port is 21.
User Name	Enter the user name to be used to log on to the communication device FTP server.
Password	Enter the user password to be used to log on to the communication device FTP server.
Transfer mode	ASCII: sends the information in ASCII (text) format. BINARY: sends the information in BINARY format.
Active mode	Check the check box if the communication device must be controlled using active (ACTIVE) FTP. Uncheck the check box if the communication device must be controlled using passive (PASSIVE) FTP.
Timeout (in s)	Records the maximum time in seconds for the Objective Device Server to wait for an answer from the communication device. Unchecked The device server will wait for an answer from the communication device. Checked When the timeout entered is exceeded, Objective presumes that communication has failed and will generate an error message. Attention: Don't set the duration of the timeout too short. Depending on the communication device it could be that multiple seconds are needed to process the sent data. Not all communication devices send a confirmation, in which case this setting cannot be used. If this is the case, the timeout should be disabled.

Field	Explanation
Port	Enter the name of the serial port of the computer (on which the Objective Device Server runs) to which the communication device is connected, here. Typically this is a name like COM1, COM2, etc.
Baud rate	Enter the corresponding serial port settings here. The serial port and communication device must work correctly with the same settings.
Parity	See communication device manual.
Data bits	See communication device manual.
Stop bits	See communication device manual.
Handshake protocol	See communication device manual.
Drain on close	Ensures that any buffered, non-read data are removed from the port before closing the port.
Timeout (in ms)	Records the maximum time in seconds for the Objective Device Server to wait for an answer from the communication device. Unchecked The device server will wait for an answer from the communication device. Checked When the timeout entered is exceeded, Objective presumes that communication has failed and will generate an error message. Attention: Don't set the duration of the timeout too short. Depending on the communication device it could be that multiple seconds are needed to process the sent data. Not all communication devices send a confirmation, in which case this setting cannot be used. If this is the case, the timeout should be disabled.

Field	Explanation
Port	Enter the name of the parallel port of the computer (on which the Objective Device Server runs) to which the communication device is connected, here. Typically this would be a name like LPT1:, LPT2:, etc.

Field	Explanation
Host	Enter the network IP address (fixed) or the communication device host name here.
Port	Enter the name of the network port to which the communication device is connected here.
Timeout (in s)	Records the maximum time in seconds for the Objective Device Server to wait for an answer from the communication device. Unchecked The device server will wait for an answer from the communication device. Checked When the timeout entered is exceeded, Objective presumes that communication has failed and will generate an error message. Attention: Don't set the duration of the timeout too short. Depending on the communication device it could be that multiple seconds are needed to process the sent data. Not all communication devices send a confirmation, in which case this setting cannot be used. If this is the case, the timeout should be disabled.

Field

Explanation

Host

Enter the network IP address (fixed) or the communication device host name here.

Port

Enter the name of the network port to which the communication device is connected here.

Timeout (in s)

Records the maximum time in seconds for the Objective Device Server to wait for an answer from the communication device.

Unchecked

The device server will wait for an answer from the communication device.

Checked

When the timeout entered is exceeded, Objective presumes that communication has failed and will generate an error message.

Attention:

Don't set the duration of the timeout too short. Depending on the communication device it could be that multiple seconds are needed to process the sent data.

Not all communication devices send a confirmation, in which case this setting cannot be used. If this is the case, the timeout should be disabled.