Comtrol NS-link Windows NT - Manual (Page 8)

8 Overview
IP or MAC Addressing Issues
IP or MAC
Addressing Issues This is an overview of IP and MAC addressing issues that may affect how you
configure the Comtrol device with a brief discussion of advantages of each method.
The IP addressing scheme has the following advantages:
• Uses an industry standard protocol.
• Allows you to configure systems to use ports on the Comtrol device that are
outside of the host system’s Ethernet segment.
Note: This IP address must be a unique reserved IP address, do not use an
address from a dynamic address pool. If necessary, see the system
administrator for an IP address.
The MAC addressing method has the following advantages:
• Simplifies implementation and ongoing support by eliminating the address
administration issues inherent in network protocols. MAC addresses are
predefined by Comtrol and there is no potential for an “address conflict” at
setup.
• It is isolated from foreign LAN segments minimizing potential security issues.
Using the Port
Sharing Feature The Comtrol device can be shared with multiple systems on a network. To do so,
follow the Installing NS-Link discussion for each system that you want to permit
access to the serial ports.
You can implement the port sharing feature in several ways. You can share the
same port with multiple systems or you can set up multiple systems to share
specific ports on the Comtrol device.
Note: Most applications do not release ports, so you may not be able to use port
sharing across multiple systems with the same port. Also, if using port
sharing, make sure that two computers do not try to access the same port at
the same time. Only one computer can control a given port at a given time.
Port System A System B
1 COM5 Not Configured
2 COM6 Not Configured
3 Not Configured COM5
4 Not Configured COM6
Comtrol Device
Port 1
System A
System B
Port 2
COM 5 COM 6
Port 3 Port 4
COM 5 COM 6
Ethernet Hub
Configured for System A Configured for System B
Example:
To configure two ports for System A and two ports for System B,
1. When installing NS-Link on System A, select “Not Configured” for the
2. When installing NS-Link on System B, select “Not Configured” for the
COM port names must be unique to each system.
Multiple systems can use the same COM port names.
:
you could configure the drivers like this:
COM port names for Ports 3 and 4.
COM port names for Ports 1 and 2.