Delta RMC101 - Manual (Page 60)

RMC100 and RMCWin User Manual
3-10
cable—the maximum cable length is typically limited to 50 feet and there is no isolation. In either
case, only a single RMC can be accessed per serial port. See Communication Driver: Serial
Configuration for details on settings specific to this driver.
• TCP/IP Direct to RMC-ENET: This method requires an RMC ENET module, but otherwise gives
the best performance, allows routing and addressing multiple modules, and provides isolation.
See Communication Driver: TCP/IP Direct to RMC-ENET Configuration for details on settings
specific to this driver.
Note: If your computer has a firewall, it may prevent RMCWin from finding RMC100s on your
Ethernet network from the Communications tab in the Options dialog. See the Setting the
Firewall to Allow RMC100 Ethernet Browsing topic for details.
• TCP/IP-to-RS232 Bridge: This method adds many of the benefits of Ethernet—it allows routing
and addressing multiple modules and provides isolation—but at the expense of performance, can
work on all RMCs, not just those with the RMC ENET module. It does this by using a TCP/IP-to-
RS232 Bridge device. See Communication Driver: TCP/IP-to-RS232 Bridge Configuration for
details on settings specific to this driver.
In addition to the driver selection and driver-specific options, there is one other option offered by
this dialog box:
• Closed (Work Offline) check box
Check this box to close the current communication path and work offline. When this mode is
selected, no attempt will be made to connect to an RMC over the communication path. If a serial
port had been open, it will be closed and therefore available for use by other applications.
RMCWin will always start by trying to open the communication path, unless the -P command-line
option is used; see Command- Line Options for details.
3.3.4 Working Offline
Working offline refers to using RMCWin without being connected to an RMC. There are two
communication states that can be used to work offline: Closed and Offline. In both states,
RMCWin is not connected to an RMC. However, in the Closed state, RMCWin is not using the
communication path at all, whereas in the Offline state, RMCWin is polling the communication
path for an RMC to become available.
RMCWin will switch automatically between Offline and Online as an RMC becomes available or
is removed from the communication path. However, RMCWin can be manually placed in the
Closed
state.
To work offline, you can do either of the following:
• Leave the communication path open, but ensure that RMCWin cannot connect to the RMC. The
simplest way to ensure this is to physically disconnect the RMC from the PC by removing the
serial or Ethernet (CAT5) cable.
• Close the communication path. This is described below under Opening and Closing a
Communication Path .
Opening and Closing a Communication Path