Device Server Firmware is the software that runs inside DS100 and EM100 Serial Device Servers.

New Firmware adds many features such as support for reverse connections, modem commands, remote control of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines, remote status monitoring, network upgradeability, DHCP support, and many others.

Selected new features in Release3

Inband commands. It is now possible to pass programming commands inside the TCP/IP data connection thus eliminating the need for a separate UDP "connection" to port 65535.

Reverse connections. New Connect Immediately option provides a way to establish reverse connections in "asymmetrical" networks where only one side of the link can "see" the other side.

Modem commands. A set of new commands allows attached serial device to make the Device Server establish and break TCP or UDP connections with desired destinations.

Remote control of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines. The status of these lines can now be transmitted across the network connection (Device Server <--> Device Server or Virtual Serial Port <--> Device Server).

Connection control/monitoring via DSR/DTR lines. Now the attached serial device can make the Device Server establish and break TCP or UDP connections by toggling the DSR line. Current connection status can be monitored via the DTR line.

Remote status monitoring. It is now possible to monitor the status of the Device Server remotely. This includes "general health" monitoring, connection status, routing status, etc.

Network upgradeability. It is now possible to upgrade the internal firmware of the Device Server via the network.

Constant visibility. The Device Server now remains visible on the network even when running in the serial programming mode and/or in the error mode.

DHCP support. The Device Server can now obtain its IP-address, default gateway IP, and the netmask from the DHCP server.

Improved LED Signaling. New Status LED signaling scheme provides extended information on current device status (connection state, internal "health", etc.)

One-touch Initialization. It is now possible to initialize the Device Server simply by pressing and holding the setup button while in the serial programming mode.

Inband commands

In the previous firmware versions network programming could only be performed by sending programming commands as UDP datagrams to port 65535. This works great for "local" Device Servers but may pose problems in WAN installations:

• Routers and firewalls often ban UDP traffic and/or most ports so sending programming commands to UDP port 65535 may not be possible.

• UDP datagram failure rate may be very high on WANs because routers often drop them in favor of "more important" (TCP) traffic. This causes time-consuming retransmissions and slows down device programming.

Inband programming commands are sent to the Device Server inside the TCP data connection to the user-definable data port. This eliminates the necessity to use separate UDP port for programming. Commands are "mixed" right into the data stream and a special escape character is used to separate them from the data.

See also:
Improved connectivity and speed (DS Manager)
Inband on-the-fly commands (VSPD/VSP Manager)
Inband (TCP) programming (online manuals)

Reverse connections

New Connection Mode (CM) Setting allows you to make the Device Server establish a data connection to the destination host immediately after the Device Server is powered up. This solves a connection problem in "asymmetrical" networks where only one side of the data link can "see" the other side.

Imagine an installation where a server ("network host") needs to communicate with your serial device through the Internet and Tibbo Device Server. The host has a "real" (Internet-wide) IP-address and is visible from any part of the network, while the Device Server is located inside a protected LAN and only has "internal" IP-address. The LAN has a gateway to the Internet so the Device Server can "see" the host and connect to it but the host cannot "see" and connect to the Device Server.

The above is not a problem if your serial device can output the data without waiting for any command from the host. In this case the Device Server can be programmed to connect to the host as soon as the first data is received from the serial device.

But what if the serial device is of "slave terminal" type? In this case it won't transmit any data unless it receives a command first. But the host cannot send its commands because it cannot connect to the Device Server!

This is where connect immediately option comes handy- the Device Server will connect to the network host immediately after being switched on and will attempt to maintain this connection at all times. This way, when the host needs to send a command to the serial device it will already have an established connection to the Device Server.

See also:
New Connection Mode Property (VSPD/VSP Manager)
Connection Mode (CM) Setting (online manuals)

Modem commands

Attached serial device now has a full control of the Device Server through a new set of "modem" commands*. Modem commands are issued through the serial port of the Device Server. Attached serial device can make the Device Server establish or break connections to desired destination IPs and ports, and also check current connection status.

With new modem commands a much more sophisticated network functionality can now be implemented in your serial device. For example, one of our Customers is using the modem commands to build a redundant data collection system in which data collection terminals send the data to one of the two servers. First, the data collection device instructs the Device Server to connect to the primary server. Should this fail, the data collection device instructs the Device Server to connect to the secondary (backup) server. Once collected data has been uploaded the Device Server is instructed to break the connection.

See also:
Modem commands (online manuals)
Echo (X) Command (online manuals)
Status (U) Command (online manuals)

* Modem commands are called so because of their functional similarity to AT commands of a normal phoneline modem. Commands used by Tibbo Device Servers are not compatible with standard AT commands used by modems.

Remote control of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines

New firmware allows the Device Server to optionally exchange the status of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines with another Device Server or Virtual Serial Port. What that means is that, for example, changing the status of the DSR (input) line on one side of the link will cause the status of the DTR (output) line on the other side of the link to be changed accordingly.

This feature greatly extends the usability of Tibbo Device Servers. In many systems RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines are "manually" controlled. For example, some systems use RTS as a "data strobe" line- a pulse is generated on this line each time the data is output to the serial device. Tibbo Device Server will now work correctly in such systems.

See also:
Remote control of RTS/CTS/DTR/DSR lines (VSPD/VSP Manager)
Notification Bitmask (NB) Setting (online manuals)
Notification Destination (ND) Setting (online manuals)
Set I/O Pin Status (Sx) Instruction (online manuals)
Get I/O Pin Status (Gx) Instruction (online manuals)

Connection control/monitoring via DSR/DTR lines

Now you can make the Device Server establish and break network connections by toggling the DSR line. Current connection status can be observed by monitoring the DTR line. Controlling connections through DSR/DTR lines is a simple alternative to the modem commands. Modem commands and control through DSR/DTR lines can be used at the same time.

See also:
Modem commands (online manuals)
DTR Mode (DT) Setting (online manuals)
Connection Mode (CM) Setting (online manuals)

Remote status monitoring

Extended Echo and new Status commands now provide a way to obtain current status of the Device Server over the network. This new functionality is used by the DS Manager to retrieve the status of each Device Server shown in the device list.

See also:
Improved device list (DS Manager)
New routing status dialog (DS Manager)
Echo (X) Command (online manuals)
Status (U) Command (online manuals)

Network upgradeability

Internal firmware of the Device Server can now be upgraded via the network. Addition of the network upgradeability, coupled with new constant visibility over the network makes Tibbo Device Servers 100% remotely manageable devices.

Network upgrades are facilitated by a separate firmware component called the NetLoader.

See also:
New upgrade feature (DS Manager)
NetLoader (online manuals)

Constant visibility

With earlier firmware versions the Device Server was not visible on the network when it was in the serial programming mode or error mode. Now the Device Server remains visible at all times. This means that the DS Manager will always be able to detect the presence and status of Tibbo Device Servers.

Constant visibility is very important for remote management of Device Servers. Supposing you've just upgraded internal firmware of the Device Server. After the Server reboots it finds that some of its settings require initialization and enters the error mode. With the original firmware this would make the Device Server "disappear" from the network basically rendering it inoperable. Now the DS Manager will still be able to detect this Device Server so you will have a chance to initialize it remotely.

See also:
Serial programming (online manuals)
Error mode (online manuals)

DHCP support

Tibbo Device Servers can now obtain their IP-address, default gateway IP-address, and the netmask from the DHCP server. When the DHCP is enabled the Device Server won't start its normal operation until its IP-address is properly configured.

Since with DHCP the IP-address of the Device Server is not guaranteed to remain the same our Virtual Serial Ports (VSPs) now have a new MAC->IP mapping function that allows the VSP to find its target Device Server by its MAC-address.

See also:
New MAC->IP Mapping Feature (VSPD/VSP Manager)
DHCP (DH) setting (online manuals)

Improved Status LED Signaling

The signaling scheme for the Red and Green Status LEDs has been completely reworked! New scheme is more informative and makes understanding current Device Server status a lot easier.

For your convenience we have created a signaling emulator. Click on the link below to learn about existing Status LED patterns and what they mean.

Open Status LED Signaling Emulator
Status LED signals (online manuals- Application Firmware)
Status LED signals (online manuals- Monitor)

One-touch Initialization

When in the serial programming mode it is now possible to completely reinitialize the Device Server by pressing and holding the Setup button (pulling the MD pin low on the EM100). Result is equivalent to the one produced by "serial" I command.

Certain time guards are provided to make sure that the Device Server is not initialized by accident.

Quick initialization (online manuals)
Initialize (I) command (online manuals)