Tibbo > Serial-over-IP > Device Servers
Tibbo Serial-over-IP Devices (Serial Device Servers)
Tibbo offers two lines of external serial-over-IP devices: programmable serial controllers and Tibbo Project System (TPS) devices in select configurations.
Both the serial controllers and TPS offerings comprise general-purpose Tibbo BASIC/C-programmable devices running our open-source serial-over-IP (SoI) application.
All Tibbo Device Servers are compatible with the Tibbo Device Server Toolkit (TDST) for Windows.
The TDST includes a Virtual Serial Port Driver (VSPD) for Windows, which enables you to use the serial ports of Device Servers as remote COM ports of your PC
(a Linux version of the VSPD is available as well).
The TDST also contains two very useful configuration utilities for Tibbo device servers — the Connection Wizard and DS Manager.
In addition, the SoI Companion App for the WS1102, our wireless serial controller, supports configuration via the BLE interface,
using the L.U.I.S. app
(available for iOS and Android, and as a web app).
The L.U.I.S. App for iOS and Android
The L.U.I.S. app allows configuring compatible* Tibbo devices via their BLE interface. The app automatically discovers nearby devices that support BLE configuration,
allows you to select a device for configuration, and then loads and displays configuration page(s) received from the device itself.
On the WS1102, L.U.I.S. enables the wireless configuration of all settings provided by the SoI app.
* To be compatible with the L.U.I.S. app, a device must (1) be equipped with the BLE interface; and (2) run a Tibbo BASIC/C app that supports L.U.I.S. functionality.
SoI on Tibbo's Programmable Serial Controllers
Tibbo's programmable serial controllers ship with our open-source serial-over-IP (SoI) application,
With the SoI app loaded, our serial controllers work as full-featured serial device servers.
The lineup of our programmable serial controller includes four device models:
-
WS1102 — Tibbo's wireless serial controller featuring Wi-Fi and BLE interfaces on the network side
and an RS232/422/485 port on the serial side.
-
DS1100/1/2 — our wired serial controllers equipped with an Ethernet port:
- The DS1100 is an entry-level, economically priced serial controller with a standard RS232 port.
- The DS1101 is a powerful serial controller with a 3.5-channel RS232 port.
- The DS1102 has the same features as the DS1101, but is equipped with a 3-channel RS232/422/485 port.
Note: DS1100/1/2 devices can be supplied with an optional PoE module, Wi-Fi interface (complementing the built-in Ethernet port), and an OLED display.
Channels: Squeezing Multiple Serial Ports Onto a Single DB9
Devices supporting this feature have a single DB9M connector and are priced as single-port products, yet pack several independent serial channels.
Have no use for those DSR and DTR lines? Turn them into RX and TX lines of an additional serial channel. Don't want CTS and RTS either? That's one more RX/TX pair!
Our serial-over-IP (SoI) application defines 15 different configurations or "port mappings" to choose from, starting from a standard single-channel configuration (RX, TX, CTS, RTS, DSR, DTR, and DCD) and ending with the 3.5-channel setup (RX, TX, RX2, TX2, RX3, TX3, and RX4).
Splitting wires can be conveniently carried out with the TB1100 adapter.
Comparison Table
| DS1100  | DS1101  | DS1102  | WS1102  |
 |  |  |  |
| | | | |
Serial port | Single-channel RS232 | 3.5-channel RS232 | 3-channel RS232/
2-channel RS422/
1-channel RS485 | 1-channel RS232/422/485 |
Channels: Squeezing Multiple Serial Ports Onto a Single DB9Devices supporting this feature have a single DB9M connector and are priced as single-port products, yet pack several independent serial channels. Have no use for those DSR and DTR lines? Turn them into RX and TX lines of an additional serial channel. Don't want CTS and RTS either? That's one more RX/TX pair! Our SoI application
defines 15 different configurations or "port mappings" to choose from, starting from a standard single-channel configuration
(RX, TX, CTS, RTS, DSR, DTR, and DCD) and ending with the 3.5-channel setup (RX, TX, RX2, TX2, RX3, TX3, and RX4). Splitting wires can be conveniently carried out with theTB1100 adapter. |
CPU | Economical (T2000) | Baseline (T1000) | Wi-Fi/BLE SoC
(as on the WM2000)
|
| Power in | Power in/out
(The SoI application can control
the power output) | No |
Pass-through PowerDevices supporting this feature can be powered through pin 9 of the RS232 (DB9M) connector. Alternatively, they can power an attached serial device through this pin. Power output on pin 9 is software-controllable. Our serial-over-IP (SoI) application includes the related setting.
|
Ethernet | 10/100BaseT
debugging over Ethernet
| No |
Wi-Fi | No | Optional
(2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n) | Yes
(2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n);
TLS1.2 support;
wireless debugging
|
BLE | No | Yes |
OLED Display | - | Optional, the SoI application displays network conditions, serial communications parameters, and other useful information | No |
Power-over-Ethernet | Optional | No |
Buzzer | - | Yes |
| | | | |
TPS-based SoI Devices
Our Tibbo Project System (TPS) is an ideal platform for creating multi-port Serial Device Servers.
With TPS, you don't have to settle for a "close enough" match to what you are looking for. Need exactly three serial ports?
Define a TPS configuration with just three ports! Require a device with two RS232 and two RS485 ports? No problem.
Want to power your Device Server from a PoE source? There is a Tibbit for this!
To get you started, we've created several standard Device Server configurations.
| TPS3 | TPS2 | TPS2L |
Available serial
port types
|
TTL, simple RS232 (TX, RX, RTS, and CTS only), universal RS232/422/485 ports
(RS232: TX, RX, RTS, CTS, DTR, DSR; RS422: +/– TX, +/– RX, +/– RTS, +/– CTS;
RS485: +/– TX/RX, half-duplex)
|
Max. number of
serial ports
 | 4 ports, available with DB9M or terminal block connectors |
2 ports with DB9M connectors (all lines present), or
4 ports with terminal blocks (reduced number of lines)
|
TFT LCD | - | Yes |
Ethernet Port | 10/100BaseT |
Wi-Fi | Optional |
4G/LTE Cellular | Optional, reduces the number of available serial ports |
Power options | 12V, 24V, PoE |
LED status indication |
Two general status LEDs, one Ethernet link LED, five LEDs
for Wi-Fi/cellular status and signal strength indication
|
