In the IT field, COM port servers (also known as serial port servers) are devices that transport data between TCP and serial connections. There are many applications.
- Networking of devices with a serial interface but without a network interface.
- Remote maintenance of devices that can only be configured via a serial interface.
- Virtual extension of a serial connection between two devices with serial interfaces over a network.
Most LANCOM devices feature a serial interface that can be used to carry out configurations or to connect to a modem. In some cases the interface is used for neither of these scenarios, and yet a COM port server is required in the vicinity of the device. In such cases the LANCOM can use its serial interface as a COM port server, thus saving the costs for an external COM port server. If this application focuses on the serial configuration interfaces of these devices, additional serial interfaces can be provided by some models in combination with suitable CardBus or USB adapters. This enables multiple instances of the COM port server to be operated in one device.