Follow the steps below to share COM port via network with FlexiHub:
- Register a FlexiHub account here.
- Start a free trial by selecting a required number of connections and acquiring a trial subscription.
- Download and install FlexiHub both on the local and remote computers.
- Launch the app and log in with your email and password.
- On the remote computer find a required device and click "Connect".
This will connect your serial device to another machine, and you can access, browse and manage it as if it were connected to your computer. Free version of FlexiHub allows only to invite other users to access your local devices. To connect to remote devices you need to have the FlexiHub connections i n your account.
If you would like to share serial port devices on Linux, Serial to Ethernet Connector from Eltima Software would be a worthy choice.
Serial to Ethernet Connector is a professional solution which allows you to share any number of serial ports, either physical or virtual, over the Ethernet. The workstation a shared device is plugged into serves as a server. Other computers connect to it as clients and gain access to the remote serial device.
Special hardware
When it comes to Serial to Ethernet hardware solutions we hear various terms such as Terminal Servers, Serial Servers, Device Servers and Console Servers. You might be wondering what the difference is, and which one you should choose.
First thing we need to tell you: there is no difference. These are just marketing terms given basically to the same thing, i.e. products whose functionality is really similar. Over years as market developed, several companies invented various terms to differentiate themselves from competitors. Let us try to figure it what exactly each one of them means.
Device Server is the newest marketing term. Generally a Device Server is a Terminal Server or Console Server with 1 to 4 serial ports. What matters here is the number of serial ports, as the way a Device Server functions is pretty similar to a Terminal Server. It may or may not have security features of a Console Server.
Console Serversare marketed as products that provide very secure remote access to Unix Servers, Linux Servers, Windows Servers and any device on the network with a console port. They are usually used to allow network operations center (NOC) employees to safely access and manage remote data and IT assets from anywhere in the world. Equipment can be remotely controlled, monitored, diagnosed over LAN or Internet, it is said that all transmitted data is encrypted.
Terminal Servers (also known as Serial Servers) enable connecting devices with an RS232, RS422 or RS485 serial interface to Ethernet LANs. These could be very simple devices that do not provide security such as data encryption or user authentication. They are to be used for accessing network server apps, where data safety is not of a primary concern.
The choice is yours. If you have any further questions, do let us know.
