How to share UART over Ethernet – Software and Hardware methods

Olga Weis

Contents

1. What is UART?
2. Software solution to share UART over Ethernet
3. Hardware UART to Ethernet converter

What is UART?


A UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) is a hardware device that provides computers with the serial interface so that they can communicate with modems and other serial devices. A UART usually comes as an integrated circuit or a part of it. The solution contains a receiver (serial-to-parallel converter) and a transmitter (parallel-to-serial converter) and serves for serial communications.

To transfer data between devices, UART utilizes only two cables. Here’s how a typical UART communication is done:

  1. UART1 converts parallel data from a controlling device (e.g.: CPU) into serial signals and sends them to UART2;
  2. UART2 transforms the serial data back into parallel format for the receiving device.

Therefore, serial data is forwarded from the transmit pin of UART1 to the receive pin of UART2 (Fig 1). UARTs need only two wires to “talk” to each other and exchange data.

UARTs transfer data asynchronously and do not use any clock signals. As a substitute for synchronization signals, the UART that sends data adds start and stop bits to the transferred data packet thus indicating the package’s beginning and end. This lets the receiving UART know when it can start processing the data.

Once a start bit is spotted, the receiving UART begins reading the incoming information at a particular frequency, known as baud rate. Baud rate refers to the number of signal or symbol changes that occur per second. Both the Transmitter and the Receiver should be on almost the same baud rate. The difference between baud rates of the receiving and transmitting UARTs shouldn't be more than 10 % before the timing of bits gets too far off.

What is nice about the UART communication is that it allows tracking all the passing streams and saving them into a file.

But what if you needed to connect to a remote UART located far away from your device? Is it ever possible? Obviously, you need to use some additional software or hardware solutions in order to be able to do this.

Software solution to share UART over Ethernet


FlexiHub is probably the most efficient software for connecting UART to LAN, Ethernet, WiFi, or the Internet. By simply installing this application on your network computers, you share UART over any distance and make the device plugged into a COM port accessible to multiple users, regardless of their physical location.

UART to Ethernet Converter Software

FlexiHub

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
4.8 Rank based on 78+ users

Managing serial devices with this UART over WiFi solution is as simple as operating them when they’re directly attached to your machine.

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FlexiHub

Here’s how you can connect to a UART located miles away with FlexiHub:

  1. Register your FlexiHub account. It is a normal registration procedure. Then, start a free trial to be able to connect remote devices.
  2. Install FlexiHub on the computer with the UART that needs to be accessed remotely.Launch the app and sign into account.
  3. Install FlexiHub on a remote machine. Start the software and sign into the account using the same credentials.
  4. Connect to the UART over the network.

Now you can freely access the remote UART device like it were located near your PC.

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Hardware UART to Ethernet converter


To establish communication between a UART and Ethernet, you can use a special converter - UART TO ETH module. This serial TTL to Ethernet hardware can be easily customized via web page.

The main features and characteristics of the serial module include:

  • 10/100M auto detect interface;
  • Support for a parallel and crossover cable connections;
  • Availability of different working modes: UDP Client, UDP Server, TCP Server, TCP Client;
  • Possibility to adjust working model settings via a COM port or network;
  • Support for the virtual serial port;
  • An exclusive heartbeat package mechanism that eliminates connect feign death and ensures reliable connections;
  • No packet broadcasting in UDP mode, has better anti-interference ability;
  • Support for RFC2217-like protocol;
  • Works across LAN/Internet (external network), etc.

As you can see, this converter is a good solution for local networks and nearby devices. However, if you need to communicate to a UART across longer distances, the software method is more preferable.

FlexiHub

Requirements: Windows XP/2003/2008/Vista/7/8/10/Server 2012
Size: 6.93MB
Version: 3.6.12038 ()
User rating: (4.8 based on 78+ users )
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