The ESB-1 EtherSeries Bridge is an easy to use Ethernet bridge. The link between the EtherSeries Bridges is asynchronous RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 (4 wire) running at speeds between 300 bps and 230.4 Kbps.
The EtherSeries Bridge is available with a second WAN port, which is ideal for higher density host sites or daisy chaining bridges, commonly used for SCADA applications.
The EtherSeries Bridge is 100% protocol independent. It will bridge TCP/IP, AppleTalk, DecNet, Netbui, or any protocol that can be transported over Ethernet. This makes the EtherSeries Bridge easy to set up. No configuration is necessary.
The EtherSeries Bridge transfers data over the bridge only if it is destined for an Ethernet address (MAC layer address) on the other side of the bridge. Traffic is filtered, much the same way an Ethernet switch filters Ethernet traffic, to maximize available bandwidth. Unless advanced management is required, no IP address is involved and there is no set-up other than matching serial port speeds. Advanced management allows SNMP, web-browser, and telnet based management of the bridge.
The EtherSeries Bridge learns the addresses quickly. This allows, for example, a technician to be working at one end of the bridge with a laptop computer, then move the laptop to the other side, with no need to reset the bridge. The bridge learns within a few packet times that the computer and its Ethernet address moved to the other side of the bridge.
The EtherSeries bridge is much easier to use than a router. There is no IP address that must be set up in the bridge. There is no subnet mask to setup. There is no destination IP address to setup. You just plug it in and use the network. Popular in the early 90's, bridging technology was often abandoned as communication equipment hardware grew to offer routing capability. However, using a router for small networks adds tremendous complexity, overhead, and requires knowledge of protocols and IP subnetting. In addition, there are many non-routable protocols in use. The availability of an inexpensive Ethernet WAN bridge now brings back those economies and simplicity for LAN connections that typically use fewer than several hundred computers.
One Press button switch used to establish operating mode.
4" 1/4" x 5 1/2 " x 1 1/2 "