ZLAN5103K is an RS232 device data collector/IoT gateway specially designed for industrial environments, with serial server, Modbus gateway, MQTT gateway, RS232 to JSON and other functions in one.

It has an RS232 interface and an Ethernet interface. It supports rail-type installation or desktop screw hole installation, which is compact and easy to install. Terminal type power supply is used, and the voltage input is 9~24V. It saves cost and volume, and has a higher cost performance compared with ordinary products.

When used as an ordinary serial port server, the network port of 5103K is connected to the Ethernet, and the host computer software can use TCP/UDP transparent transmission mode or virtual serial port mode to send data to the RS232 interface of 5103K, and the data received on the RS232 interface will also be transmitted to the software or virtual serial port on the TCP end. In the virtual serial port mode, the serial port software connected to the virtual serial port can be used without need.

When used as a Modbus gateway, the 5103K supports Modbus TCP to Modbus RTU, so that the host computer can use the Modbus TCP protocol to collect data from RS232 Modbus RTU devices. Conversely, if the RS232 side is used as a master, it can also be used. The 5103K supports advanced Modbus gateway functions, including configurable Modus gateway ZLMB and storage Modbus gateway, which fully meets the various configurations and usage of Modbus gateways. Its multi-master capability allows multiple computer masters to access an RS232 slave at the same time.

When used as an MQTT gateway, the device can upload serial port data to the MQTT server using the MQTT protocol in transparent transmission mode, and the supported servers include Baidu Cloud MQTT, Alibaba Cloud MQTT, and China Mobile OneNet platform. The collected Modbus RTU or non-standard serial port data can be parsed into JSON format and encapsulated in MQTT packets for upload.

Support JSON format upload of collected data, automatic data collection, data collection support Modbus RTU, 645 instrument 97 version, 645 instrument 07 version, various non-standard RS232 protocols. Users can use ZLVircom to configure the uploaded data format and JSON keywords. MQTT protocol, HTTP POST protocol, HTTP GET protocol, transparent transmission protocol, and various non-standard network protocols can be supported during upload.

Among them, ZLAN5103KN model supports P2P networking, which does not need to be transferred through the server and connects to the device through ID.

ZLAN5103K has all the functions of a powerful IoT gateway, which is very suitable for the collection of various RS232 meters and sensors in the industrial field, including the collection of local networks or the independent collection and transmission of uploads to cloud servers.

ZLAN5103K can be applied to:

As an IoT gateway, it acts as a communication bridge between devices and the cloud;

Power, smart meters, and energy consumption monitoring;

Remote monitoring and program download of various RS232 interface automation PLCs;

RS232 interface for various configuration software and equipment communication;

Access control and security equipment networking;

A typical application connection is shown in Figure 3. The original serial port device RS232 and the ZLAN5103K RS232 port are connected, and the 5103K is connected to the computer through a network cable. The software on the computer establishes a connection with the 5103K through TCP/IP or virtual serial port. Thereafter, any data sent by the serial device will be transparently transmitted to the computer's software, and the data sent by the software to the ZLAN5103K over the network will also be transparently transmitted to the serial device.

Peculiarity

Hardware features:

• Multi-mounting design: support panel mounting/rail mounting.
• Small size: Compared with ordinary serial servers, the width is small and does not take up space.
• Terminal power supply, 9~24V wide voltage input, with reverse power supply protection.
• Terminal RS232 interface, baud rate supports 300~921600bps.
• It has RS232 hardware interface protection.
• Abundant panel indicators for easy debugging: In terms of connection, there are not only LINK lights that indicate whether the network cable is connected, but also LINK lights that indicate the establishment of TCP connections, and independent indicators of "serial port to network port" and "network port to serial port" in terms of data indicators.

Software features:

• TCP server, TCP client, UDP mode, and UDP multicast are supported. When acting as a TCP client, it also supports TCP server-side functions. It supports 30 TCP connections as a TCP server and 7 destination IPs as a TCP client.
• The baud rate supports 300~921600bps, the data bit supports 7~8 bits, and the check bit can be no check, odd check, even check, mark, and space.
• It supports sending MAC addresses on device connections, which is convenient for cloud management.
• Provide a secondary development package DLL development library for searching and configuring devices on the computer side.
• It supports web browser configuration and DHCP to dynamically obtain IP and DNS protocol connection domain name server addresses.
• It supports remote search for devices, configuration of device parameters, and upgrade of device programs in the cloud.
• It supports remote viewing of the TCP connection status of the device, serial port data sending and receiving status through the software. The virtual serial port supports data monitoring function.

Advanced software features

• It supports Modbus gateway function and Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP. It can support storage-based Modbus, which can automatically collect and store device data, Modbus gateway in non-storage mode, and Modbus gateway function of ZLMB configurable table.
• Support multi-host function: In the one-question-and-answer query mode, the network port allows multiple computers to access the same serial port device at the same time.
• The MQTT gateway function is supported.
• It supports JSON to Modbus RTU and 645 meter protocols, and supports HTTP POST AND HTTP GET formats to upload data.
• Support NTP protocol to obtain network time, which is used for serial port output, and the latter is used for protocol content uploading.
• Support custom heartbeat package and registration package function: it can easily communicate with the cloud and identify devices.
• TCP connection requires password verification to ensure connection security.
• It supports the data submission and delivery function of http, and the cloud can directly use the http GET command to interact with the serial port data of the device.