Insys VCom Owner's manual

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Virtual COM Port

Manual

Any duplication of this manual is prohibited. All rights on this documentation and

the devices are with INSYS MICROELECTRONICS GmbH Regensburg.

Trademarks

The use of a trademark not shown below is not an indication that it is freely availa-

ble for use.

MNP is a registered trademark of Microcom Inc.

IBM PC, AT, XT are registered trademarks of International Business Machine Cor-

poration.

INSYS®, VCom®, e-Mobility LSG® and e-Mobility PLC® are registered trademarks of

INSYS MICROELECTRONICS GmbH.

Windows™ is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Publisher:

INSYS MICROELECTRONICS GmbH

Hermann-Köhl-Str. 22

D-93049 Regensburg, Germany

Phone: +49 941 58692 0

Fax: +49 941 58692 45

E-mail: [email protected]

Internet: http://www.insys-icom.com

Date: Aug-16

Item: 10001096

Version: 1.3

Language: EN

Content

4

Aug-16

1 General Information ............................................................................... 5

2 Overview ............................................................................................... 6

2.1 Function Overview .............................................................................................. 6

2.1.1 Overview .................................................................................................. 6

2.1.2 Functions .................................................................................................. 7

2.2 Installation Requirements .................................................................................... 8

2.2.1 Supported Operating System ................................................................... 8

2.2.2 Firewall Configuration .............................................................................. 9

2.2.3 User Rights ............................................................................................... 9

3 Meaning of the Symbols and the Formatting in this Manual ................. 10

4 Installation ........................................................................................... 11

4.1 Installation Process ........................................................................................... 11

4.2 Installed Files .................................................................................................... 14

4.3 Result of the Installation .................................................................................... 15

5 Short Description of the User Interface ................................................ 18

5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................... 18

5.2 Description of the User Interface Areas ............................................................. 19

5.2.1 Info ......................................................................................................... 19

5.2.2 Service .................................................................................................... 19

5.2.3 Error ........................................................................................................ 20

5.2.4 Configuration .......................................................................................... 20

5.2.5 Log ......................................................................................................... 20

5.2.6 Virtual COM Ports .................................................................................. 21

6 Commissioning .................................................................................... 23

6.1 Outgoing Connection ........................................................................................ 23

6.2 Incoming Connection ........................................................................................ 24

7 AT Command Reference ...................................................................... 26

7.1 Summary .......................................................................................................... 26

8 Structure of the Configuration File ....................................................... 30

9 Uninstalling .......................................................................................... 34

10 Index .................................................................................................... 35

INSYS VCom® 4.x

General Information

5

1 General Information

The present user manual applies for the Windows software INSYS VCom® 4.x from

version 4.3.0. The user manual is directed to technical personnel, especially pro-

grammers and commissioning technicians. General knowledge of communication

technology is required to understand.

Overview

INSYS VCom® 4.x

6

2 Overview

The virtual COM port driver INSYS VCom® 4.x is a software enables to replace

serial communication with IP-based communication without modifying the PC

application.

INSYS VCom® 4.x has especially been developed for the use in connection with the

following INSYS products:

 INSYS Ethernet and i-modul Ethernet

 INSYS WLAN serial and i-modul WLAN serial

 INSYS GPRS/EDGE 5.x serial and i-modul GPRS/EDGE 3.x serial

 MoRoS 2.1 / 2.2, MLR 3G 2.0 and IMON fault monitor

 INSYS SDSL 1.x

 MRX equipped with MRXcard SI

2.1 Function Overview

2.1.1 Overview

The virtual COM port driver INSYS VCom® 4.x simulates a serial interface at the PC.

The data that are sent to this serial interface from any application will be forwarded

to a connected INSYS IP device via a TCP/IP connection as if a serial connection

would be present.

This allows to bridge any distance via existing networks without having to modify

existing systems (readout software, configuration software, etc.).

The application does only "see" a usual modem connection or even a serial

connection, but communicates via a TCP/IP network.

The connection establishment can be initiated by the device or by the VCom®

service with this.

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Overview

7

2.1.2 Functions

Windows applications that usually communicate directly via a COM interface or a

remote data transmission modem, are now connected indirectly via COM interfaces

that have been created by the virtual COM port driver INSYS VCom® 4.x. The COM

port driver is connected to the VCom® service via the virtual serial bus driver. The

service takes over the bidirectional conversion of serial data and TCP data streams.

Connections can be established outgoing or incoming. The connection will be

authenticated before via UDP or TCP. All system results will permanently be written

to a log file.

The VCom® configuration interface is connected to the service via a separate TCP

port. The configuration program controls the status of the service and allows a

comfortable adaptation of the server configuration file.

Overview

INSYS VCom® 4.x

8

Component

Function

VCom® service

Application runs as Windows service

Up to 255 virtual COM ports configurable

Dynamic creation and removal of virtual COM ports possible

without restarting the computer

Detailed log function for troubleshooting

Support of AT commands

Incoming and outgoing TCP connections (also as leased line)

possible

Interface

Simple server administration via separate configuration pro-

gram

Display of log information

Display of status information of the virtual COM port

2.2 Installation Requirements

2.2.1 Supported Operating System

In principle, an operation is possible under the following operating systems:

 Windows 2000 SP5

 Windows XP SP3

 Windows 7 32/64-Bit

 Windows 8.1 32/64-Bit

 Windows 10 32/64-Bit

 Windows Server 2012 R2

In addition, Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed.

Note

Conflicts with virtual COM port drivers!

Conflicts with other virtual COM port drivers may affect

the operation.

If virtual COM port drivers of INSYS or other

manufacturers (Bluetooth, USB modem, etc.) are already

installed on your computer, a proper operation cannot be

ensured any more. It is therefore recommended to

uninstall all other virtual COM port drivers before installing

INSYS VCom® 4.x.

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Overview

9

2.2.2 Firewall Configuration

The VCom® service installs itself as Windows service. To be able to accept

incoming connections from INSYS devices, the firewall of the computer must be

configured such that a TCP and/or UDP port are/is opened for incoming

connections.

To be able to configure the VCom® service using the graphical user interface, it is

required to open another TCP port for incoming connections.

The used ports are queried during the installation of the VCom® service and can be

modified later using the graphical user interface.

2.2.3 User Rights

The installation of the VCom® service requires administrator rights.

The operation of the software is independent of the login of a user, because the

application is installed as Windows service. You can configure the VCom® service

such that the service will be activated automatically with system start without a

certain user being logged on.

Meaning of Symbols and Formatting in this Manual

INSYS VCom® 4.x

10

3 Meaning of Symbols and Formatting in this

Manual

This section describes the definition, formatting and symbols used in this manual.

The various symbols are meant to help you read and find the information relevant

to you. The following text is structured like a typical operating instruction of this

manual.

Bold print: This will tell you what the following steps will result in

After that, there will be a detailed explanation why you could perform the

following steps to be able to reach the objective indicated first. You can

decide whether the section is relevant for you or not.

 An arrow will indicate prerequisites which must be fulfilled to be able to

process the subsequent steps in a meaningful way. You will also learn

which software or which equipment you will need.

1. One individual action step: This tells you what you need to do at this

point. The steps are numbered for better orientation.

 A result which you will receive after performing a step will be marked

with a check mark. At this point, you can check if the previous steps

were successful.

 Additional information which you should consider are marked with a

circled "i". At this point, we will indicate possible error sources and tell

you how to avoid them.



Alternative results and steps are marked with an arrow. This will tell

you how to reach the same results performing different steps, or what

you could do if you didn't reach the expected results at this point.

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Installation

11

4 Installation

This section explains how to install the INSYS VCom® 4.x software on your

computer, into which directories the program data will be stored, and how

you can test the successful installation.

4.1 Installation Process

Downloading the installation file

How to download the installation file of the INSYS VCom® 4.x software.

 You will need a computer with Internet connection or the Support CD.

1. Open in the "Support and Downloads" menu the "Driver" page on the

website (http://www.insys-icom.com/driver/) or Support CD.

2. Right-click in the "Virtual COM Port" section onto the "VComSetup"

file and select "Save target as…" in the context menu.

3. Save the file on your computer.

 You have downloaded the installation file successfully with this.

Installing INSYS VCom® 4.x

How to install the INSYS VCom® 4.x software on your computer.

 You have downloaded the installation file of the INSYS VCom® 4.x software.

 The installation requirements (see page 8) are fulfilled.

1. Open the directory where the installation file is located and double-

click the installation file.

 A Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer may require to right-click

the installation file and select "Run as administrator" in the contexct

menu.

2. Select the desired installation language from the drop-down list and

click on OK .

3. Click in the Setup Wizard on Next > .

4. Accept the license agreement and click on Next > .

5. Specify a destination folder for the installation and click on Next > .

6. Specify a start menu folder and click on Next > .

7. Click Install to start the installation.

Installation

INSYS VCom® 4.x

12

 A dialogue window for specifying TCP port, remote management port,

and COM port appears.

8. Enter the TCP port into the "TCP Port" entry field.

 A port must be entered here that is opened for incoming connections

by your firewall or your router. It is important for the router

configuration that the respective port is forwarded for both, UDP and

TCP. The port entered here can still be changed later.

9. Enter the Remote management port into the "Remote Management

Port" entry field.

 This TCP port is only used for the internal communication between the

VCom® service and the user interface and can be adjusted, if the

default port is already used by another application.

10. Enter the designation of the first virtual COM port into the "Name of

initial virtual COM Port" entry field.

 You can enter the port designation here, for which a virtual COM port

will be created after installation when starting the service. You can

change this port later or add further ports; however, for the start of the

VCom® service, it is necessary that at least one virtual COM port is

created.

11. Click on Next > .

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Installation

13

12. Confirm the message about the successful driver installation

with OK .

13. Click Finish to complete the installation.

 You have installed the INSYS VCom® 4.x software successfully on your

computer with this.

Installation

INSYS VCom® 4.x

14

4.2 Installed Files

Several files will be copied to the hard drive and settings will be made in the sys-

tem registry during installation. The following table shows the installed files with

storage location and function.

File

Storage location

Description

Vsb.inf

\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32

.INF file, necessary for

the installation of the

virtual serial bus device

driver

Vsb.sys

\WINDOWS\SYS-

TEM32\drivers

Virtual serial bus device

driver

Vsbsetup.exe

Installation directory

Application for installing

and registering the de-

vice drivers in the oper-

ating system

Vserial.inf

\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32

.INF file, necessary for

the installation of the

virtual serial port device

driver

Vserial.sys

\WINDOWS\SYS-

TEM32\drivers

Virtual serial port device

driver

VSPort.dll

Installation directory

Virtual serial port Ac-

tiveX control

VCOM_Server.exe

Installation directory

VCom® Server service

VCOM_Server.exe.con-

fig

Installation directory

Configuration of the log

function of the service

VCOMServer.conf

Installation directory

Main configuration file

of the VCom® service

VcomConf.exe

Installation directory

User interface

VcomConf.exe.config

Installation directory

Configuration of the

user interface

Logfile.txt

Installation directory

Log file of the VCom®

service

Unins000.exe

Installation directory

Uninstallation of the

VCom® service

Further DLLs and lan-

guage files

Installation directory

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Installation

15

4.3 Result of the Installation

You can verify the success of the installation in different ways.

Displaying the Windows services

How to display the Windows services to verify a successful installation.

1. Select Start  Control Panel.

2. Double-click "Administrative Tools".

3. Double-click "Services".

 The "Services" window is displayed.

 If the "VCom Server" service is displayed, you have installed INSYS

VCom® 4.x successfully.



If you double-click the "VCom Server“ service, you can configure the

service such that it starts automatically when starting the computer by

selecting the "Automatic" startup type.

Installation

INSYS VCom® 4.x

16

Checking the virtual COM port access

How to check the access to the virtual COM port.

1. Open a terminal program, like PuTTY.

2. Connect to the configured COM port.

3. Enter ati and confirm with the Enter key.

 If the "VCom Server" service returns its version, you have installed

INSYS VCom® 4.x successfully.

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Installation

17

Checking the operation via user interface

How to check the status of the VCom® service using the user interface.

1. Select Start  All programs  INSYS  VCom  VComConfiguration.

 The INSYS VCom® 4.x user interface is displayed.

2. If required, start the service using the Start button in the "Service"

panel.

 If "Running" is displayed as status of the service, you have installed

INSYS VCom® 4.x successfully.

Short Description of the User Interface

INSYS VCom® 4.x

18

5 Short Description of the User Interface

5.1 Overview

The most important settings of the VCom® service can be made comfortably via the

user interface. The user interface identifies the configuration file settings via the

VCom® service. Changes of the configuration can be made via the user interface.

The new configuration will be stored as a file (VcomServer.conf_tmp) in the

installation directory of the server after saving. When the server is started the next

time, it will be checked, whether a new configuration is present, and, if yes, this

will be loaded. The modified old configuration will be saved as

VcomServer.conf_old. The user interface is divided into different areas with

different functions.

The individual areas of the user interface and their function is explained in detail in

the following.

INSYS VCom® 4.x

Short Description of the User Interface

19

5.2 Description of the User Interface Areas

5.2.1 Info

A help text to the control element actually being under the mouse pointer is

displayed here.

5.2.2 Service

The current status of the VCom® service is displayed here:

 Stopped: The VCom® service is currently not active. It can be started using

the Start button.

 Start Pending: The VCom® service is being started.

 Running: The VCom® service is currently running. It can be stopped using

the Stop button.

 Stop Pending: The VCom® service is being stopped.

The current status of the VCom® service can be retrieved manually using

the Refresh button.

Short Description of the User Interface

INSYS VCom® 4.x

20

5.2.3 Error

Possible errors of the VCom® service are displayed here.

5.2.4 Configuration

The loading condition of the configuration file is indicated here. If the configuration

has been changed in the meantime, the area appears red and the current settings

can be saved using the Save button. The current settings can be discarded using

the Cancel button

5.2.5 Log

The content of the log file is displayed here. The display will be updated

automatically.

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Insys VCom Owner's manual

Insys VCom Owner's manual

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