control port interface

yangoua

Hi to all, please tell me, what choice to make between controlling device via serial port RS232 or control it via ethernet cable RJ45, i want to control Codec Polycom HDX9000 i have the two possibility what choice is efficient? please tell me with the reason. thank

vining

If i had 232 ports available and didn't expect to need one down the road and i was with in the 232 cable distance limitation i would lean towards 232 since it's a direct connect and not dependent on the network, network switches or routers or IT guys if not managed by myself.

That said i don't actually recall any issues with ip connected devices due to network failures and if you do have a network failure your TPs aren't working either so who would notice the dev is down too.

champ

Serial is more reliable and easier to implement.

LAN pros:
Location/Geography is not an issue.
Cheaper

Serial pros:
Constant connection that never drops out.
A change of router config, IP address, Firewall policy, faulty switch etc doesn't affect control.
You are not subject to the local IT policies.

rfletcher

serial pros:
simpler to program & debug
less points of failure (no additional devices between controller and device)

ip pros:
cheaper
faster (only relevant with really chatty devices)
simpler termination (only one way to terminate cabling)

I usually use ip control for vtc endpoints since if they're disconnected from the network they're fairly useless anyway, they can pass a lot of information back & forth esp. if you're using the phone book, and it saves a serial port for other things. Also, since I use the available duet modules for both Polycom and Cisco endpoints the simpler programming for serial isn't really a factor.

-Ryan

yuri

If you are going to control a Polycom HDX over IP keep in mind that you need to login over IP. So if the IT guys like to change the password on a regular basis that could be a pain in the ***.
Also, if you are going to control it over IP, use port 24, it's less "spammy" than port 23

The only "problem" I have with RS232, is that it is slower than IP. For instance, if you are asking for the contents of the addressbook.

Also, the HDX9000 has to possibility to use the RS232 port on the back for AMX control, so I would use it