Planning Information

Requirements

• The Windows NT RealPort driver requires between one and two MB of memory on the Windows NT system.
• For every 16 XEM ports connected to a PortServer II, the Windows NT system requires an additional 4 MB of memory. 
• The PortServer II requires firmware version 3.0.4 or later for the Windows NT RealPort driver.
• The PortServer requires firmware version 3.4.12 or later for the Windows NT RealPort driver. 
• The Windows NT RealPort driver requires a 10-pin RJ-45 cable to connect devices to PortServer ports. 

Limitations

• PortServers do not support 100 Mbps networks. Support is limited to 10 Mbps ethernet networks only.
• Version 1.0.2 of the RealPort driver is the only version that supports Windows NT Alpha systems. You can access this driver at the Digi Web site: http://www.digi.com.
• Only TAPI-compliant applications or those written to COM 32 API (application programming interface) standards can use intelligent ports, which means only these applications can use RealPort ports.

Configuration Information

Before you begin the RealPort installation and configuration, gather the following information. Use the set config command to determine this information. 

• IP address and/or domain name of each PortServer involved in the RealPort configuration
• The ports on each PortServer that you intend to use for RealPort

Peripheral Information

Before you can correctly cable a peripheral to a RealPort port, determine the peripheral's cabling and flow control requirements. See the peripheral's documentation for information and the PortServer Cable Guide.

Key Concept: About Port Mapping Offsets

The number of local ports on the Windows NT host offsets the port number on the PortServer. For example, if you have two local COM ports, Port 1 of the PortServer is seen by the RealPort service as COM 3.