2: Introduction
EDS Device Servers User Guide 18
Applications
EDS device servers deliver simple, reliable, and cost-effective network connectivity for all
your serial devices and address the growing need to connect individual devices to the
network over industry-standard Ethernet connections. The EDS is ideal for a variety of
applications, including:
Building automation/security
Industrial automation
Medical/healthcare
Retail automation/point-of-sale
Console management
Traffic management
Building Automation/Security
Automating, managing, and controlling many different aspects of a building is possible
with the EDS. It can overcome the hurdle of stand-alone networks or individual control
systems that are not able to communicate with each other, and not able to share vital
data, in a cost effective way.
The EDS can also be used to manage equipment and devices centrally over a new or
existing Ethernet network to improve the safety and comfort of building occupants, while
lowering heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, and overall energy
operating costs through centralized management and monitoring.
Industrial Automation
Today’s manufacturing facilities face the common challenges of productivity
improvements, inventory management, and quality control. From warehouse to
automotive environments, the need to attach the following devices, whether new or
legacy, continues to grow:
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Computer Numeric Control and Direct
Numeric Control (CNC/DNC) equipment, process and quality-control equipment
Pump controllers
Bar-code readers and scanners, operator displays, scales, and weighing stations
Printers, machine-vision systems, and other types of manufacturing equipment
The EDS is well suited to deliver network connectivity to all of these devices.
Medical/Healthcare
Hospitals, clinics, and laboratories face rapidly growing needs to deliver medical
information accurately, quickly, and easily, whether at bedside, the nurse’s station, or
anywhere in the facility. The goal to improve healthcare services, however, is balanced
with the need to keep the bottom line from exceeding already constrained budgets.
The EDS can network enable medical equipment and devices using the hospital’s
existing Ethernet network to improve patient care and slash operating costs. This allows