Application-specific serial port redirector

A method for redirecting serial device requests from an application on a computer to a plurality of serial devices connected to the computer via a network, the method comprising:

• receiving serial device requests from one or more applications existing on the computer, each serial device request being associated with a specific application protocol and directed to one of the plurality of serial devices over the network;
• determining, for a respective serial device request, an application protocol associated with the respective serial device request and forwarding the serial device request as a serial redirector message according to the determined application protocol;
• associating the forwarded serial redirector message with a transport protocol;
• and
• transmitting the serial redirector message over the network as a function of its associated transport protocol.

A system for redirecting serial ports requests, comprising:

• one or more applications located on a computer, wherein the one or more applications generate serial device requests;
• a plurality of serial devices connected to the computer via a network;
• and
• an application protocol-specific serial port redirector operatively coupled with the computer, wherein the application protocol-specific serial port redirector includes:
• a serial port application programming interface (API), wherein the serial port API receives the serial device requests generated from the one or more applications, each serial device request being associated with a specific application protocol and directed to one of the plurality of serial devices over the network;
• an application-specific protocol engine, connected to the serial port interface, wherein the application-specific protocol engine determines, for a respective device request, an application protocol associated with the respective serial device request and forwards the serial device request as a serial redirector message according to the determined application protocol;
• and
• a transport protocol engine, connected to the application-specific protocol engine, wherein the transport protocol engine associates the forwarded serial redirector message with a transport protocol;
• wherein each serial redirector message is transmitted to the directed serial device over the network as a function of its associated transport protocol.

A computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform:

• receiving serial device requests from one or more applications existing on the computer, each serial device request being associated with a specific application protocol and directed to one of a plurality of serial devices connected to the computer via a network;
• determining, for a respective serial device request, an application protocol associated with the respective serial device request and forwarding the serial device request as a serial redirector message according to the determined application protocol;
• associating the forwarded serial redirector message with a transport protocol;
• and
• transmitting the serial redirector message over the network as a function of its associated transport protocol.