ZLAN5207M is an RS485 device data collector/IoT gateway specially designed for industrial environments, with multiple functions such as serial port server, Modbus gateway, MQTT gateway, RS485 to JSON and so on.

It has 2 RS485 interfaces and one Ethernet interface. It adopts the guide rail type installation method, which is easy to install. Compared with traditional desktop 2 serial servers, the width is reduced to about 1/4 of the original, and the size is small. Terminal type power supply is used, and the voltage input is 9~24V.

The ZLAN5207M adopts a high-temperature flame-retardant alloy plastic shell, which has high-temperature resistance characteristics compared with ordinary plastic shells, and does not deform in the measured environment of 110°C.

ZLAN5207M has industrial-grade high and low temperature operating temperature range, and has passed EMC tests such as electrostatic, group pulse, and surge. The work is stable and reliable.

When used as an ordinary serial port server, connect the network port of 5207M to the Ethernet, and the host computer software can use TCP/UDP transparent transmission mode or virtual serial port mode to send data to the RS485 interface of 5207M, and the data received on the RS485 interface will also be transmitted to the software on the TCP side. In the virtual serial port mode, the serial port software connected to the virtual serial port does not need to be modified, and only the virtual serial port of ZLVircom needs to be opened.

When used as a Modbus gateway, the 5207M supports Modbus TCP to Modbus RTU, so that the host computer can use the Modbus TCP protocol to collect data from RS485 Modbus RTU devices. Conversely, if the RS485 side is used as a master, it can also be used. The 5207M supports more advanced Modbus gateway functions, including configurable Modus gateway ZLMB and storage Modbus gateway, which fully meets the various configurations and usage of Modbus gateways. Its multi-master capability allows multiple computer masters to access an RS485 slave at the same time. When used as an MQTT gateway, the device can upload serial port data to the MQTT server using the MQTT protocol in transparent transmission mode, and the supported servers include Baidu Cloud MQTT, Alibaba Cloud MQTT, and China Mobile OneNet platform. The collected Modbus RTU or non-standard serial port data can be parsed into JSON format and encapsulated in MQTT packets for upload. The collected data can be uploaded in JSON format and automatically collected. The collected data supports Modbus RTU, 645 instrument 97 version, 645 instrument 07 version, various non-standard RS485 protocols, Modbus TCP, etc. Users can use ZLVircom to configure the uploaded data format and JSON keywords. MQTT protocol, HTTP POST protocol, HTTP GET protocol, transparent transmission protocol, and various non-standard network protocols can be supported during upload. ZLAN5207M has a reset button to reset parameters in case of JSON formatting. It supports edge computing functions, including: data overrun alarm, data translation and zoom, data change upload, device offline alarm, device independent collection, device automatic connection and other functions. This feature is usually used in conjunction with the JSON feature. In addition ZLAN5207MN model supports P2P networking, no need to relay through the server, and connect the device through ID.

ZLAN5207M has all kinds of functions of powerful IoT gateways, which is very suitable for the collection of various RS485 meters and sensors in the industrial field, including the collection of local networks or the independent collection and transmission of uploads to cloud servers.

ZLAN5207M can be applied to:

• As an IoT gateway, as a communication bridge between devices and the cloud;
• Electricity, smart meters and energy consumption monitoring;
• Remote monitoring and program download of various types of automated PLC;
• All kinds of configuration software and equipment communication interface;
• Access control and security in the field of equipment networking;

A typical application connection is shown in Figure 2. The original serial port device RS485 is connected to the RS485 port of the ZLAN5207M, and the 5207M is connected to the computer through the network cable. The software on the computer establishes a connection with the 5207M through TCP/IP, virtual serial port, or cloud server. Thereafter, any data sent by the serial device will be transparently transmitted to the computer's software, and the data sent by the software to the ZLAN5207M over the network will also be transparently transmitted to the serial device.

Peculiarity

Hardware features:

• 1. Rail design: suitable for internal installation of cabinets in industrial fields.
• 2. Small size: Compared with ordinary serial servers, the width is small and does not take up space.
• 3. With reset button: easy to reset parameters, recovery when JSON format is wrong.
• 4. Terminal power supply, 9~24V wide voltage input, with reverse power supply protection. Built-in resettable fuse and pressure-sensitive protection against surges.
• 5. Terminal RS485 interface, support 32 slave devices, baud rate support 300~921.6kbps.
• 6. Abundant panel indicators for easy debugging: in terms of connection, there is a LINK light that indicates the establishment of TCP connection, and there is a data activity indicator in terms of data indicator.

Software features:

• TCP server, TCP client, UDP mode, and UDP multicast are supported. When acting as a TCP client, it also supports TCP server-side functions. It supports 30 TCP connections as a TCP server and 7 destination IPs as a TCP client.
• The baud rate supports 300~921.6bps, and the custom baud rate is supported. The data bit supports 5~9 bits, and the check bit can be no check, odd check, even check, mark, and space.
• It supports sending MAC addresses on device connections, which is convenient for cloud management.
• Provide a secondary development package DLL development library for searching and configuring devices on the computer side.
• It supports web browser configuration and DHCP to dynamically obtain IP and DNS protocol connection domain name server addresses.
• It supports remote search for devices, configuration of device parameters, and upgrade of device programs in the cloud.
• It supports remote viewing of the TCP connection status of the device, serial port data sending and receiving status through the software. The virtual serial port supports data monitoring function.

Advanced software features

• It supports Modbus gateway function and Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP. It can support storage-based Modbus, which can automatically collect and store device data, Modbus gateway in non-storage mode, and Modbus gateway function of ZLMB configurable table.
• Support multi-host function: In the one-question-and-answer query mode, the network port allows multiple computers to access the same serial port device at the same time. It is also possible to implement multi-host applications from one serial port to multiple serial ports.
• The MQTT gateway function is supported.
• It supports JSON to Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP and 645 meter protocols, and supports HTTP POST AND HTTP GET formats to upload data.
• Support NTP protocol to obtain network time, which is used for serial port output, and the latter is used for protocol content uploading.
• Support custom heartbeat package and registration package function: it can easily communicate with the cloud and identify devices.
• TCP connection requires password verification to ensure connection security.
• It supports the data submission and delivery function of http, and the cloud can directly use the http GET command to interact with the serial port data of the device.