JMRI Install Guide: Terminal Server Connection

A terminal server is a box that connects one or more serial ports to a network so they can be accessed from a remote computer. JMRI running on a computer with a network connection can connect to a EasyDCC or NCE command station via one of these. This allows you to put the computer and command station as far apart as you'd like.

To make this work, you have to configure both JMRI and the terminal server, and make the appropriate connections.

This capability was originally created for david zuhn, who has a web page describing in detail how he set it up for EasyDCC. The following is just an overview of this. The NCE process is similar.

• To configure JMRI:
  • Select "Preferences" from the "Edit" menu
  • Select the "EasyDCC over terminal server" protocol
  • Enter the IP address and connection port number corresponding to the serial port on the terminal server
  • Click save, then quit the program
• Configure the terminal server to connect to the command station: 9600 baud, no parity, 8 bits.
• Connect a serial cable from the terminal server to the command station. Depending on the type of the terminal server, this might require that you wire a custom cable to get the right connectors. Note that you want the "Transmit data" wire on one end to connect to the "Receive data" on the other. Do this for both directions, and also include a ground wire.
• Make the network connections needed.
• Start the program up. If everything is OK, JMRI will start and show you that it's properly connected.

---