Interactive (Source) Modes in VCS

Source Mode: Going Interactive

Getting The Cable Guide	You may download the Illustrated Cable Guide which shows how to use the ViewComm Async II cable set for both source and monitor setups. This Guide illustrates the various cable set parts and how to connect devices in various configurations.

Interacting With Devices Under Test	VCS Async II interfaces directly with one or two hardware UART devices by means of a customized serial port driver. The drivers are adaptations of the standard Microsoft Windows serial driver for each supported operating system. This provides both 100% compatibility so that your Internet connections and other serial communications software not only works but performance is unchanged. In Viewer (Spy) mode, your communications software can run on a port while VCS runs, getting data, signals, and timestamps from the hardware. "Source mode" means that VCS is read-write. In source modes, the computer running VCS emulates a DTE (terminal) or DCE (e.g. modem). Thus a great deal of possibilities exist for development and testing of hardware, software, and protocols. Imagine for a moment that you need to test a new hand held terminal. To do this you need something that will interact as if it were a DCE. There are two ways you can do this with VCS Async II. If you have just one port on your laptop, you can use Single Port Source DCE mode. This means the PC will behave as you wish, and you can test your terminal device--or the protocol that interacts with it. IMPORTANT: Read the text to the right of each diagram below. Some modes, single port in particular, can see only one side of an interaction. Contrast this with the Passive or Monitor modes of VCS Async II; you cannot send from the PC. Note that Active (Source) mode comes in several flavors with VCS. Always the device that the PC running VCS emulates during the interaction has its name in the diagram: Source DCE means the PC behaves as a DCE. This may seem counterintuitive, but think of it as if the PC running ViewComm is, in a Source mode, caused to behave as a partner to the device under test--so that Source DTE mode needs a DCE partner, thus ViewComm plays that role. There is one additional mode that can be used that is not diagrammed here. This is "Source DTE, no cables," and you set it up in the Hardware Settings dialog using the Options menu. It is not diagrammed because no VCS cables are used.

Dual Port Source DTE		Monitor data and signals between attached DCE device and the PC while having the ability to send data from a file or keyboard, emulating a DTE. Use this configuration when you have two serial ports on the PC running VCS Async or VCS Async Plus. This mode is not available with VCS Viewer.

Dual Port Source DCE		Monitor data and signals between attached DTE device and the PC while having the ability to send data from a file or keyboard, emulating a DCE. Use this configuration when you have two serial ports on the PC running VCS Async or VCS Async Plus. This mode is not available with VCS Viewer.

Single Port Source DTE		Monitor the data TO the attached DCE sent from the PC keyboard or file. The PC emulates a DTE. You can set the DTE control signals. VCS will not be able to see any responses from the DCE

Single Port Source DCE		Monitor the data TO the attached DTE sent from the PC keyboard or file. The PC emulates a DCE. You can set the DCE control signals. VCS will not be able to see any responses from the DTE.

ViewComm Async II