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TCP/IP Server connection settings

The TCP/IP connections come in pairs: there is a TCP/IP server and a corresponding client. Due to the TCP/IP communication concept, there is always one server and one or multiple clients connected to it.

To configure a TCP/IP server connection, select the TCP/IP Server connection type. The properties of the Connection Settings category adjust themselves for the selected connection type.

Network interface: Specifies the network interface on which the server runs. This setting is only of interest if your computer has multiple network cards or multiple IP addresses. The default selection is Any Interface. To select another interface or a specific IP address on the network card, set the focus onto the Network interface setting and click the browse button. The Select Network Interface dialog appears. Use it to specify the network interface and, optionally, an IP address on it.

Note - If Any Interface is selected for a computer with multiple interfaces, the server opens the specified port at all network cards. For incoming connections, the server works in unicast mode only. That means, it always listens to the first client arriving at any of the open ports. Other clients are locked out as long as the first one is connected.

The following options let you specify the port number, which will be used for the communication using the TCP/IP protocol.

Dynamic port number: With the default setting No, the Port number property becomes available. Use it to specify the port number at the server computer. For setting up several modules of the same type in a step, set the value to Yes and specify an offset for the port number using the Offset port number property. Trimble 4D Control Server then will dynamically create port numbers for each module.

Port number: Only available, if the Dynamic port number property is set to No. Specifies the unique IP port number, which will be used for the communication using the TCP/IP protocol. You may select any number between 1 (preferably no smaller than 1024) and 65535, which is not occupied by another service or blocked by a firewall system.

Offset port number: Only available, if the Dynamic port number property is set to Yes. Specifies an offset to which individual port numbers are added. The individual port numbers are derived from the Station IDs of the station used by the module you are setting up or by its parent module. The following is an example for an Offset port number value of 3000 and a Router module below a GNSS Receiver module whose station ID is 1022. In this case, the automatically generated port number for the Router module is 4022.

Tip – Make sure that the selected IP ports are available and ready for communication. Firewall concepts may prevent the establishment of a communication channel to free IP ports. Ask your network administrator for more information.

Server mode: Only available for editing for outgoing connections. The default setting for Router modules is Multicast, meaning that multiple clients can connect to the TCP/IP server. If you want the TCP/IP server to allow only a single client to connect to the server on the specified port, set the mode to Unicast. Temperature Sensor modules are always connected in Unicast mode.

For incoming connections, the server mode is always Unicast, as it would make no sense to mix multiple different data sources.

See Also

Select Network Interface dialog

TCP/IP communication

Testing your data lines