Protocol analyzer software tests and verifies an RS-232 communications link using a personal or laptop computer. Bit-error-rate testing provides a quantitative measure of performance with detailed accounts of the numbers of bits sent and received, bit error, block count, block errors, elapsed time, and parity errors. Test length and bit-pattern parameters are adjustable, and results can be logged to a text file for documentation. A second level of evaluation involves character-transfer testing, which indicates the health of the RS-232 link by comparing the character string sent to the string received. The cost of the software is $249.
Opcom Inc.
Arlington, TX