Interfaces

An interface defines how Access Manager talks to the hardware. For all practical purposes you may have as many interfaces as you like. There are three types of interface:

• Fixed interfaces indicate to Access Manager that it should look in a specific location, such as a single COM (RS232) port. Since you may have more than one interface, Access Manager can be made to look in a number of specific locations. There are three advantages to using fixed interfaces. Firstly Access Manager will not waste time searching interfaces not used by Access Manager.   Secondly if Access Manager finds an interface that has no controllers on it but which is problematic in some way, it may waste a considerable amount of time trying to work with that interface. Thirdly Access Manager will look harder for controllers on a fixed interface, which can be useful if an interface is prone to slow operation.
• Searching interfaces indicate to Access Manager that it should search a number of related locations for controllers. Originally Access Manager searched all the COM (RS232 ports) until it found the hardware, and that option is still available as a searching interface; it is in fact still the default behaviour. The advantage of a searching interfaces is that even if the controllers move from one virtual COM port to another for any reason, Access Manager will still find them. The disadvantage is that the searching may take some time, or even stall altogether if one of the interfaces found by the search is problematic.
• Found interfaces are those that are discovered as a result of a searching interface. Access Manager will not check these locations for hardware unless they are found by a searching interface. They are used to speed up controller discovery, and to indicate to you where each controller was discovered. You can convert a found interface to a fixed interface at any time by unchecking the p Let Access Manager find this interface check-box, in which you should preferably delete the searching interface that found it. Note that found interfaces are displayed in the tree pane as "children" of the interface that found them.

Before version 2.08 Access Manager had no overt concept of interfaces, but in effect these older versions had two - a searching interface to search all the RS232 ports (real or virtual) for controllers, and a found interface that was the RS232 port on which the hardware was found. Access Manager now allows you to have controllers attached to as many RS232 ports as you like. Additionally controllers can be placed on direct ethernet connections.