Ethernet communication between a Cobra II and a PC?

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Given the following network diagram, what options do we have for machine to machine communication, during production, between the Cobra II and the PC?

Cobra II NET
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Ethernet
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Router
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Ethernet
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PC with Windows

We are new to machine to machine (M2M) communication. How do we get started? We assume that there is a wide variety of one-way and two-way communication options between the Cobra and a PC.

That said, what we really need is something to read to ramp up on the M2M communication options available in our particular scenario (above).

Maybe we will use a Socket. In that case, where is the documentation for setting up a Socket between a PC and the Cobra II?

Another idea is to use something like a Client-Server communication through something like TCP. In that case, where is the documentation.

These are just off the top of our heads. What are the various options?

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I suggest you start out by reading a book like http://www.amazon.com/Network-Programming-Microsoft-Windows-Second/dp/0735615799/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391657729&sr=1-2&keywords=windows+sockets

1 Like
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@ Mike - Thank you for the book tip, because it gave me the “network programming” search term. Now I can do some Googling.

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@ Mike - The one you recommended lead me to this one.

It seems more appropriate for me because

  • my project is in C#,
  • the book has a higher ratio of positive reviews, and
  • it has 175 rather than 580 pages.

Thoughts?

5

In fact there is no real difference to communication between 2 PC’s over Ethernet.
As soon as you have established a connection via Sockets, you have a 2 way serial connection.
You can choose between UDP and TCP protocol.
UDP is connection less.
To send you open a socket and send any data to any IP+port.
For receiving data you open a listening socket which listens on a port.
This is the same for both sides.
Using UDP you need to check for lost or incorrect data by your self.

TCP is a bit different.
The server opens a listening socket and accepts incoming connections.
When accepting a connection you get the 2 way socket to communicate.
The client opens a socket to a listening IP+port.

Since this is the same as on windows .net application, you can use any information source for .net networking.

You can also consider using any higher protocol like Modbus, HTTP, … as well.
But if you can’t find a implementation for windows and NETMF you have to write it yourself.

I’m currently working on a Modbus TCP implementation for windows and NETMF, and will post it in a couple of weeks here on code share.

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I would suggest practicing between two programs on a PC first. If this is your first foray into network programming, then having one end be NETMF is only going to lead to frustration, as you deal with the write/debug/deploy/run cycle.

Once you’ve got a solid grasp of the concepts, then move one end of the connection over to the device.