Application of Serial to Ethernet Adapter in Bank Self-Service Equipment: A Breakthrough Solution for Multi-Device Serial Port Management
In the wave of digital transformation in the banking sector, self-service equipment has become the core vehicle for serving customers. From ATM deposit and withdrawal all-in-one machines to intelligent teller machines, and from card-issuing terminals to bill-processing equipment, the average number of self-service devices deployed in a single branch has exceeded 20. However, most of these devices use RS232/RS485 serial port communication, and traditional wiring methods result in complex device management, difficulties in fault location, and high maintenance costs. The introduction of serial to ethernet adapter technology provides a revolutionary solution for bank self-service equipment management, enabling "one network cable to manage hundreds of devices."
Traditional self-service equipment is connected to local industrial control computers via independent serial port cables, with each device occupying a physical serial port. When a branch deploys 30 devices, it requires 4 industrial control computers with 8 serial ports each, not only occupying a large amount of rack space but also preventing data sharing between devices. Statistics from a state-owned bank show that 62% of the downtime caused by communication failures in its self-service equipment is due to loose or poor contact of serial port cables.
Device maintenance requires on-site operations, with technicians needing to carry laptops for debugging each device individually. A case study from a joint-stock bank shows that firmware upgrades for 10 devices required a 4-person team taking 6 hours, whereas after adopting centralized management with a serial to ethernet adapter, the same task could be completed remotely by a single person in 20 minutes.
Decentralized management leads to scattered storage of device logs. A city commercial bank once experienced a security incident where customer information was leaked due to a failure to promptly clear cached data from self-service equipment. Traditional solutions lack unified access control and audit mechanisms, making it difficult to meet the requirements of Level 3 of the Cybersecurity Classification Protection 2.0.
Taking USR-TCP232-410s as an example, its dual-serial port design can simultaneously connect RS232 and RS485 devices, with an industrial-grade design supporting wide-temperature operation from -40℃ to 85℃. In a -35℃ winter environment in Harbin, the device operated continuously for 180 days without communication interruptions. Its built-in dual protection mechanisms of hardware and software watchdogs ensure that the device's fault self-recovery time is less than 3 seconds.
The device supports 12 types of protocol conversions, including Modbus RTU/TCP, transparent transmission, and custom JSON. In a smart banking project in Shenzhen, the protocol conversion engine enabled seamless integration of devices from different manufacturers: converting the CJ/T 305 protocol of NCR ATMs to TCP/IP standards, allowing the control center to simultaneously manage devices from five brands, including Hitachi and GRG Banking.
Through virtual serial port drivers, network devices can be mapped to local COM ports. Tests conducted by a large bank show that after adopting virtual serial port technology, existing business systems based on serial port communication can be migrated to a network environment without modifying the code, saving 60% of system renovation costs.
Adopting a three-tier architecture of "core switch - serial to ethernet adapter cluster - self-service equipment":
Core Layer: Deploying gigabit switches supporting VLAN division
Access Layer: Each USR-TCP232-410s connects 8-16 devices
Device Layer: Implementing device cascading through RS485 buses
A project by a provincial rural credit cooperative shows that this architecture reduces wiring costs by 75% and shortens device discovery time from 15 minutes to 3 seconds.
The built-in asynchronous concurrent processing mechanism can simultaneously manage 256 TCP connections. In a pilot project in Guangzhou Tianhe City Business District, the system completed the following operations within 0.1 seconds:
Receiving customer card insertion requests (RS232 device)
Invoking the risk control system (TCP/IP service)
Triggering camera snapshots (ONVIF protocol)
Returning transaction results (RS485 device)
Constructing a three-layer security protection system:
Transport Layer: SSL/TLS 1.3 encryption + national cryptographic SM4 algorithm
Device Layer: X.509 certificate-based device identity authentication
Management Layer: RBAC permission model + operational audit logs
In a project in Shanghai Pudong New Area, this system successfully resisted 120,000 network attacks per day without any data leakage incidents.
Through the TFTP service function of the serial to ethernet adapter, batch device firmware upgrades can be achieved. When a bank upgraded 200 ATMs, it adopted a phased upgrade strategy:
The first 10 devices served as the test group
After verification, the upgrade was automatically pushed to the remaining devices
The entire process took 45 minutes, improving efficiency by 90% compared to traditional methods.
The built-in edge computing module can analyze device operational data:
Trends in paper currency module friction coefficients
Wear prediction of card reader magnetic heads
Network latency fluctuation analysis
In the "City Brain" project in Hangzhou, the system predicted card reader failures in 3 devices 72 hours in advance, avoiding service interruptions.
Through the MQTT protocol, device-to-device communication is achieved:
When the environmental monitoring system reports excessive temperature
The serial to ethernet adapter pushes JSON-formatted warning information to the air conditioning control system
The system automatically adjusts the temperature and extends the device maintenance cycle
A project in Beijing Chaoyang District shows that this mechanism reduces device failure rates by 31% and annual maintenance costs by 2.8 million yuan.
The new generation of serial to ethernet adapters has integrated 5G modules. In a pilot project in Suzhou Industrial Park:
Real-time device status uploads to the cloud are achieved
Edge nodes complete 90% of data preprocessing
Control instruction delivery delays are controlled within 5ms
Through machine learning algorithms, device scheduling is optimized:
Dynamic adjustment of device inspection cycles
Predictive replacement of consumables
Intelligent routing selection
Tests conducted by a joint-stock bank show that AI scheduling improves device utilization by 22% and reduces average transaction response times by 18%.
We have a 20-person financial technology expert team, with members from companies such as Huawei and Hikvision, averaging over 8 years of project experience. Services provided include:
On-site surveys and requirement analysis
Customized serial to ethernet adapter configuration
Protocol integration and system joint debugging
7×24-hour remote operation and maintenance
We have successfully delivered 127 financial projects, covering:
Core branch renovations for large banks
Regional centralized management for city commercial banks
County-wide coverage for rural credit cooperatives
After contacting us, you can quickly obtain on-site deployment applications, one-on-one technical support, and worry-free after-sales service. For urgent projects, we can initiate a "72-hour rapid deployment" process to ensure the system goes live on time.
When the serial to ethernet adapter weaves scattered self-service equipment into a real-time responsive intelligent network, bank services are transitioning from "passive maintenance" to "proactive optimization." USR-TCP232-410s, as the bearer of this transformation, provides a solid technological foundation for fintech construction with its industrial-grade reliability, protocol compatibility, and edge computing capabilities.
Contact us to obtain customized self-service equipment solutions tailored to your bank, turning each self-service terminal into a perception node for intelligent finance. Our expert team is ready to plan a full-link solution for you, from device networking to intelligent operation and maintenance, helping your bank seize the initiative in digital transformation.
