remote connection to terminal through internet

[metzler]

We are currently selling a lot of products to China.  Our products can connect to a computer and show real time data what is going on with product.  This is usually done through the serial port and using hyperterminal. 

Can LabView help me do remote diagnostics, by having the customer connect a modem to our product so I can observe the real time data over the internet?

[RavensFan]

Certainly.

The question is, what is your product?  What kind of hardware is it running on?  LabVIEW can communicate using modems by using the VISA serial commands.  If your hardware is physically connected to the internet, then you may want to use TCP/IP commands to communicate with a remote server.  It would be faster, use less hardware (i.e. no modem), but the customer's IT department would have to allow communication through their firewall.

[metzler]

We make electrostatic painting equipment for Automotive, Industrial, and Tier 1 industries. 

The products all use a RS232 driver (we use a MAX232) to communicate this real time data.  Please keep in mind, up to now we have only used this data for on site troubleshooting, but it would be great if somehow I could use LabView to interface it to the internet and be able to do remote troubleshooting. 

Our product communicates to PLCs (via RIO) or uses discrete inputs, and is not connected to the internet.

What I am thinking is the customer could connect a cable from our equipment to a computer which has a internet connection.  Install the LabView program, and I could remotely connect to the screen through the internet (possibly using our remote panel license?)

[RavensFan]

I think that should certainly be possible.

The only catch is that setting up a remote panel on the PC they connect to your equipment means it acts like a webserver.  The customer would have to make sure their LAN/internet setup would allow you to access a webserver (their PC with the remote panel) from behind their firewall.

I've used remote panels, including ones that people in other divisions of our company could access.  But I have never tried one where someone external to our company needed to access.

[metzler]

Can you direct me to any examples that may help me?

[RavensFan · Accepted solution]

Search NI.com for remote panels.

Here is one link How Do I Enable LabVIEW Web Server or Use Remote Panels With an Executable Built in LabVIEW?

[metzler]

Thanks for the help.

Can LabView open a terminal program, like hyperterminal?

[RavensFan]

Sure.  You can use the System Exec function on the Connectivity and then the Libraries palette to run any program on your PC.