A network HUB can be used to monitor your generator with CASPIAN at little cost, but they are getting harder to find. A search on Amazon for a HUB will return mostly if not only "Switches', not HUBs even though the description in the listing also calls some of them HUBs or HUB switches, They are NOT HUBS and cannot be used the same way a HUB can. eBay is a source and you can pick one up there for 30 bucks or less, you will likely find an old Netgear 4 or 6 port HUB there, but they are less efficient. It is old technology for easily expanding a network, but they cause a lot of unnecessary network traffic.
The Network Switch built into most internet routers limits traffic to only the device requesting the traffic. A good example is on your home network. Let’s say you have 2 or 3 computers and maybe some IoT devices. While you are using your browser to access an internet site, the request goes out from your PC through your router via your public IP. The internet site never sees your computer IP address; it only sees your public IP:
PC IP - Router - Public IP- web site - Web Site - your public IP, your router, to your PC and ONLY your PC.
With the old tech, All PCs and other network devices receive all of the traffic that is only intended for your PC. They can’t use it so the packets are discarded, but if they were monitoring the traffic with the right software, they can see everything going to your PC. Wireshark is a tool that can do that. With a switch, only your PC receives the packets from the remote website.
That presents a problem for CASPIAN and other types of monitoring / control programs that need to receive the RDC packets going to and from Kohler Server. That problem is solved by using a "Managed Network Switch" with Port Mirroring connected to your router, the RDC and your PC.
Port mirroring managed switches open the gate, so to speak, so it lets the traffic from any device you want to monitor to get to your PC. The port on the switch your PC is plugged into is configured in the switch as the "MONITOR" port, and the devices you desire to monitor are configured as the "MIRRORED" ports. All traffic from the mirrored ports passes through the switch to your PC. Without such a switch or HUB, you cannot monitor traffic routed to another device.
We especially like the ZYXEL 8 - port Managed Switch. Inexpensive at only $29.99 on Amazon….
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4RQ4RZD?r ... le_10&th=1
Zyxel 8 Port Network Ethernet Switch | Web-Managed | GS1200-10V3
….. because you can mirror every port to 1 monitoring port. Many switches only allow you to mirror one port, thus monitoring only one device. With the ZYXEL shown here, you can monitor up to 9 devices. For CASPIAN you can see that gives you the ability to monitor several generators at the same time.
You can leave your other LAN devices plugged into your router or other switch you have such as Netgear Unmanaged switch. You only need to plug devices you want to monitor into the managed port mirroring switch and enable mirroring on the port you want to monitor.
If you want more information about that whether for CASPIAN RDC Monitor or anything else, feel free to reply right here. Glad to help you!
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