The PXS IP Tunnel program, iptunnel, implements tunneling of a synchronous data stream over TCP/IP. This application allows leased lines used for synchronous data traffic to be replaced by the connectivity provided by today's TCP/IP intranets. iptunnel implements a client/server architecture over TCP/IP in which frames read from a synchronous data stream are transparently transmitted over TCP/IP using a "packetizing" application layer protocol to maintain frame boundaries. The data stream can be intercepted either at the physical or at the link layer.
In a typical use, a synchronous data stream is converted to TCP/IP by one PXS, then converted back to synchronous data and retransmitted by another PXS at the receiving end as shown below.
However, the iptunnel client software is also available as a portable library which can be run on virtually any modern operating system. This means that the client need not be running inside a second PXS. The client could be running on any PC or workstation and could simply process the data locally instead of reconverting and retransmitting it. This option can allow a customer to move data processing onto a more modern platform without also replacing the data collector.
