A mission critical fire alarm system has a GSM module that is connected via RS232 to a computer whose task is to notify emergency response teams. In case the computer fails, an off-site operator is notified and he needs to switch to a backup computer within a minute. What I'm looking for is a solution this operator can use to remotely "unplug" the RS232 cable and "plug" it to the other computer. (I was informed that splitting the cable was not a reliable option.)
I'm looking for cheap commercial solutions or building something with Arduino. The important part is that it after a handshake is established, it should forward communication transparently and reliably.
The remote control part is nothing fancy: it is entirely possible to plug the device to a third computer on site and access its interface program via remote desktop. So USB control is fine as well as Ethernet access and a mini Web server.
My electronics knowledge level is rather low: I can solder some well documented digital chips together with some capacitors and resistors on a protoboard but I could never figure out their values myself or design any analog circuit containing more than one transistor. Please take that into account in your response.
I'm looking for cheap commercial solutions or building something with Arduino. The important part is that it after a handshake is established, it should forward communication transparently and reliably.
The remote control part is nothing fancy: it is entirely possible to plug the device to a third computer on site and access its interface program via remote desktop. So USB control is fine as well as Ethernet access and a mini Web server.
My electronics knowledge level is rather low: I can solder some well documented digital chips together with some capacitors and resistors on a protoboard but I could never figure out their values myself or design any analog circuit containing more than one transistor. Please take that into account in your response.
