A startup company was developing a product which provides service partners with an integrated e-services platform that allows customers to remotely monitor and control devices in their home or business. In order to complete their project, the startup needed a control system that could monitor and control the many different devices used by their potential customers, preferably with an open protocol for greater flexibility. SNMP was their first choice, as it is commonly used and well understood in the IT field. The next step was to choose an I/O server to connect to the sensors in a home automation system. System Requirements - Open Ethernet-based procotol - SNMP protocol for I/O control - Compact size to save space - Long-term support and services