A device that already includes a standard serial port, for example, can connect to a LAN or WLAN so it can communicate with other devices and let people remotely control it, make measurements, and ...

An image from H.D. Moore's presentation on serial server security vulnerabilities, showing an oil and gas infrastructure setup networked with serial port connections. (Click to enlarge.) You ...

It can be a useful tool. Imagine, for instance, that you are logging data from an instrument that has a serial port (or even an emulated one over USB).