Depending on your audience, you may want to give your API more of an OO feel:

   use Dispatcher qw(RequestDispatch ReadData SendData);

        my $d = new Dispatcher({host => "192.168.1.1",port => "1440"},
                "data1",
                "data2",
                "data3");

        foreach my $type (qw(data1 data2 data3)) {
                print "RECIEVED for ",
                        $d->read()->type , "\n\n";
                #  $d->read returns a Dispatcher::Record object, which
+ has a "type"
        }
        
        my $rec = $d->NewRecord({type=>"data4"}); # Returns a Dispatch
+er::Record object associated with $d
        $rec->send ("DATA"); # The Record already know what port, serv
+er, and type to use.
        $d->Port (1440);
        $rec->send("More Data on port 1440");
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Compliments on the clean code!

Well thats what I get for coding in a cave. I'll implement something without knowing a pre-defined name and where to look. I did look at POE, but one of my goals is minimal dependancy, hence only using Config::Tiny, and I may make Config::Tiny optional and take extended config in the command line.

The OO is a good idea, though the original batch processing system this is meant for was coded in a highly procedural style and I'd like to keep it that way, I'll make an OO version for other releases.

I'm curious why --help returns an error exit code. --man returns a success exit code. I would expect the same for --help. I'd use

sub usage { pod2usage(-exitval => 1, -verbose => 0); }
sub help  { pod2usage(-exitval => 0, -verbose => 0); }
sub man   { pod2usage(-exitval => 0, -verbose => 2); }

if (!GetOptions(
   'config|c=s' => \$config,
   'stop'       => \$stop,
   'start'      => \$start,
   'help|?'     => \&help,  # Show help and exit.
   'man'        => \&man,   # Show man and exit.
)) {
   # A bad argument was encountered.
   # Show help and exit with error.
   usage();
}

if (!$stop && !$start) {
   # At least one of the commands needs to be specified.
   # Show help and exit with error.
   usage();
}
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