New 802.11n Industrial Hotspot Series Provides plant-wide
network integration
802.11n is the next generation 802.11 wireless standard, ideal for customers with high-speed network demands or with existing 802.11 infrastructures. The series delivers advanced performance, speeds, security and flexibility while meeting the specific needs of industrial customers who demand ease of deployment, ruggedness and reliable industrial communication. The 802.11n Industrial Hotspot Series introduces 23 (19 in Europe) additional independent channels on the 5 GHz band, which may operate simultaneously and with pre-existing wireless networks. ProSoft Technology now offers an embedded management CIP Object and pre-designed FactoryTalk® faceplates for its popular 802.11n Industrial Hotspot product line. The object allows direct EtherNet/IP communications from PLCs, PACs and SCADA software systems directly to each 802.11n wireless node for easier configuration, troubleshooting and redundancy. PLC/PAC programs may now directly monitor vital wireless metrics (such as link signal strength, data packet errors) to quickly detect communication problems and make process decisions (such as activating a redundant link). Factory automation and SCADA visualization software can display key diagnostic information, and pre-designed FactoryTalk View™ Faceplates reduce development time.
SD Personality Card Now included With Our 802.11n Industrial Hotspot Radios
The Personality Module feature consists of an SD card and the radio's capability to read and write configuration information to that card. The Personality Module can be used for disaster recovery for a failed radio site to bring it back into operation. In the event of a failure, the SD card can be removed from a the radio that is no longer operational and inserted into a new radio.
When booted, that new radio will take on the setting from the Personality Module, bringing the site back into operational status without the difficulty of reprogramming all the necessary
settings manually. This will increase the uptime of the network. When a radio is configured with a Personality Module , the radio writes the new configuration to the Personality Module when those settings are applied.
The radio accesses the Personality Module on bootup, if present, and writes those settings to its internal flash. The radio is able to function normally with or without a Personality Module installed. No extra cost.
