Managing Automation - October 2007 - (Page 27)

vices. But even these companies are struggling to find the value in wireless beyond asset performance monitoring and tracking. Some companies, however, recognize the potential of adding remote capabilities to open the door to new business opportunities. Take Cooper Bussmann, a global supplier of circuit protection devices, which has added a wireless component to its products that provides remote monitoring for customers. Consumers of Cooper Bussmann’s fuses are factories, and the biggest issue they deal with is downtime. To ensure that its circuits are up and running, the company created Intelligent Fuse Monitors and Intelligent Circuit Monitors, battery-powered devices that transmit changes in status via wireless mesh routers. Information is transmitted back to a data center using technology from Questra Corp., a purveyor of intelligent device management software. When an alert is triggered, an automated voice message calls maintenance personnel. If there is no answer, the call is elevated to the plant supervisor. “We have a different slant on mobility,” says Joe Fox, Cooper Bussmann’s director of systems and services. “In our case, it’s that factories are doing more with less. Qualified electrical personnel that need to respond to events aren’t sitting around drinking coffee; they are afoot somewhere. We call them and tell them an electrical event happened and where, what the replacement fuse is they need when they arrive, and what level of protective equipment they need to have with them.” It is a slightly different slant than, say, the unified communication effort in the enterprise, but the message is the same: meeting the need to connect in real time. MANAGING THE UNWIRED ENTERPRISE Nortel recently launched a vision it calls The Unwired Enterprise. It focuses on greater wireless coverage, a simplified infrastructure that integrates networks without duplicating security and management, and seamless mobility that infuses workflows regardless of whether the network is an indoor WLAN, mesh network, or outdoor broadband network. The vision is centered on the soon-to-be-released WLAN IEEE standard 802.11, the next generation of WiFi that is capable of raw data speeds of up to 540Mbps. Based on this standard, Nortel plans to introduce a new product portfolio in 2008, when the standard is expected to be ratified. New access points will be highly scalable wireless switch- Reference Tool GLOSSARY OF WIRELESS TERMS Standards groups such as the IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance are working to bring order to the wireless world. However, with so many radio frequencies and data transmission methods available, it’s hard to explain what’s going on in the airwaves. Here’s a cheat sheet to help you talk the talk. ● 802.11a: An IEEE standard for a wireless network that operates at 5 GHz with rates up to 54Mbps ● 802.11b: An IEEE standard for a wireless network that operates at 2.4 GHz with rates up to 11Mbps ● 802.11g: An IEEE standard for a wireless network that operates at 2.4 GHz WiFi with rates up to 54Mbps ● 802.11h: Supports Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) and Transmit Power Control (TPC) requirements to ensure coexistence between WiFi and other types of radio frequency devices in the 5-GHz band ● 802.11n: A task group of the IEEE 802.11 committee whose goal is to define a standard for high-throughput speeds of at least 100Mbps on wireless networks. The standard is expected to be ratified this year. The task group is fielding design proposals for up to 540Mbps. Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology, using multiple receivers and multiple transmitters in both the client and access points to achieve improved performance, is expected to form the basis of the final specification. ● Bluetooth wireless technology: A technology designed for short-range, wireless communications among computing devices and mobile products, including PCs, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, printers, and mobile phones. Designed as a cable replacement, Bluetooth enables short-range transmission of voice and data in the 2.4-GHz frequency spectrum within a range of about 30 feet. ● Mesh network: A communications network with least two pathways to each node, forming a net-like organization. When each node is connected to every other node, the network is said to be fully meshed. When only some of the nodes are linked, switching is required to make all the connections, and the network is said to be partially meshed, or partially connected. ● RFID: Radio frequency identification. An electronic identification technology that uses radio frequency signals to read identifying data contained in tags on equipment and merchandise. An alternative to bar codes. ● Voice-over-WiFi: VoIP services delivered over wireless networks; sometimes referred to as wireless voice-over-IP ● VoIP: Voice-over-Internet Protocol. A technology for transmitting ordinary telephone calls over the Internet using packet-based networks instead of standard public switched telephone networks or Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). ● WiFi: A term developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 802.11 standards. ● WiMAX: Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. Refers to the 802.16 standard being developed by the IEEE to provide wireless coverage of up to 31 miles. It operates in the 2- to 11-GHz bands and enables connectivity without a direct line of sight to a base station, although line of site is probably required to achieve connectivity at a distance of 31 miles. It provides shared data rates up to 70Mbps, which, according to WiMAX proponents, is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support more than 60 businesses and hundreds of homes. Source: Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-fi.org/glossary.php) ing structures that can be managed with traditional wired Ethernet, not separately. Similar efforts are under way at Motorola, which recently introduced the RFS7000 RF Switch that can handle WiFi, RFID, mesh, voice-over-wireless LAN, WiMAC, and the 27 October 2007 http://www.wi-fi.org/glossary.php

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - October 2007

Contents Take 1 Mailbox New Selling and Fulfillment Product Leads Plan to Transform Sterling Commerce Comtrol Closes Bizarre Chapter Involving Founder New Omron COO Outlines Four-Part Growth Agenda New Mfg. ‘Czar’ Will Have a Full Plate of Issues Lawson Embraces The Trend of Fewer Upgrades Notes Wanted: A Unified Infrastructure Needed: Greater Reliability Special Report: Innovation: Why Are So Many Coming Up Short? Transforamation: Beating the Odds in Global Supply Industries: Metals: Tracking Carbon Footprints Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - October 2007

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