Site planning and wireless network installation

Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

Industrial networking/communication system suppliers

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Wireless - field device suppliers

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January 2014 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

By Paul Hsu, Moxa product manager.

Building a wireless network can be quite an undertaking. Compared to wired networks, wireless networks require a great deal more planning to install and deploy. In addition to marked differences between wired and wireless LANs, there are currently no standardised procedures for wireless network planning and installation.

So before you begin site planning your network, you need to decide which technologies will be the most beneficial and whether or not consumer-grade products can meet the needs of your mission-critical application. This white paper explains the important factors you should consider in planning and installing a wireless network.

Why choose industrial wireless?

The convenience of connecting devices without the use of wires has led to the unprecedented success of wireless technologies in the consumer sector. Due to this success, these same technologies are beginning to appear in various other settings including industrial applications. Wireless technologies offer a number of key benefits including mobility, flexibility, wide coverage, and cost savings.

Mobility and efficiency: improved data communication leads to faster and more efficient transfer of information between people in your organisation, as well as between you and your customers. Members of your sales team, for example, can remotely check stock levels and prices while on a sales call.

Flexibility and easy relocation or expansion: in a factory setting, stationary systems can be connected over a wireless network to mobile subsystems or robots to achieve a level of connectivity that would otherwise be impossible. Furthermore, wireless technology can make it much simpler to gain temporary access to plant machinery for diagnostic or programming purposes.

Wider coverage: because wireless technology allows you to communicate wherever you are, you can send and receive information at any time without being limited by physical wires.

Saving time and money: wireless networks can be easier and cheaper to install and implement than wired networks. There is no need to purchase metres and metres of wire or to pay additional installation costs to wire your environment. The average time required to deploy a wireless solution is also significantly shorter than for a wired solution.

However, these advantages also come with additional factors you need to take into consideration when adopting wireless technologies in industrial applications.

Before installing your wireless network, consider the important factors associated with site planning. Download the full Moxa White Paper at http://instrumentation.co.za/+C18494

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