Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/721218
10 WET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2016 ONSITE NETwoRkiNg Minimising network infrastructure installation costs • How can the latest industrial networking devices help to overcome these challenges, enabling utility companies to improve the reliability of their operations. westermo's Ray Lock reveals all. projEcT SpEcS • Ensure greater network reliability • obtain access to equipment located remotely to help reduce time and costs W ith utility companies required to operate flawlessly 24/7, 365 days a year, the ability to monitor and control all areas of plants and processes must not be affected by unreliable equipment or the supporting data communications networks. There is, therefore, a continued need for greater network reliability, combined with a desire to obtain access to equipment located remotely to help reduce the time and costs of performing tasks such as maintenance. As a result, the use of fixed- line modems and serial protocols for data communication is rapidly being replaced by more modern IP-based solutions, even in applications that offer extremely challenging environments. IP-based networks enable inter-operability between devices, the possibility of using common cable infrastructures, simplified management and control through modern PC so‡ware. Key advantages are higher data transfer rates, greater network reliability and resilience and additional cyber security features. An IP-based solution also enables the connectivity for data-intensive devices such as a CCTV system. Networks using Ethernet as a backbone provide the necessary reliability and resilience, but to take advantage of these features and functionality there are some considerations and challenges to overcome including the potential cost of new cable infrastructure, integrating legacy equipment that will remain part of the network and ensuring the new networks have the required cyber security in place. Fibre optic A prohibitive factor when migrating to an IP-based solution can certainly be cost. For networking applications that have to transmit data over long distances and need to support high data rates, a new fibre optic solution may be required. However, the cost of installing fibre optic cabling can far exceed the cost of the actual networking devices, and the process of installing can be very challenging and time consuming. To overcome this, Ethernet extenders with integrated serial interfaces are available that allow the reuse of existing installed cables, whilst still achieving high speed connections. These devices use SHDSL technology to enable communications over any type of twisted pair copper cable, which means existing cable infrastructure can o‡en be used. They also support the need for resilient networks by offering very fast network re-configuration times and high data rates. For peace of mind the latest network configuration and management so‡ware tools, such as Westermo's weConfig and WeOS, can be used to verify the performance and suitability of the existing cabling before use and then to monitor connections to identify signal degradation that can point to potential failures. IP-based solutions are also stretching out to remote locations. Remote access systems have previously consisted of a modem dial-up system using the PSTN network, ISDN or leased lines to establish a connection. Although the technology is outdated, there are many dial-up systems still in use. Unfortunately, telephone operators have started to phase out these technologies, so there is a need to source alternative solutions. For modem dial-up SHDSL technology enables communications over any type of twisted pair copper cable, so which cable infrastructure can be used with remote access via an internet connection comes the need for cyber security to ensure that the network cannot be interfered with