开放的工业无线解决方案.docx

开放的工业无线解决方案 font=ArialOpenIndustrialWirelessSolutionsRealizingtheFullPotentialofWirelessInthecurrentglobaleconomicclimate,manufacturingfacilitiesarebeingcontinuallypushedtogrowtheefficiencyandprofitabilityoftheirprocesses.Theincentivestoimprove,automateandextendtheenterpriseapplytoeverythingfromoperationstomaintenanceandarerootedinvirtuallyeveryaspectofthemanufacturingprocess.Formanyplants,thelow-hangingfruitforautomationinitiativeshaslongsincebeenharvested,leavingthedifficultorcostlyprojectsthatlackfinancialjustificationorsufficientoperationalbenefittomoveforward.Theemergenceofindustrialwirelesstechnologiesandstandardsradicallychangestheeconomicsoftheseoperationalinvestmentscreatingnewopportunitiestoimprovetheefficiency,safety,security,andproductivityofyourplant.WirelessTechnologiesatWorkOnedoesnthavetolookfartoseethatmajorautomationvendorsareincreasinglyintegratingwirelesstechnologiesintotheirproductstosowtheseedsforthisnextgenerationofplantautomation.Goingwirelessisseenasawaytocosteffectivelyaddmoremonitoringcapabilitiesandpointsofmeasurement,enhanceworkforcemobility,improvesafetyandsecurity,anddrivemoreefficientutilizationofassets,rawmaterialsandenergy.However,forwirelesstoworkintheseoftendifficultandchangingenvironmentsthetechnologiesmustdeliverreliableperformance,easeofuseandcosteffectiveness.Althoughwirelessisheraldedasthenextbigthinginautomation,itcertainlyisntnew.Themovetousewirelesstechnologytoreducecostsandimproveefficiencyhasbeenunderwayforsometimeinmanufacturingorganizationssuchasinthewarehouseforassettracking,materialshandling,andsupplychainmanagementandatthepointsofentryforsecurityandaccesscontrol.IndustrialfacilitieshavealsobeenusingwirelessaspartofSCADAsystems,telemetryandmicrowavecommunicationsfordecades,inplacesrangingfromwastewatertreatmentfacilitiestooffshoreoilplatforms.Whathaschangedistheemergenceofproducts,applicationsandstandardstoaddressthespecificchallengesforusingwirelessinlargemanufacturingfacilities.Byextendingtherangeandloweringthecostsofplantandprocessnetworkcommunications,thisnewgenerationofwirelessnetworktechnologyoffersatremendousopportunitytorealizesignificantimprovementsintheoverallefficiencyoftheplant.Wirelessmonitoringsensorscanenablebetter,moretimelydataintoyourcontrolsystem,predictivemaintenanceorassetmanagementapplication.Operatorsinthefieldarenowabletoseethecontrolsystemandreviewstandardoperatingconditions,procedures,andcorrectiveactionsinreal-timeastheymakefieldadjustments.Securitydepartmentsareusingwirelessasameanstoimprovesecurityandachievetimelycompliancewithincreasingregulationsbywirelesslyaddingvideomonitoring,alongwithimprovedaccesscontrolandintrusiondetection.Othertechnologiesandapplicationssuchasvoiceoverwirelesscommunicationsandassettrackingusewirelesstoenableproductivitygainsthathavealreadybeenrealizedinotherindustriessuchashealthcareandtransportation.Insomecasesthesebenefitsweresimplytoocostlytoachievebyrunningwires,whileinotherstheysimplycouldntbedonewithoutwirelessnetworks.Goingforwardthechallengeistoinsurethatthebestofbreedindustrialwirelesssolutionsaresecure,scalableandsimpletooperate.Overcomingthatchallengerequiresmorethanjuststandardsandsinglesourcevendors.ChoosingtheRightWirelessTechnologyAsthelistofwirelessapplicationsgrows,sodothenumbersofwirelessdevicesandsystemsthatsupporttheseapplications,addingcomplexitythatarisesfromusingmultiplewirelesstechnologiestoaddresstheeachapplicationsrequirementscoverage,latencyandthroughput.Mostofthesesystemshavebeendesignedtouseunlicensedfrequencies,whicharesharedacrossthedifferenttechnologiesandapplications.Thesharingofthesefrequenciesismadeeasierbytheemergenceofrobuststandardsforcommunications,butstandardsalonearenotenough.Standardsassuretheproperfunctionofthesystemswithagivensetofcost/performancecharacteristics,andabasisforinteroperability-butnosinglewirelesstechnologyorstandardiscapableofbeingthesinglesolutionforeveryapplication.Standards-basedtechnologieslikeWiFiIEEE802.11havebeenhardenedformobileworkerstotakeruggedizedtabletPCsandPDAsintotheplantwhileotherradioslikethosebasedonIEEE802.15.4andBluetooththatareoptimizedtosupportwirelesssensornetworksarebeingembeddedintoindustrialinstrumentationascurrentlybeingdefinedbytheISA100.Inaddition,robustlong-range,highbandwidthwirelesstechnologieslikeWiMAXIEEE802.16havebeenruggedizedforindustrialenvironmentsandapplications.Thisdiversityofcost/performancetradeoffsamongtheseandthedozensofotheravailableindustrializedwirelessnetworkingtechnologiesdictatesthatuserschoosethemosteffectivetechnologyanddevicesforagivenapplication.Thereisnota“one-size-fits-allwirelessnetworkingtechnologythatadequatelysupportsthediverseanddemandingrequirementsofindustrialapplicationsandenvironments.Thelawsofphysicsdictatethatisextremelyunlikelythattherewillbesuchapowerfullyflexiblewirelesstechnologyanytimeinourfuture.ManaginganInvisibleAssetSowhat?Thereisanextremelyimportantassetthatyouownandcontrol.However,ifyoudontmanagethisasseteffectively,itcouldturnintoyourgreatestliability.Thisassetisyourairwavestheradiofrequencyspectrumthatisavailabletoyouinandaroundyourfacility.Imaginetwotothreeyearsfromnowwhenyouhavehundredsoreventhousandsofwirelessdevicesinyourplantfromdozensofvendors.Justlikeyourwirednetworkstoday,withouttherighttoolsformanagingthesecure,effectivecoexistenceofyourairwaves,thewirelesscommunicationsnetworkswillbecomeunreliable,slow,andpotentiallywillcreateunintendedsecurityvulnerabilities.Inaddition,thechoicesyoumaketoday,maylimityouroptionsinthefutureasnewwirelesstechnologiesbecomeavailable.Howdoyoubothavoidthisloomingwirelesslogjamandfuture-proofyourwirelessnetworks?WirelessDeploymentOptions:OrganicorEngineeredThefirstandeasiestoptionisjustallowwirelesssystemstobedeployedandgrowinanorganicmanneraddingwirelessdevicesandtheiruniquesupportinginfrastructureoneapplicationatatimewitheachnewpointsolutionandhopethatsomehowallofthesesystemswillworktogetherovertime.Nomatterwhattheapplication,thewirelessoptionwillalmostalwaysbejustaseffectiveandcostmuchlesstoimplementandmanage.Thisallowsyoutocost-effectivelysolvetheimmediateproblem,checkthebox,andmoveontothenext.Nowdothatagainthreeorfourtimesandyouhavesavedyourselfmoneyandaddressedseveraloperationalissuesbutwhatkindofproblemshaveyoucreatedforyourselfintheairwavesandwhathappenswhenyouaddthenextapplication?Withoutanyabilitytomanagethewirelessspectrumandhowitisutilizedacrosswirelesssystemsandapplicationsthereisnowaytoensurethesecurity,performanceandreliabilityofyourwirelessapplications.Atsomepoint,yourwirelessnetworkswillbumpintoeachotherandthatisacollisionyouwanttoavoid.Onwaytoavoidthecollisionistotakeanengineeredapproach.Thisiswhereyouandyouroperationalteaminvestinadesignandplanonhowyouwillleverageanddeploywirelesssystemstoaddressyourcurrentcriticalneedsandpotentialneedsinthefuture.Thistakesaninvestmentoftimeandacrossfunctionalcommitmentfromtheoperationalteamtobesuccessful.Butifyoubelieve,asmanydo,thatwirelesstechnologiesaregoingtobecomeagrowingpartofyouroperations,thenthisisaninvestmentworthmaking.SingleVendororBest-of-Breed?Takingtheengineeredapproachhowever,leavesyouwithanotherdecision.Shouldyouinvestinapre-integratedwirelesssystemfromasinglevendororbuybestofbreedsolutionsthatbetteraddressthespecificrequirementsofeachofyourapplications?Choosingallofyourwirelessnetworkingapplicationsfromasinglevendorgivesyoutheadvantageofanengineeredsystemthatisdesignedtointegratevariouswirelesstechnologiesintoasingleseamlesssystem.Thisletsyoutakeadvantageofsharedwirelessinfrastructureandachieveeconomiesofbothscaleandscope.Unfortunately,thisalsolocksyouintoalimitedsetoflowest-common-denominatorproprietary“standardsthatwillleaveyouvulnerabletobeingheldhostagebyasinglevendor.Asnewapplicationsemergeandwirelesstechnologiesevolve,yourdependenceonasinglevendorwilllimityouroptions,lockyouintothepreferencesofasinglevendor,andholdyoubackwhileyourcompetitorsmoveforward.Yourotheroptionistoreviewtheuniqueneedsofyouroperations,facilities,anddesiredapplicationsandchoosethebestwirelesstechnologyforyou.Thisbest-of-breedapproachwillhaveabetterchanceofdeliveringtheperformanceandreliabilityyourequire.Buteachbest-of-breedpointsolutionyoudeploywilldemanditsowninfrastructureandmanagementsystemrequiringaninvestmentintechnologyandmanpower.Eachpoint-solutionwirelesstechnologyandapplicationwillalsorequireitsownwirelessinfrastructure,networkmanagement,andsecurity.Therewillbenore-useofacommoninfrastructure.Eachwirelessapplicationwillbemuchmoreexpensivetodeployandmanagemakingitdifficulttoestablishapositivereturnonyourinvestmentinanysinglewirelesstechnologyorapplication.Anotherconsiderationtoconsideristhefutureofwirelesstechnology.Itisobviousthatwirelesstechnologiesarenotstandingstill.Therewillbenewwirelesstechnologies,tools,devicesandapplicationsbecomingavailableoverthenextdecade.Lockingyourselfintoasinglevendororaninflexiblededicatednetworkwontletyoueasilytakeadvantageofnewtechnologiesastheybecomeavailable.Theansweristohaveasinglesharedwirelessnetworkthatallows“plugandplayinteroperability,management,andsecurityofanywirelessdevicesandapplicationsregardlessoftheirradiofrequency,protocol,orapplication.Atrulyopenwirelessinfrastructurewillallowyoutochooseexactlytherightwirelessdeviceandapplicationforyourplant.Inaddition,becausethereisnosinglewirelessnetworktechnology,applicationorvendorcapableofdeliveringthefullrangeofindustrialwirelessproductsandapplications,youwillwanttomanagethecostofownershipofamulti-application,multi-vendorinfrastructure.Achievingagreaterdegreeofapplicationflexibilityandcostcertaintyrequiresanengineeredapproachthatcreatesanetworkofsystemsbasedonopenstandards,bestpracticesandvendorneutralityacrossapplications.ApprionsIONSystemApprionspecificallydevelopeditsIONSystemtoenableprocessmanufacturerstocost-effectivelydeploythebestpossiblewirelessapplicationsforyourplant.Thisvendor-neutralapproachtoindustrialapplicationimplementationinsuresthatplantoperationsmanagersareabletocosteffectivelydeploythebestwirelesssolutionforanygivenapplication.Astheonlyproviderofmulti-vendor,multi-standard,multi-frequencywirelesstechnologyinaunifiedarchitecture,Apprionishelpingcompaniesfilterthroughthegrowingnoisearoundindustrialwirelessproductsandmoveforwardwithapurposeful,cost-effectiveandengineeredapproachtoindustrialwireless.Attheendoftheday,thefinancialandoperationsbenefitsofindustrialwirelessaremosteffectivelyrealizedwithanopensolutionarchitecturesthatiscapableofutilizingthebesttechnologiesandapplicationsavailablefromanyvendor.ByusingthebesttoolsforthejobandanopenwirelessinfrastructurelikeApprionsIONsystem,youwillavoidthelimitationsofasinglevendorsolutionandtheconstraintsimposedbypreviousdeploymentsofwirelessapplicationsandinsteadenjoythefullbreadthofbenefitsofwirelessinallareasofplantoperations.AboutApprionAppriondeliversindustrialapplicationnetworksystemsandservicesdesignedfortheprocessmanufacturingindustry.ApprionsIONsystemprovidestheonlyunified,openandsecureindustrialapplicationnetworkforplantmanagersandtheirengineeringandITorganizations.IONoptimizesthemanageabilityandperformanceofthewirelessdevices,systemsandnetworkswithinplantssothatmanagersgainthehighestvaluepossiblefrominformationgeneratedbytheiroperationalandproductivityapplications.Apprionsindustrialproductsandservicesenablethedeploymentofwirelessapplicationswiththelowesttotalcostofownership.Customersincludemarketleadersinoilandgas,chemicalandpower/utilities.ApprionislocatedinMoffettField,California.Formoreinformationaboutthecompany,itsproductsandsalesofficelocations,visitapprion./font0