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Applications
Distributed
Ethernet Data Acquistion for Facilities and Environmental Monitoring
in Factories
Background |
| In addition to using an Ethernet
infrastructure, facility and environmental monitoring systems
in factories have changed from a centralized PC-based architecture
to distributed, larger scale systems. The host PC is now
focused on monitoring and analyzing, and also hosts a graphical
programming environment (SCADA) that shows real-time messages,
the status of tasks, and alarms, and provides a bridge to
the IT database. Sensors, gauges, and meters are now implemented
far away from the central PC. Data acquisition hardware
is also being moved from the central PC, which uses an I/O
expansion card, to a dedicated embedded device, such as
a remote Ethernet I/O product. |
System Requirements |
Distributed
Ethernet data acquisition for facilities and environmental
monitoring requires: |
- Centralized monitoring and analysis
- Control and data collection in
the field
- More remote sites, and larger coverage
with Ethernet LAN/WAN connections
- Greater flexibility for adding,
removing, and replacing remote devices
- Low learning curve and easy implementation
- Less cable required
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System Description |
Modern
distributed facilities and environmental monitoring systems
can be divided into three layers based on topology: the
central SCADA system, field control, and remote sites. |
| Central
SCADA |
| The
central SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition) system handles analysis and management
of the information collected from remote sites.
For most operations, a PC-based machine communicates
with the remote devices, provides visual diagrams
with the current status, handles the database
connectivity bridged to another system, and
is able to provide some intelligence via a
programming language. |
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| Field Control |
| Field
control uses devices to handle real-time data
processing, respond immediately to the current
status in the field, and off load from the
central SCADA system. A human-machine interface
(HMI) machine is sometimes used for field
monitoring. |
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| Remote Sites |
| This
is where data and information is collected
from sensors. The sensors, switches, meters,
and gauges are attached to a remote Ethernet
I/O device that transforms a digital signal
or analog waveforms to network packets, which
are used for remote site control or passed
back to the central SCADA system. |
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Moxa's ioLogik
E1200 remote Ethernet I/O products play a big role in
distributed Ethernet data acquisition applications. The
E1200 is an external breakout box that interfaces between
the signal and a PC or controller. By providing various
types of input and output connections, the real-world
status of different parts of a complicated system can
be sampled and collected. Remote Ethernet I/O modules
contains a CPU that can process the attached digital or
analog data, and waits to be polled. |
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Benefits from Moxa |
Moxa's
ioLogik E1200 remote Ethernet I/O products optimize distributed
Ethernet data acquisition applications in several different
ways: |
| Built-in
Ethernet switch ports save on wiring and labor costs
Shorter response time from
remote I/O to SCADA with Moxa's free Active OPC
Server, which can provide instant I/O status reports
with event-driven "Active Tags."
The ioLogik E1200's user-defined
Modbus address function offers the flexibility of
dynamic Modbus addresses, which can be configured
to be compatible with other Modbus devices, making
it easier to upgrade existing systems. |
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Key Products |
| ioLogik
E1200 Series of Remote Ethernet I/O Products |
| Built-in
2-port Ethernet switch for daisy-chain topologies
Free push-based Moxa Active
OPC Server Lite
User-defined Modbus/TCP
addressing
MXIO programming library for Windows/WinCE VB/VC.NET and Linux C APIs
Web configuration with
Import/Export function
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