Gateway


The apparatus that is becoming known as a WirelessHART gateway actually consists of 3 pieces according to the HART standard.  The radio that connects to the remote field devices is the Access Point radio.  The network manager is the software that acts as the “brain” for the mesh network, controlling the mesh links and managing the security and authentication of the field devices.  The Network Manager also optimizes traffic through the network to provide each device with the necessary resources to transmit data in the desired intervals.

Finally, the gateway is the portal between the plant network or host system and the WirelessHART network.  This includes the physical interface (RS-232/485, Ethernet, etc.) as well as the protocol (Modbus, Profibus, etc.).




The RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD is a WirelessHART® gateway with integrated 802.11b/g WLAN transceiver. It can connect up to 250 WirelessHART field devices and convert the HART data to Modbus TCP for easy integration into almost any asset management system. The connection can be made via the onboard Ethernet port or the integrated WLAN client transceiver.

The RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD is configurable via and embedded web server using a standard web browser. System diagnostics are also available through the web server or locally, an RF Link relay indicates if the WLAN connection is present, and the strength of the WLAN signal can be measured at the RSSI test point as an analog voltage.

The WirelessHART data is protected with 128-bit AES encryption and the WLAN data utilizes WEP, WPA™, or WPA2™/802.11i for encryption.




Phoenix Contact’s WirelessHART Gateway has an included WLAN transceiver.  This integrated WLAN transceiver allows increased flexibility in WirelessHART applications by eliminating or supplementing a wired Ethernet connection to the host system or allowing convenient remote access for system maintenance.




To ease integration into almost any system, the data collected from the WirelessHART network is buffered and mapped into Modbus TCP registers.  As soon as a device joins the gateway, it is assigned a Modbus ID, and a standard addressing scheme is used.  This reduces configuration of the RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD for quick and easy installation and commissioning.



Wireless Backhaul

The integrated WLAN client in the RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD eliminates the need for ethernet cabling to the control room. This allows the gateway to be installed closer to the devices in the field without incurring additional installation costs.


Standby Backhaul

The WLAN and LAN interfaces of the RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD are configured with unique IP addresses and can be run in parallel, allowing the WLAN to be a backup connection to ethernet cabling.


Mobile Worker

The WLAN interface of the RAD-WHG/WLAN-XD can optionally be configured for ad-hoc mode, allowing another WLAN device to connect directly to the gateway without a WLAN access point. The gateway is connected to the host system via the LAN interface. This allows a user to connect a laptop or PDA to the gateway for programming and diagnostics of the WirelessHART network without connecting to the plant network for increased security.




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