Airconditioning Solutions Inc

Technology Overview 

The solution for control networks.  

Today’s networks range in size from two devices to 32,000, and are used in everything from supermarkets to petroleum plants, aircraft to railway cars, fusion lasers to slot machines, and single-family homes to skyscrapers. Most industries are moving away from proprietary control schemes and centralized systems. Manufacturers are using open, off-the-shelf chips, operating systems, and parts to build products that offer improved reliability and flexibility, lower system costs, and higher performance.

Our LonWorks technology is accelerating this trend by providing interoperability, robust technology, faster development, and scale economies. The LonWorks 2.0 platform shares most of the technical underpinnings of the original LonWorks platform. Most importantly, every LonWorks device and network — whether it was developed and deployed 20 years ago on our first-generation technology, or today on LonWorks 2.0 — is compatible with each other. This means you can add new LonWorks 2.0 based devices to existing LonWorks control networks, as well as add those LonWorks products you already have in inventory to new LonWorks 2.0 based networks.

The Protocol for LonWorks Networks

Devices in a LonWorks network communicate through a control network specific protoco originally created by Echelon. The protocol was ratified as an official standard by a number of national and internationa standards setting bodies, including ANSI, IEEE, CEN, and EN. In January 2009, the protocol underlying the LonWorkswas platform was ratified as a global standard for building controls. It is now formally known as ISO/IEC 14908.1.

The ISO/IEC14908.1 protocol provides a set of services that lets a device’s application program send and receive messages to and from other network devices — without needing to know the network topology or the other devices’ names, addresses, or functions.

The protocol can optionally provide end-to-end acknowledgement of messages, authentication of messages, and priority delivery to provide bounded transaction times. Support for network management services lets remote network management tools interact with devices over the network, so they can:

• Reconfigure network addresses and parameters
• Download application programs
• Report network problems
• Start/stop/reset device application programs

The ISO/IEC14908.1 protocol, and thus LonWorks networks, can be implemented over any medium, including power line, twisted pair, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), coaxial cable, and fiber optics.

P2P Architecture Means Greater Reliability

While there are many ways to build control networks, a flat, peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture is the best method. In P2P, no single master on the network determines if a message from one device should be sent to another, nor determines in what order messages should be sent. Instead, control devices are free to communicate directly with each other; this reduces bottlenecks and prevents the systemwide failures that can occur when the master fails. As a result, P2P-based control networks offer high reliability and high performance.

What’s the LonWorks Platform?

LonWorks is the name of our control networking technology platform and not just a protocol or physical layer for communications (such as Zigbee). The underlying communications protocol, twisted pair signaling technology, power line signaling technology, and IP tunneling method constitute a global standard: ISO/IEC 14908.

LonWorks technology is called a platform because it’s comprised of all the necessary elements to design, install, and manage control, sensing, and monitoring solutions:

• Communications protocol. The ISO/IEC 14908.1 protocol is used in every LonWorks device. In addition to being a global standard, it’s an international and national standard recognized by numerous standards-setting organizations including those in North America (ANSI/EIA709.1, SEMI E56.6, IEEE 1493-L), Europe (EN14908), and China (GB/Z 20177.1-2006). The protocol and above-mentioned standards also include the use of IP as a transport for LonWorks messages. This mechanism is known as IP-852 and is the standard way to enable direct communications between LonWorks devices over an organization’s IP network.
• Dedicated microprocessor. Invented by Echelon, this processor (also known as the Neuron chip) is highly optimized for devices on a control network. Neuron chips have three 8-bit inline processors: two are dedicated to the communications protocol and one is a general-purpose applications processor. A number of chip manufacturers market the Neuron family of microprocessors.  The protocol can be ported to the processor of your choice. The market currently includes ports of the protocol to Altera’s Cyclone III FPGA and National Semiconductor’s LISA chip.
• Transceivers. These components transmit the protocol on a specific media, such as twisted-pair or power line. All devices on a control network must have a transceiver. Echelon’s twisted-pair and power line signaling technology have been approved as part the ANSI/EIA709, EN14908, GB/Z 20177.1-2006, and ISO/IEC 14908 family of standards.
• Network database. Called the LNS Network Operating System, this database is the required software component of open control systems; it ensures an open environment for extending, maintaining, and managing LonWorks based systems. The network operating system serves critical functions in a control network. LNS also supports a plug-in architecture supported by many software developers. It’s also required by many organizations as a way to ensure open, competitive bidding environments for control systems. Such organizations include the US Army Corps of Engineers and the New York City Public Schools DIstrict.
• Internet connectivity. The standardized applications (called LonMark profiles) and Standard Network Variable Types (SNVTs) of a LonWorks network pass through Internet connectivity devices via Web services (SOAP calls in XML format). Accessing and controlling LonWorks networks via Web services — an international IT standard — lets them become integral parts of enterprise applications, services centers, and more.
• Interoperability. Interoperability means that devices created by different manufacturers can work together without needing a gateway to translate data from one device to another. A single, standardized software tool — LonMaker — manages and installs such disparate devices. Interoperability in the LonWorks world is governed by LonMark International, which maintains interoperability guidelines, creates standard applications, tests and certifies products, and trains and certifies system integrators. LonMark International has many affiliate organizations organized as country-specific LonMark Affiliates worldwide. As of February 2009, over 700 organizations have joined LonMark.