Requirements to consider when Building an Industrial Wireless Infrastructure

The requirement of wireless for industries varies greatly from the systems that are used in offices. Building an Industrial Wireless infrastructure is a very difficult task, because it requires building a successful and fast network connection between various departments while maintaining cost efficiency. It does not matter what is being manufactured, but the area where the system is installed is quite large, sometimes even extending to miles. When building an Industrial Wireless Bridge, factors like functionality and reliability needs to be addressed properly.

Infrastructure Requirements

For creating a good Industrial Wireless infrastructure, it is important to address the 4 issues that have an effect on the construction of this environment.

v Reliability: In any environment, the most crucial issue is that the wireless should be as reliable as a wired network in offering productivity. If the wireless communication breaks down for a short period of time, it can lead to shutdown of processes or late delivery of messages, quite a costly operation when seen from an industrial point of view. Hence, Industrial Wireless Bridge should be able to change channels if there is a shutdown in any process or self heal itself in case of power outage.

v Physical: Industrial Wireless systems are not restricted to a room; instead it needs to be able to traverse through different terrains, face hazardous chemicals and dangerous weather conditions. Using of power over Ethernet support for providing wireless support would eliminate the dependence on power supply for its continuous running.

v Security: Having wireless system means being prone to attack from hackers. This fault in security can lead to reduced production downtime or loss of data from the servers. So having an integrated firewall in the Industrial Wireless Bridge ensures that any breach of security does not grant an unauthorized access to the company’s servers or application processes. Having a comprehensive monitoring system also makes it possible for identifying weaknesses and continuous upgrade to overcome the weakness.

v Integration: Wireless system needs to make it possible for continuous integration of the previous technology to the new one and also for future technology to seamlessly blend with the current one. For example, mobile devices can now access Internet, which means it should be clear as to who should have control over what part of the network, without risking the network security of the company.

Building an Industrial Wireless infrastructure enables employees to conduct smooth business operation and transfer information while being on the move. So, integrating wireless technology should be looked as an investment that promises better future gains.

AvaLAN Wireless is a manufacturer of Wireless Networking Products.