EXTERNAL HARDWARE
March 2005Michael Jarosik
editorOne of the most important decisions a company can make about its machine-to-machine deployment is whether to embed communication hardware in the device being networked, or to retrofit it with hardware that connects externally. There are several advantages to both approaches, and making the right decision is usually a straightforward process.
The first point to consider is an obvious one: if the machine is already deployed in the field—that is, it has already been manufactured—then there’s really no choice but to retrofit it with external hardware. Since the machine-to-machine industry is still in its early phases, connecting assets already deployed is the main focus for many early adopters.
The second question that needs to be addressed is volume. Generally speaking, the larger the deployment, the more cost effective it is to embed a communication module at the point of manufacture.
For more information about how this process works and the options that companies have for embedded connectivity, please visit www.m2mmag.com for the article, “The Wide World of Wireless Modules.”
A third criterion that determines a company’s decision of whether to embed or retrofit is the physical logistics of the device and how it needs to communicate its operating data. If the device is small and mobile versus large and stationary, for example, embedded hardware might make more sense because the developer can take the necessary steps to devise protective housing for the communications hardware.
Fourth, the decision to embed versus retrofit may come down to the intelligence of the device. Intelligence in this case refers to the device’s computing power, which can come in the form of microprocessors, controllers, and other onboard computers. If the device has limited intelligence and networking needs are complex, then a company may enlist external hardware that can not only source and send machine data but also process it so the machine “knows” what’s going on and what to do about it.
If, after weighing these options, the choice is to use external hardware for retrofitting a device, then companies have several options for getting the job done. Those options fall into a few general categories, and within those categories there are many different products and nuances designed to handle the various ways machines are networked.
Three general classifications of machine-to-machine external hardware are:
-Terminals and external modems
- device servers
- I/O (input/output) systemsOther types of external hardware exist as well, such as RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, wireless sensor networking hardware, and gateways.
In this article, we’ll break down each of the first three groups—modems, device servers, and I/O systems—and highlight some of the most representative products in each category. By knowing the hardware options available and the strengths of each, corporate adopters, OEMs (original-equipment manufacturers), and system developers can accelerate the process of M2M deployment.
External Advantages
Machine-to-machine connectivity can be an extremely complex process, but many of the external hardware products on the market can make it somewhat simpler. That’s because many hardware suppliers have already gone through the rigors of wireless certification for their products. By purchasing a hardware device such as an external modem or device server, a company can start communicating with its assets in a relatively short period of time, letting the adopter focus on the challenge of incorporating the new information into its business processes. (For a breakdown of the application infrastructure that enables this business-process automation, please see, “The Brains Behind M2M” at www.m2mmag.com.)
One common use for external hardware is proof-of-concept. When a company is first testing out its idea for M2M deployment, a small group of external modems or other hardware can connect to the assets being networked. This lets the adopter confirm that the data is flowing as expected and can deliver the business insight that’s needed. For OEMs in particular, using external hardware for proof-of-concept helps ensure the costly and time-consuming process of embedded development is performed as efficiently as possible.
There are other options as well that blur the lines between external and embedded. One is to use hardware that acts as a hybrid between an embedded module and an external modem. These “modem modules” come pre-certified and act as the housing for an embedded module inside a machine that connects to the circuit board. In short, M2M adopters have control over the degree of complexity involved in connectivity by selecting the right hardware.
Terminals & External Modems
Since its deployment process is uncomplicated, relatively speaking, an external modem should be one of the first options considered for device networking. An external modem is usually slightly larger than a deck of cards, and its function is to move data out of a machine and onto a wireless network.
The external modem connects to the device through a cable to a serial port on a device and has an embedded module inside that transmits the data over a network. External modems cost between 50-300% more than embedded modules, but there is significantly less development cost involved, making it more cost effective to use an external modem until the volume deployed exceeds around 1,500 units. Again, since the cost of deploying an external solution is less than the cost of deploying an embedded solution for a small volume of units, developers often start with an external modem to establish proof-of-concept and then invest in an embedded solution if that fits the business model.
External modems usually come from two main groups of companies. The first is made up of technology providers that sell generic modems used for connecting various types of physical assets. The second, by contrast, is made up of system developers that sell hardware specifically designed for individual vertical industries within M2M.
For example, one popular space in machine-to-machine is vehicle tracking and fleet management. A number of vendors in this space, such as At Road Inc., www.road.com, Fremont, Calif.; and DataRemote Inc., www.dataremote.com, Ventura, Calif.; provide specialized “boxes” that are installed inside a truck or other vehicle, monitoring operational data and sending it via a wireless network to a collection point.
Several products typify the “generic class” of external modems, and they range from having a large amount of processing capability to having little intelligence and acting exclusively as a wireless modem. One product on the far end of the intelligent side of the spectrum is the AVIDirector-M2M from AVIDWireless, www.avidwireless.com, Irving, Texas. Essentially acting as a gateway between the networked device and a wireless network, the AVIDirector is smaller than many in its class and uses Mobitex radio technology from Velocita, www.velocitawireless.com, Woodbridge, N.J., to communicate machine data over the networks. [Note while Mr.Jarosik is correct we do work with the Mobitex radio technology we also work with many other technologies as well (GPRS/GSM, CDMA, 900 MHz, 800 MHz, GPS, Lantronics Ethernet, RFID technology and much more) ]
Among the products that serve the more traditional role of a modem are the M2M Express GPRS (general packet radio service) and CDMA (code division multiple access) modems from BlueTree Wireless Data Inc., www.bluetreewireless.com, Lachine, Que. They’re intended for industries and applications like public transit and transportation as well as automated meter reading. BlueTree’s line also includes more elaborate models like the BlueTree 2000 and 2010 for public safety applications.
The difference between an external modem and a terminal is usually slight. Terminal is generally the term used to refer to external modems that come directly from a manufacturer of embedded modules; it’s the external version of the embedded product used for testing and proof-of-concept.
One of the best examples of a machine-to-machine terminal is the GT47/GT48 from Sony Ericsson, www.sonyericsson.com/m2m, London, England. The idea is to provide a faster and easier route to market with lower integration costs than are usually involved with an embedded module.
Another standalone modem/terminal comes from Enfora Inc., www.enfora.com, Plano, Texas, through the company’s Spider product line. There are two Spider products: the SA-GL, which is the more compact and less expensive version, and the SA-G, which is a larger version designed for extreme environmental conditions. Both products have Enfora’s communication hardware embedded and include many of the same features such as “Wake Up and Keep Alive” for Internet-protocol address assignment, and quad-band radio-frequency compatibility, which means it can operate in most countries. One other module manufacturer that also offers its own external product line is Wavecom SA, m2m.wavecom.com, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, which has the popular Fastrack modem. Fastrack has onboard intelligence in the form of AT (short for ATtention) commands, which means adopters can run an application right on the modem’s software platform.
The five product lines just featured showcase the diversity of external modems and terminals in the M2M space, with the main distinctions being form, function, and the degree of onboard processing capability.
Device Servers
It would be nice if there were a simple hierarchy among the different types of M2M hardware, but it’s not that straightforward. Generally speaking though, the more intelligent the device, the less intelligent you need the hardware to be. For instance, if a device already has smart sensors and onboard processors, then all that’s needed is a modem to send the data. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if the device has no intelligence whatsoever, then the M2M hardware that’s connected to it usually needs to have processing capability of its own.
Somewhere in between those two extremes lie the device servers. A device server is M2M hardware, usually larger than external modems and terminals, that connects to a machine through a wired communication port. Like all the other hardware options, a device server acts as the middleware component between the machine and a network. It gives non-networked devices access to a network port.
Specifically, the device servers are responsible for handling program and protocol conversion so the data can be routed to the right place and in the right language. Software on the device server determines what information to get from the machine and makes the decisions about when to send alarms or take other action based on the operational data it collects.
Device servers are most commonly associated with wired applications rather than wireless, and in the case of wireless M2M, the device server needs to be combined with a cellular or LAN modem to get data on a network. Most device-server manufacturers can handle this communications aspect as well for their customers, or have other products that would fit more appropriately depending on the needs of the application.
There’s a wide selection of external device servers available in the M2M space, and they can vary quite a bit in form and approach. One leader in the segment is Lantronix Inc., www.lantronix.com, Irvine, Calif., and its product line typifies the options companies have. Lantronix has separate product lines for industrial and commercial applications, and also offers a wireless product named WiBox. The commercial line covers applications such as point-of-sale and audio/visual-equipment monitoring, and the industrial products are for heavy-duty factory applications.
A similar product family is available from Digi Intl., www.digi.com, Minnetonka, Minn., which has more than a dozen external device servers including a wireless version named PortServer TS W MEI. Target industries and applications include retail and point-of-sale, building automation and security, traffic management, utilities, and industrial automation.
While Lantronix and Digi are both focused on a few vertical industries, their technology is by-and-large horizontal, at least compared to other products on the market. One example of a more vertically oriented solution comes from Precidia Technologies Inc., www.precidia.com, Ottawa, Ont., which offers the POSLynx for connecting retail payment terminals to IP (Internet-protocol) networks.
The POSLynx is a good example of how using a device server for M2M connectivity can simplify the process of deployment. Since it connects to existing terminals and handles all of the protocol conversion, the system doesn’t require any software or hardware changes—what Precidia calls “dial to IP conversion.” That speeds up deployment for merchants, which can handle transaction processing without making changes to their terminal applications or cabling.
Compared to other M2M segments, the device server market is well developed with a high level of product maturity. For example, Comtrol Corp., www.comtrol.com, Minneapolis, launched its DeviceMaster line in 2001, and has since expanded it to include the AIR model that is “dual mode,” handling both wired and wireless. One of the company’s more recent additions is the DeviceMaster Serial Hub, one of the more flexible products on the market designed for applications where companies need to connect peripherals that are located long distances from the server.
One of the most significant trends in M2M is the emergence of device servers with built-in Wi-Fi compatibility. Of the companies mentioned in this section, Comtrol, Digi, and Lantronix have all launched versions of their products that work on wireless local-area networks, creating improved flexibility for industrial-networking applications and letting companies network more assets than was previously feasible.
One of the latest and most interesting additions to this group is the four-port NPort W2004 wireless device server from The Moxa Group, www.moxa.com, Brea, Calif. The product was launched in late January, and joins Moxa’s two-port version of the wireless device server, the NPort W2250.
The flexibility and diversity of device servers on the market today rank them among the most effective ways to deploy a machine-to-machine application. Watch for more partnerships to emerge in 2005 between device-server manufacturers and M2M application infrastructure providers, which would help deliver end-to-end solutions to corporate adopters.
Input/Output Systems
While wireless compatibility is an emerging facet of device servers in the machine-to-machine world, it’s already a staple of many I/O systems. That’s because it’s had plenty of time to evolve—I/O dates back to well before M2M and is firmly rooted in the world of industrial automation.
As the name implies, I/O systems take sensor data from a machine (often from the sensor directly), process it, and distribute it to an IT system so it can be used for reporting and business-process automation. The systems are especially well suited for taking analog as well as digital sensor data.
Among the different classes of M2M hardware highlighted in this article—terminals, external modems, device servers, and I/O systems—I/O systems are best at networking non-intelligent devices, or in other words, ones that don’t have embedded processing capability. That’s not all they’re designed for, but this general classification helps illustrate where they fit in the group.
Since I/O systems were around long before M2M, the question then becomes: when is I/O M2M and when is it not? In short, input/output is always a machine-to-machine application because it involves sourcing data from a machine for use in a business process. What separates M2M from the more traditional remote-monitoring applications of I/O is the flexibility with which the networking is accomplished. Machine-to-machine communication uses existing public networks and access methods such as wireless cellular and Ethernet, which means the total cost of connecting assets or devices is usually conducive to deploying a large number of them. As a result, companies can consider networking not just their most important assets, but also just about every other physical asset they own or service for customers.
In the I/O space, a few companies have embraced the M2M concept more wholeheartedly than the others. Among them is Opto 22, www.opto22.com/m2m, Temecula, Calif., which helped launch the M2M movement in the fall of 2002 through its partnership with module provider Nokia Inc., www.nokiausa.com/solutions/m2m, Irving, Texas. Opto’s product line has since expanded to include not only input/output hardware, but also a network provision and infrastructure solution named Nvio, making Opto 22 one of the first hardware providers to venture beyond its basic domain.
Along with Nvio, Opto 22’s M2M portfolio has two components: OptoGSM I/O, a compact rack for simple monitoring and control in which analog inputs are built into the rack; and SNAP M2M Systems, a more sophisticated approach that includes control capabilities using Opto’s ioProject software. The I/O vendor landscape is substantial, and each company is essentially an M2M technology provider. Some have embraced the concept, such as Advantech Corp., www.advantech.com, Irvine, Calif., while others have preferred to remain more closely associated with the traditional industrial-automation space.
One technology that’s bridging M2M and industrial automation is the wireless LAN I/O. Much like wireless external device servers, wireless LAN I/O can make it more cost effective to connect a larger number of assets by boosting the flexibility of device networking.
Some of the wireless input/output products on the market today include the SNAP Wireless LAN I/O from Opto 22; the TZR-MA product family from Point Six Wireless, www.pointsix.com, Lexington, Ky.; and also the XYR 5000 Wireless Transmitters from Honeywell Process Solutions, www.acs.honeywell.com, Phoenix, Ariz. Other suppliers are Phoenix Contact Inc., www.phoenixcon.com, Middletown, Pa.; Sixnet, www.sixnetio.com, Clifton Park, N.Y.; and Wago Corp., www.wago.com, Germantown, Wis. Distributors include Avnet Applied Computing Solutions, www.acs.avnet.com, Phoenix, Ariz.; and Embedded Data Systems LLC, www.embeddeddatasystems.com, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
This range of product offerings is indicative of a machine-to-machine hardware market that’s finding its legs. Even though M2M is still an emerging technology, there’s a remarkably wide range of products available for connecting assets to an information-technology network. For adopters, knowing the options that are available will help guide them in the right direction no matter the type of machine or the nuances of the application.
