The document provides an overview of trends and technical details related to wireless technology for stationary applications, highlighting the increasing integration and use of wireless solutions in automation and controls. It discusses the evolution of Wi-Fi standards, the benefits and challenges of wireless deployment, and offers cost comparisons between wired and wireless systems. Additionally, there are insights into future wireless advancements and real-world case studies illustrating successful implementations of wireless networks.

1. Wireless for
Stationary Applications
Sponsored by:

2. Speakers for this webcast
2
Daniel E. Capano, CWNA
Owner and President, Diversified Technical Services
... has more than 30 years of experience providing instrumentation
and electrical consulting services to municipalities and clients in
the private sector. He has been published extensively, including
a textbook, “Network Cabling for Contractors,” in 2000, and
contributing to “The Instrument Engineer's Handbook,” providing
chapters detailing the use of proprietary data buses and
wireless networking technology. Capano is owner and president
of Diversified Technical Services Inc., of Stamford, Conn.,
providing technical services and staffing to the water treatment
industry since 1997. He also serves as the president of the New
York Section of the ISA and vice-chair of the Stamford Water
Pollution Control Authority. He is a Certified Wireless Network
Administrator (CWNA).
Moderator: Mark T. Hoske
Content Manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media

3. Control Engineering research, November 2013
Mobility, Ethernet, and
Wireless Study:
Wireless results
Mark T. Hoske
Content Manager
Control Engineering, CFE Media

4. Executive summary: Wireless research
Control Engineering identified the following trends about integration, use, and spending
for wireless technologies and how they help users of automation, controls, and
instrumentation to be more productive.
• More than 25% of respondents use, specify, or expect to specify five wireless
products; 46% do so for routers. Eighty-one percent of respondents have some
familiarity or consider themselves to be experts with wireless devices.
• Most used wireless protocols: IEEE 802.11n (WLAN) (58%), Bluetooth (50%), and
IEEE 802.11g (43%); 20% or more use eight wireless protocols.
• A strong correlation exists between wireless spending and productivity. Just over half
of respondents expect their wireless products and services spending to increase next
year and expect that productivity resulting from wireless will increase.
• More than half of respondents reported that wireless is either somewhat or highly
integrated with their controls, automation, and instrumentation at their locations. Only
23% felt wireless integration was easy; more than one-third called it difficult or worse.
• Greatest wireless benefit is data access (59%); also important are productivity
increases (41%), followed closely by cost savings, time savings, and ease of use.
• Challenges are security, no capital budget, lack of training to support adoption or
integration, need for use cases, and no integration or services budget.

5. Wireless products specified, expertise

6. Wireless research: Protocols

7. Wireless research: Spending, productivity

8. Wireless research: system integration

9. Wireless research: Wireless benefits

10. Wireless research: Challenges

11. Wireless Networking
Technology
Benefits and Applications
Daniel E. Capano
Owner and President
Diversified Technical Services

12. Pervasive computing means:
WIRELESS IS EVERYWHERE
Network coverage will vary.
 Wide area networks – WAN
 Metropolitan area networks – MAN
 Local area networks – LAN
 Personal area networks – PAN
Users demand mobility and access!

13. Mobility
BYOD – bring your own device
Mobile data access is a way of life.
Mobile devices are getting smaller and ubiquitous.

14. Wi-Fi then
In 1997 Wi-Fi was:
• Slow and unreliable
• An unsecured network segment – open to hackers
and denial of services
Today:
Wi-Fi still suffers from the stigma of being untrusted.

15. Wi-Fi now
By 2012, Wi-Fi was:
Fast and reliable
Secure and protected
Capacity and coverage are the next challenges.

16. Projections
By 2015:
• 80% of all data and voice will be carried by the
wireless medium
• Home appliances will be wirelessly connected
• Cars will be wirelessly connected
• Wired telephones will be nearly extinct
• What's a fax machine?

17. Wireless applications
 Data – internet, email, messaging
 Voice – cellular/Wi-Fi convergence, VOIP (voice over
Internet protocol)
 Video – streaming anywhere
 Surveillance – cameras, home awareness
 Tracking – real time location services
 Inventory – radio frequency identification (RFID), barcode
 Process monitoring and control, SCADA
 High density multimedia delivery
 Providing connectivity in difficult applications: historic,
finished, sensitive.

18. Where can Wi-Fi be used?
Short answer: Everywhere!
• Offices: replace/enhance existing wired network
• Warehouses: stock inventory and tracking
 Retail: customer tracking, targeted marketing
 Auditoriums: multimedia/lecture notes
 Stadiums: multimedia/advertising/services
 Classrooms: course material/textbook delivery
 Hotels: widespread use as a value-added service
 Hospitals: patient, equipment and billing updates
 Nursing homes: patient tracking and monitoring
 Auto rental/dealers: track fleet on and off lot
 Dormitories: Internet and email, communication
 Public spaces: public Wi-Fi, targeted marketing.

19. What exactly is Wi-Fi?
Uses radio frequency (RF) spectrum as
transmission medium
An “unbounded” medium as opposed to
a wired “bounded” medium
There are many different and competing
technologies:
 Ethernet – traditional wired computer network
 Bluetooth – short range, low power technology
 Z-Wave – mesh network used for home automation
 ZigBee – IEEE standard, not widely adopted.
IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi has become the de facto
networking standard.

20. IEEE standards
 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
 Standardizes features and functionality
 Provides a framework for development and
enhancement
 Allows for a common set of capabilities,
eliminating proprietary operation
 Promotes interoperability.

21. Evolution of Wi-Fi
• The IEEE 802 project: begun in February 1980.
• It was responsible for developing computer
networking standards.
• Wi-Fi standard is 802.11, released in 1994.
• First standard was slow and sloppy.
802.11a/b released in 1997 – fast and slow
802.11g released in 2004 – fast
802.11n released in 2010 – very fast
802.11ac released in 2012 – lightning fast.

22. Wi-Fi Alliance
... is the other big player in the wireless industry.
• Provides certification testing to confirm
standards compliance and interoperability
• Provides the Wi-Fi certified logo to devices that
comply with standards of interoperability.

23. Speed
The first big hurdle:
IEEE 802.11 operated at 2 Mbps
802.11a operates at 54 Mbps
802.11b operates at 11 Mbps
802.11g operates at 54 Mbps
802.11n operates at 450 Mbps
802.11ac will operate at 7 Gbps
802.11af (White-Fi) will operate at 570 Mbps
802.11ad (WiGig) will operate at 7 Mbps.

24. Security
The biggest obstacle to wireless deployment
The wireless network segment was untrusted.
It was vulnerable and open.
Now, it is secure and reliable.

25. Network reliability
• Good design makes for a reliable network.
• Good design balances coverage and capacity.
• Users need mobility and portability.
• Delivery of quality data and multimedia demand
a high quality of service (QoS).
More users = More traffic =
Network congestion = POOR QoS
Multiple channels and wireless access points (APs)
make a reliable wireless network possible.

26. Inflection points
Security: IEEE 802.11-2007
 802.11i – robust security networks
 Mutual authentication key concept
 Fixed the early security flaws
Speed: 802.11g/n/ac
 5x – 10x throughput
 QoS enhancements
 Wider bandwidth
 Use of multiple radios and data streams
 Wireless will surpass wired speeds by 2015.

27. Radio spectrum
Wi-Fi operates in unlicensed spectrum
 ISM band - Industrial, Scientific and Medical:
2.4-2.5 GHz
 UNII band – Unlicensed National Information
Infrastructure band: 5.1-5.8 GHz
 ISM band is typically used for local connection,
UNII band is used for backhaul or long haul.

28. ISM band channels
The ISM band allows 11 channels in U.S.,
13 in Europe and Israel, 14 in Japan
 Channels 22 MHz wide
 Only three non-overlapping channels – 1, 6, 11 – Channels must
have 25 MHz separation
 Co-channel interference results from radios on same channel
 Adjacent channel interference results from overlapping channels.

29. UNII band channels
UNII band allows 23 non-overlapping channels
 Channels are 20 MHz wide
 Four separate sub-bands: UNII-1,2,2e,3
 Lower, lower middle, upper middle, upper
 UNII-2&2e use TPC (transmit power control) and DFS (dynamic frequency
selection) to avoid interference with commercial and weather radar
 Power is limited by band.

30. Network architectures
Autonomous:
• Independent access points (APs)
• All intelligence resides in the AP
Ad hoc:
• Wireless device to device
• Wireless device-to-device connection without AP
• Personal “hotspot”
Controller based:
• Uses a central controller to manage network
• Uses “lightweight” AP at network “edge”
• Single point of failure
Cooperative:
• Distributed management, “cloud based” and off-site
• Intelligence sharing among APs
• De-centralized management.

31. Multipath: The last frontier
Multiple signals arrive at the receiver at different times
because of reflections
 Reflections cause data corruption – echoes and ghosts – results in
increased data overhead
 IEEE 802.11n radios combine signals either constructively or
destructively to increase reliability
 Pre-IEEE 802.11n radios suffered from multipath problems.

32. MIMO: Multiple in, multiple out
The cure for multipath is to use IT.
• MIMO uses combinational algorithms to utilize multipath
• Can increase throughput by sending multiple “spatial streams”
3x3:3 = 3 transmitters + 3 receivers using 3 separate radio links
(chains, or “spatial streams”)
IEEE 802.11n is 4X4:4; 802.11ac will eventually be 8X8:8.

33. Comparative costs: Wired vs. wireless
Wired: requires cable ($), conduit($), routers ($),
installation($$$), termination($$), configuration($), testing($),
long-term maintenance($), costly replacement/upgrade($$$) =
($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
Wireless: requires access points (APs)($$), mounting of
APs($), plug in Ethernet to one AP($), configuration($) =
($$$$$)
 There is a real potential of 50-75% savings in installation
costs alone
 ROI (return on investment) is faster than physical
infrastructure network
 Long term costs – very low cost of ownership
 Replacement or upgrade costs negligible
 No maintenance costs.

34. Ironically, wireless still needs wires
 At least one access point (AP) needs to be connected to
the wired infrastructure
 Wired/fiber distribution system (WDS) still needed for
enterprise network connectivity
 After root AP is connected, WDS can be achieved
without additional wiring using a wireless management
system (WMS)
 Mesh systems form self-routing and healing networks,
greatly improving speed and reliability – scalable up or
down as required
 Wireless bridges connect physically separated WDS
 Most facilities have existing wired backbone.

35. APs still need power
• Access points still need to be powered
• AC power is an option where available, but not
essential
• Using Power over Ethernet – PoE – power can
be sent over existing CAT5/6 to power devices
• Delivers 30 W@48 V dc dynamically configured
• PoE eliminates the need for providing ac power
at the remote location
• Dramatic savings in cost, especially for remote
locations.

36. Cost estimate for wire and conduit in a 300 ft trench
Excavation 140 yards: $6500
Saw cut 300 ft pavement: $3000
Stone base: $1000
Backfill: $4500
Patching: $3500
Conduit and cable: $500
Router and accessories: $600
Electricians: 5 worker days @ $1120/day = $5600
Grand total: $25,200*
*Does not include design services, appurtenances, management and IT configuration; costs
can increase depending on conditions, other utilities, and environment.
Maximum distance for data/PoE is 330 ft because of restrictions on length
of Ethernet segment.

37. Cost estimate 300 ft wireless outdoor link
Design/site surveys: $2500
Access points (APs): 2@$800 = $1600
Labor (mounting APs, attaching cables): $1120 (1 day)
IT configuration: $1200
Grand total: $6420
• Additional coverage only requires additional AP
• Only one AP needs to be physically networked
• Distance restriction is not an issue – Theoretically unlimited
range with multiple APs.
• APs can use PoE, local power, battery or solar
• Unlimited number of wireless devices can access the
medium without “plugging in.”

38. Cost analysis summary for a 300 ft link
Wired link: $25,200
Wireless link: $6420
A savings of $18,780, or about 4:1,
resulting in a
74.5% savings on installed costs.

39. Wireless hotspot deployment
 Coverage model is based on
coverage, not capacity
 Use of a captive portal provides
access control and revenue
 User security not provided
 Users are transient
 Commonly used as a marketing tool
by retailers.

40. Auditorium/ stadium deployment model
 Coverage and capacity are primary design goals
 Many access points (APs) are required to keep the
user/AP ratio as low as possible
 Requires use of directional antennas to control AP use
 Attenuation from bodies becomes a factor
 Security is mandatory; system must prohibit device to
device connectivity
 Fosters “augmented reality.”

41. Classroom deployment model
 Coverage is primary design goal,
capacity close second, but crucial in
terms of multimedia
 Attenuation from bodies becomes a
large factor in AP placement
 Radio frequency (RF) must be
contained in classroom to avoid
adjoining classroom interference
 Directional antennas and
transmission power control required
 Allows for scalable and flexible
options for educators: new students
and devices easily accommodated.

42. Bridging and point-to-point links
 Connects networks in
different physical locations
 Connects multiple buildings
without trenching or
overhead wiring
 Connects a wired direct
sequence (DS) to a wireless
DS or vice versa
 Connectivity to areas where
wiring is cost prohibitive
 Theoretically no limit to
length of wireless link.

43. Case study: Stamford WPCA
 Proposed solution for replacement of aging and unreliable wired plant
using a wireless network
 Delivery of data, voice and video to process locations
 Scalable architecture, low cost for expansion
 Short and long term cost savings for maintenance, communications, labor
 ROI immediate – savings in labor offsets equipment costs
 Flexibility in process measurement design
 Integration into supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems
 Wireless communication can be “sculpted” to match fence line to avoid
spillover to surrounding businesses
 Wireless and instrument vendors provided equipment for proof of concept
 WirelessHART technology key to instrument interface
 Project started in April, will run for three months.

44. Stamford Water Pollution Control
Authority (WPCA) facility

45. Case study: Stamford WPCA
Phase one – proof of concept

46. Case study: Stamford WPCA
Phase 2 – full deployment

47. Site survey
 Predictive vs. manual survey
 Predictive done off site, manual on site
 Planning software: GIGO – garbage in, garbage out
 Manual surveys will identify sources of interference and other
networks
 Interference is the chief cause of network connectivity and
capacity problems
 Attenuation of common items:
 Concrete: -10 dB to - 30 dB, stair towers, elevator shafts
 Sheetrock: -3 dB, partition walls
 Windows: -3 dB to -6 dB
 Free air: -60 dB at 100 m (330 ft)
 Human body: -3 dB to -6 dB.

48. Pre- and post-deployment surveys
• Pre-deployment surveys can be either predictive or
manual
• Post-deployment are always manual surveys used
to check predictions and to tweak the network
• Post-deployment should be done under actual
business conditions, not on a Sunday
• Surveys are essential for good design and
performance
• Periodic survey/audit should be performed yearly –
conditions change.

49. Future of wireless
 IEEE 802.11ac: Multi-Gigabit, wide bandwidth, will
eventually surpass wired networks
 802.11ad: 60 GHz spectrum, multi-Gigabit, wide
bandwidth, very short range
 802,11af (White-Fi), uses the white space in TV
transmissions for high rate long distance
transmission.

50. Speakers for this webcast: Q&A session
50
Daniel E. Capano, CWNA
Owner and president
Diversified Technical Services
dcapano@sbcglobal.net
917-940-8235
Moderator: Mark T. Hoske
Content Manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media
www.controleng.com/webcasts
NEW: Industrial Wireless Tutorials blog
www.controleng.com/blogs

51. Wireless for
Stationary Applications
Sponsored by: