Wireless WAN router family expands

By Control Engineering Staff May 10, 2006

Digi International introduced the Digi Connect WAN IA , a new wireless WAN cellular router tailored for industrial automation applications, providing secure cellular GSM or CDMA connections for reliable primary and backup network connectivity to industrial automation devices, such as SCADA devices, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and remote terminal units (RTUs). The product creates a ‘TCP/IP connection to remote sites and devices for applications in utilities, water/wastewater, oil and gas, metering or any other industrial application,’ says Larry Kraft, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Digi International. ‘Wireless can be a more cost effective solution than traditional landline connections and provides a broader coverage to remote locations. It also avoids wire-related vulnerabilities like outages caused by weather or construction.’

The wireless WAN cellular router/gateway creates a secure WAN connection via an Ethernet-to-cellular or serial-to-cellular interface for remote mission-critical data operations. It features industrial hardware/software components, including a terminal block for power, DIN rail mounting, Class 1, Div. 2 certification and Modbus protocol support. Local intelligence features include network routing, persistent connections, firewall, and a secure integrated remote management software package. Advanced features include TCP/UDP, DHCP support, NAT, port forwarding, GRE protocol tunneling, and access control lists. It is supported by the Digi Connectware Manager, enterprise-class management software that runs on a customer’s central server for managing Digi Connect WAN devices. Administrators can access one device or thousands for management, monitoring, alerts, and troubleshooting. It also includes built-in Dynamic DNS server for mapping an Internet host name to a dynamic/public IP address. Digi International is based in Minneapolis, MN.

—Edited by Mark T. Hoske , Control Engineering editor in chief