User's Manual

UtiliNet® Endpoint User Guide 11-1-2006

Page 8 of 30

Network of Intelligent Radios

UtiliNet radios form the foundation of a UtiliNet network and serve multiple functions.

• Each radio can communicate to end devices for some data collection or control function.

This may involve transparent applications where data is merely passed through UtiliNet

radios, or it may involve programs running in radios and/or other gateway devices to perform

custom applications, higher network efficiency or enhanced functionality.

• Each radio interacts with its UtiliNet radio RF neighbors to form a wide area network (WAN)

into which it may initiate a packet, automatically route a packet between other radios, or

accept a packet as the final destination.

• Each radio automatically integrates itself into an RF wide area network and routes packets.

Upon power up or reboot, and at intervals while powered on, a radio automatically scans the

frequency band searching for other UtiliNet radios in its vicinity to learn about its RF

neighbors. As the radios learn about one another, they pass their geographic address

coordinates for routing and to keep communication statistics for choosing the best data

transmission paths. This allows the radios to automatically route packets and dynamically

build routing tables to choose the best paths if RF conditions change. Once configured by the

user, radios automatically acquire radios and route packets.

• Each radio can execute one or more programs written in the Device Control Word (DCW)

language.

These programs can send, receive, and process packets to and from other radios. They also are

able to send, receive, and process data to and from end devices connected to the radio.

Examples of DCW applications include: radio configuration, radio queries, data collection,

communication to end devices, protocol translation and peer-to-peer control.

Several types of UtiliNet radios are available:

• The UtiliNet Endpoint under-glass radio used for under glass meter integration and other

devices

• The Integrated WanGate Radio (IWR) and WanGate radio are used with RS-232 end devices

and as additional repeaters if necessary (the IWR is designed for installation inside another

enclosure and the WanGate is designed for independent outdoor installations).

• The MicroRTU WanGate radio allows an integrator to install an appropriate RTU into the

specialized MicroRTU WanGate enclosure to create a combined RTU and radio

communication package.

Mesh Architecture

Much like a giant net over a service area—UtiliNet radios work together to create a mesh. At each point

where one thread of the net crosses over another, a node is created in the wider area network.

A node could be represented by one radio attached to end-devices.

Because each radio can forward messages to and respond to every other radio in the network, each radio is

an equal participant in the network. The result is increased communication reliability because there is no

single point of failure. While a radio is interacting with an end-device, it can be simultaneously acting as

part of the mesh network. The concept of creating a mesh is central to what makes UtiliNet a truly robust

data communication solution.