User Manual

6 MHX-2400 Operating Manual: Chapter 2 Initial Setup and Configuration
M
S
Network 1
M
SR
M
SR
Network 2
M
S
S
S
Network 3
M
R
S
S
S
Network 4
M R
SR
S
Network 5
Figure 2 - Sample Network
Topologies. Virtually any
Combination of Slaves and
Repeaters May be Used.
2.3 Configuration
Prior to establishing a wireless link, each MHX-2400 module participating in
the link must be correctly configured for compatibility and for the desired
mode of operation.
Network topologies consisting of a single Master and virtually any
combination of Slaves and Repeaters may be deployed. The functionality of
any particular MHX-2400 can be configured as follows:
n Master Point-to-Point: The module is configured to
communicate with a single Slave, either directly, or through one
or more Repeaters.
n Master Point-to-Multipoint: The module is configured to
communicate with one or more Slaves and/or Repeaters.
n Slave: The module is configured to communicate with one
particular Repeater or Master.
n Repeater: The module is configured to pass information from
either a Master or another Repeater onto subsequent Repeaters
and/or Slaves and vice versa. The Repeater also acts as a Slave
in the sense that, like a Slave, it passes information to/from its
serial port.
All units within a network must be assigned a common Network Address;
thus enabling multiple networks to co-exist in the same vicinity without
unwanted crosstalk between modules. Examples of different network
topologies are shown in Figure 2. Network 1 shows Point-to-Point
communication between a Master and Slave. Network 2 makes use of a
Repeater to communicate with the Slave. Network 3 illustrates a simple
Point-to-Multipoint network with no Repeaters. Networks 4 and 5 gives
examples of Point-to-Multipoint networks consisting of both Repeaters and
Slaves. There is effectively no restriction to the number of Repeaters and
Slaves that can be added to a network. As seen in Network 4, a Master can
communicate directly with both Slaves and Repeaters. The MHX-2400 has
been designed to allow for additional Repeaters and Slaves to be added to an
existing network without having to reconfigure any units already in the
network. This saves a tremendous amount of time when deploying additional
units in the field.
2.3.1 Quick Start Approach
The MHX-2400 is equipped with four standard factory default settings.
Instead of manually configuring each individual operating parameter, a global
command may be used to quickly configure the modem for a particular type
of operation. For example, to quickly implement Network 1, Factory default
1 would be applied to the Master, and Factory default 2 would be applied to
the Slave. To quickly set up Network 2, apply Factory 1 to the Master,
Factory 3 to the Repeater, and Factory 4 to the Slave. These defaults will get
you started and only ensure that a link can be established, but do not
necessarily provide the best performance. Optimization of the
communications link is discussed in later sections.