2
User Manual
MN032EN
Effective October 2017
215U-2 802.11
wireless I/O and gateway
EATON
www.eaton.com
Module structure
The 215U-2 module is made up of different interface areas with a
central input and output storage area (I/O store). The I/O store is
an area of memory made available for the status of the physical
on-board I/O and internal I/O registers. It also provides services for
other processes within the module.
The I/O store is split into eight different block types:
•
Two blocks made available for bit data (discrete)
•
Two blocks made available for word data (analog)
•
Two blocks made available for 32-bit words data (32-bit analogs)
•
Two blocks made available for floating point data (floats)
Each of these block types in turn support input and output locations
that can interface with the physical I/O on the local machine and
also be used for data storage when used as a gateway to external
devices. These block type locations are illustrated in
Figure 1
and
are described in “Register memory map” on
page 45
. There are
other registers within the database that can be used for system
management.
Figure 1. Module structure
The radio and Ethernet interfaces (see
Figure 1
) allow the 215U-2
to communicate with other modules within the system using a
proprietary protocol called WIB. I/O Messages from other 215U-2
modules are received on the communication ports and then passed
to the I/O store which will in turn update the register locations
accordingly. The WIB protocol is designed to provide reliable
communications suitable for an Ethernet channel or for an open
license-free radio channel. It is an extremely efficient protocol
for radio communications because the messages are sent using
exception reporting (only transmitting when there is a change of
an input signal) rather than transmitting all of the time. Update
messages can also be configured at a predetermined time for
integrity checks.
Each message can be comprised of multiple I/O values, referred
to as a “block of I/O.” The messages use error checking and return
acknowledgment for greater reliability. Up to four attempts are made
when transmitting the message over each hop of the radio path,
and if no acknowledgment is received a Comms indication can be
flagged.
The on-board I/O includes eight discrete I/O, two single-ended
analog inputs, two differential analog inputs, and two current
sourcing analog outputs. Each discrete I/O can function as either
a discrete input (voltage-free contact input) or discrete output
(transistor output). Each I/O point is linked to separate I/O registers
within the I/O data store.
The following internal I/O can be accessed from the I/O store. The
inputs can be used to interpret the status of a single module or an
entire system:
•
Battery voltage
—The battery terminal voltage, displayed as an
analog value.
•
Loop supply
—The +24 Vdc analog loop supply (ALS) used to
power analog current loops, displayed as an analog value.
•
Expansion module volts
—The supply voltage of the connected
expansion modules, displayed as an analog value.
•
RSSI—
The radio signal level received from the upstream device,
reported as a dB level.
•
Comms Fail
—A selectable register can indicate a
Communications Fail error for a particular message transmission.
The expansion port, allows 115S expansion I/O modules to be added
to the module. Expansion I/O is dynamically added to the internal I/O
of the 215U-2 module by adding an offset to the address.
Getting started
Most applications for the 215U-2 module require little configuration.
The 215U-2 has many sophisticated features, but if you do not
require these features you can use this section to configure the
units quickly.
To get started quickly:
1. Read “Installation” on
page 3
, which describes the power
supply, antenna/coax connections, and I/O connections.
2. Power on the 215U-2 module and set up a USB connection to
your PC. For detailed steps, see “Connecting to the device” on
page 12
.
