ProSoft Technology RLX2-IHW-E User Manual page 15

RLX2-IHx Series ♦ 802.11a, b, g, n
Industrial Hotspots
A highly reliable wireless network can be developed by creating redundant wireless
paths. Multiple master radios can be installed without any special programming or
control. Repeater radios can connect to any master at any time; if one master goes
down, the repeater connects to another. Likewise, if a repeater goes down, any repeater
that was connected to it can reconnect to a different repeater, keeping the network
intact. Creating large, self-healing tree-like networks can be done in this fashion. Fully
redundant paths are possible because the Spanning Tree protocol in the radios disables
and enables paths as necessary to avoid Ethernet loops, which would otherwise halt
communications.
In addition to acting as a switch, every master or repeater radio in an RLX2-IHx series
wireless network can simultaneously act as an 802.11 access point. This allows 802.11
Wi-Fi clients to connect and roam between radios for monitoring of the wireless network
or general network access. (An example of an 802.11 client is a laptop with Wi-Fi™).
The RLX2-IHx series has a special client mode that allows connection of any Ethernet
device to any existing 802.11 access point, regardless of the brand.
Note: Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, used to describe the underlying technology of wireless local
area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications.
A high level of security is inherent with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption.
TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) is also available. If necessary, adding WEP128
or WEP64 (Wired Equivalent Protocol) encryption in addition to AES or TKIP for clients
that do not support AES can be done. If desired, a simple Media Access Control (MAC)
filter table also restricts the radios or clients that can link to a selected radio according to
the MAC IDs entered in the table.
The radio is designed for industrial applications with a metal enclosure, DIN-rail
mounting, and shock and vibration tested to IEC 60068.
The RLX2-IHx series radio series is easy to use. Access the built-in webpages with any
web browser to configure the radio. Also, an SNMP manager can be used for
configuration. The radio comes with a Windows-based utility called IH Browser. It finds
all the radios on the network and lists information about them. A topology view in the IH
Browser shows how the wireless network is linked together at any point in time.
Firmware updates can be done at anytime from anywhere on the network. This includes
over the wireless link or over the Internet.
ProSoft Technology radios can easily be installed into new or existing systems.
You can download sample programs, utilities, firmware images, and documentation for
your radio from the ProSoft Technology website (www.prosoft-technology.com). If your
computer does not have access to the Internet, you must download the software from
the ProSoft Technology website to removable media, and then copy it to your computer.
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