The Cisco® 500 WPAN Industrial Router (IR500) provides unlicensed 915-MHz, ISM-band wireless personal- area network (WPAN) communications to diverse Internet of things (IoT) applications. Among the IoT apps supported are smart grid, distribution automation (DA), and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). The router supplies enterprise-class RF mesh connecitivity to IPv4 and serial IoT devices, including recloser control, cap bank control, voltage regulator controls, and other remote terminal units (RTUs). Purpose-built to withstand harsh environments, the IR500 is ideal for installations in pad-mount and pole-mount cabinets and in other demanding locations.
The IR500 provides an open RF mesh solution based on the following standards: IEEE 802.15.4 g/e, IETF 6LoWPAN, IETF Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL), IETF Mapping of Address and Port - Translation (MAP-T), and IETF Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). It takes full advantage of worldclass Cisco networking capabilities in IPv6, security, legacy (serial) protocol transport, and network management.
• Lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) by consolidating disparate communications networks used for automated metering infrastructure (AMI) and DA applications
• Delivers a communications platform for standards-based, interoperable smart grid and IoT apps using IP-based technologies and innovations
• Increases communications network uptime and grid availability to help ensure message delivery through a rugged industrial hardware design and highly resilient solution architecture
• Improves visibility, availability, and reliability of the distribution grid through enterprise-class network and device management tools
• Facilitates graceful migration and integration of legacy assets with support for several IoT-specific protocols
• Features a compact form factor and low-power design to support connectivity to a diverse set of IoT end devices with varied space and power capabilities
• Integrates into customers' existing IT and security solutions, reducing project costs and risks and eliminating the need for defining new IT processes and certifying new software applications
Architectural Capabilities
Table 1 outlines the architectural capabilities of the IR500.
Table 1. Cisco IR500 Architectural Capabilities
Architectural Principles
Capabilities
Network Reliability and Disaster Recovery (DR) Architectures
Highly resilient design that optimizes communications network uptime and grid availability to help ensure message delivery:
• IP quality of service (QoS) for highest priority of critical DA traffic
• Standards-based IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (IETF RPL) extends to last mile with route propagation to other IPv6 routing protocols, such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Open Shortest Path First version 3 (OSPFv3)
• Interference-avoiding frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) and per-device spatial frequency reuse
• Rugged industrial design and compliance with IEC-61850-3 and IEEE 1613 for utility environments
More details on standards support can be found in Table 3.
Network Security
Comprehensive security capabilities based on open standards and Cisco innovation:
• Access control and authentication based on X.509 certs, IEEE 802.1x, and utility public key infrastructure (PKI)
• Data confidentiality and privacy based on link-layer AES 128-bit encryption and IEEE 802.11i
• Device and platform integrity based on firmware signing and cert-based, role-based access control (RBAC)
More details on security capabilities can be found in Table 3.
Standards-Based Integration of Legacy Assets for Graceful Migration
Comprehensive software capabilities for transporting serial and IPv4 traffic:
• Supports transport of legacy serial traffic over 6LoWPAN using standards-based solutions such as Raw Sockets
• Supports transport of IPv4 traffic over IPv6, using standards-based solutions such as IETF MAP-T
Ease of Use to Reduce TCO
Enterprise-class network management and device management capabilities, based on open standards and Cisco innovation:
• Network and device management tools for easy deployment, upgrades, and remote monitoring
• Highly secure, automated, zero-touch deployment
• Comprehensive wireless monitoring capabilities for multiple communications technologies
Unified FAN Architecture
Architecture based on choice of wired and wireless technologies:
• Media-agnostic network services based on IP architectures
• Separation of network services and applications
Example of IoT Deployment for Cisco Connected Grid FAN Solution for DA
Utilities are experiencing a significant transition in their distribution grid, in part because smart grid applications like SCADA and DA can reduce outages and save energy. To comply with regulatory mandates, utilities are also integrating solar and wind farms into the grid and adopting smart metering. These changes necessitate a bidirectional communications field area network (FAN) that provides connectivity to a variety of DA devices to support a diverse set of DA applications and SCADA protocols, such as Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3). Examples of a few popular high-value DA applications are:
• Self-healing grid and fault location isolation service restoration (FLISR)
• Volt/VAR monitoring and control (VVC)
• Power quality monitoring and distribution grid sensing
• Asset management
• Outage management
The IR500 is a component of the Cisco Connected Grid FAN Solution, which meets these challenges using designs from the industry-leading Cisco GridBlocks™ Architecture. A typical communications network for the distribution grid is a two-tier architecture with a neighborhood area network (NAN) and a wide area network (WAN).
The NAN connects endpoints, such as DA devices, sensors, and smart meters, using a DA gateway or an embedded IPv6-based communications reference design. The endpoints form a mesh network based on RF or power-line communications (PLC) technologies. The mesh network is aggregated at an intelligent device such as a field area router (FAR) mounted on poletops or in secondary substations. The WAN tier provides network connectivity from the FAR to the utility's control center, over either a public 2G/3G network or a utility-owned (private) WiMAX or Ethernet fiber network.
The Cisco FAN solution comprises four important elements, as shown in Figure 2. They include:
• Cisco IR500 (DA gateway) and Cisco Connected Grid Endpoint (IPv6 reference design), which provide CG-Mesh connectivity to endpoints such as DA devices, sensors, and smart meters
• Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers providing FAR capabilities
• Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers providing headend router (HER) capabilities
• Role-based access control (RBAC) for device configuration
• Secure boot loader and signed firmware images
Quality of Service
• Classification and marking: Layer 3 - Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP)
• Congestion management: Priority Queuing (PQ)
Table 4 lists the IR500 hardware product ID (PID).
Table 4. Cisco IR500 Product ID
Item
Specification
IR509UWP-915/K9
IR509 with 915MHz-WPAN, 1 FE, 2 serial, utility-grade DC power
Table 5 lists the antenna options for IR500.
Table 5. Cisco IR500 Antenna Options
Item
Specification
ANT-WPAN-OM-OUT-N
• Omni antenna for 900 MHz WPAN
• Outdoor
Table 6 lists the RF cable options for the IR500.
Table 6. Cisco IR500 RF Cable Options
Item
Specification
Indoor Cable Options
CAB-L240-10-Q-N
10-ft (3 m) Low Loss LMR 240 Cable with QMA and N Connectors
CAB-L240-15-Q-N
15-ft (4.5 m) Low Loss LMR 240 Cable with QMA and N Connectors
CAB-L240-20-Q-N
20-ft (6 m) Low Loss LMR 240 Cable with QMA and N Connectors
Outdoor Cable Options
CAB-L400-5-N-N
5-ft (1.5 m) Low Loss LMR 400 Cable with N Connectors (straight to right angle)
CAB-L400-5-N-NS
5-ft (1.5 m) Low Loss LMR 600 Cable with N Connectors (straight to straight)
CAB-L400-20-N-N
20-ft (6 m) Low Loss LMR 400 Cable with N Connectors
CAB-L600-30-N-N
30-ft (9.14 m) Ultra Low Loss LMR 600 Cable with N Connectors
Table 7 lists additional accessories available for the IR500.
Table 7. Additional Accessories for Cisco IR500
Item
Specification
CGR-LA-NF-NF
Lightning arrestor
ANT-ADPTR-Q-TNC
Connecting adapter for CGR antennas- QMA to TNC
Ordering Information
The Cisco 500 WPAN Industrial Router is available to any Cisco authorized partner. For more information, please contact your Cisco representative.
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