2012 - PageSuite

ecording devices, and much more now
fit into a typical user’s pocket. It’s no
wonder that the advances in cellular
technology are being taken advantage
of in manufacturing environments.
Everyday more companies are using
mobile devices such as Smartphones,
tablets, and other handheld devices to
cut costs, and to communicate information
economically and quickly. While
many manufacturers are enabling
remote access via Smartphones and
other handheld devices, implementation
isn’t quite as simple as checking
e-mail online.
One of the main decisions to be made
is how and when to implement browserand
app-based remote monitoring.
Web browsers: Pros and cons
The logical progression for accessing
data remotely via a Smartphone is to use
a browser to access plant automation
systems via a company’s virtual private
network (VPN). Many companies today
offer remote connectivity via a VPN,
with users simply connecting to the
company’s network and then interacting
with the automation systems via a
Web browser interface. This access is
generally to a human machine interface
(HMI) or a controller, although
browser-based access can be used with
any automation component equipped
with Web-served capability.
This type of access can be very good
and relatively quick when the browser
is running on a PC, but can raise issues
with Smartphone browsers. In many
cases, the Web server screens don’t
scale well to the smaller displays found
in handheld devices, and screens often
take too long to load.
Another consideration is that often
remote browser-based access provides
only a snapshot of the HMI screens,
which can cause problems when monitoring
large amounts of data in operating
conditions that change frequently.
Some Web servers and VPNs enable
two-way access for remote control,
but many just offer read-only access.
INTERACT
www.plantengineering.com/interact
Q: Does your plant implement browseror
app-based remote monitoring What
applications do you use
Therefore, care must be taken when
selecting a supplier or implementing a
VPN solution to make sure users can
perform remote actions as necessary.
While Web browser access is essentially
free, the costs of designing,
deploying, and maintaining the VPN and
the Web servers can be considerable and
must be factored in when determining
overall ROI.
Continued on pg. 86
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