Industrial Internet of Things - HART Over Ethernet
Moore Industries’ rugged HES supports HART 5, 6, and 7 devices with sufficient memory to handle thousands of process variables, and diagnostic data points from up to 64 connected smart HART devices. The HES allows you to further leverage your industrial Ethernet investment by making all of this valuable HART data viewable with any web browser or MODBUS/TCP-compliant host. The HES also supports HART-IP, allowing any of the connected HART device variables, HES variables, or diagnostics to be monitored. Support for these open industrial protocols enables you to easily interface with any process control or asset management system while taking advantage of any Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) initiatives that facilitate the propagation of process data to higher-level corporate or analytical systems.
Leverage Your Existing Network Investment
When monitoring process points, whether dispersed or in small clusters, the HES leverages existing Ethernet network investments by collecting and concentrating process variables from multiple devices onto a single Ethernet communications link. Up to 16 HART instruments can be multidropped on each of the HES’ four channels (4-channel model) onto a low-cost Ethernet communication link allowing up to 64 instruments to be connected using one HES.
The HES communicates with IIoT systems using MODBUS/TCP or HART-IP over Intranet or Internet to historians, control, or higher-level systems. Using the HES to interface with existing HART instruments, as opposed to installing new process instruments and wiring, allows the use of existing Ethernet networks to communicate with a host system, delivering significant savings on upgrade and installation costs.
Available with Multiple Channels
The HES is available in both a single-channel or four-channel configuration, supporting up to a total of 64 HART devices. Explore the illustrated examples below showcasing potential applications for both the single-channel HES and the four-channel HES.
- Single-channel configuration supports up to 16 HART devices in digital multidrop mode or can support just one device in a standard 4-20mA loop configuration.
- Four-channel configuration can support up to 64 devices for high-density installations in digital multidrop mode, or 4 devices in a standard 4-20mA loop configuration.
HART Tunneling Support
The HES supports the ability to tunnel HART commands from any HART capable software package that runs on a PC directly to HART field devices connected to the HES. For instance, if there was a need to remotely configure a HART level transmitter that was connected to the HES from your PC, with your asset management software or a device configuration tool like PACTware, you could send read and write HART commands over Ethernet to wired HART devices through the HES. When tunneling these HART packets, the HES acts as a gateway by seamlessly transferring HART data between Ethernet and twisted pair networks.
HART tunneling is available on both models of the HES with firmware version 1.6 and later. However, on the Four Channel HES it is only available on Channel 1.
VSP - Virtual Serial Port Software
For HART based PC applications to tunnel HART data through the HES, a Virtual Serial Port (VSP) software application is required. The VSP software creates a virtual comm port on the PC, with which your HART application establishes a connection. Once that connection is configured, you then direct the VSP to the IP address (HES IP address) to which it will send HART packets.
When HART packets are sent to the HES from the VSP over Ethernet, the HES will transmit those packets to channel 1 for the connected HART field device(s). Once the HART field device receives its query or instruction, it will transmit its HART data back through the HES to the connected VSP and HART host.
Figure: The HES tunnels HART messages between connected field devices and PC-based HART applications with the aid of a Virtual Serial Port (VSP) software program.
