Power Turbine Co. Installs TDM-over-IP & VoIP
Situation
A large USA Power Turbine company provided a South
American country with large (70 feet) mobile power
turbine trailers (MPTT) to generate power for various
villages, industrial installations and gas pipelines in remote
areas.
To help operate
and monitor the
portable turbines,
it needed to
create a reliable
and durable local
communications
network between
two separate
installations that
were using three
MPTTs up to
2,000 feet apart.
Each MPTT was
designed to have
two separate fiber
optic rings of up
to 9 nodes. Each
node would connect
Programmable Logic
Devices (PLDs) and
controllers.
In addition, these
local networks would function as a sub-network that
would connect the MPTTs to an existing country-wide
SONET backbone network via a gigabit Ethernet interface.
The goal was to install a rugged self-healing ring
communications network so that portable generators
and gas turbines could be deployed anywhere power
was needed. Because the network would be mobile and
subject to various configurations, it had to be exceptionally
flexible
Solution
The selection process came down to choosing between a
traditional Industrial Ethernet Switch solution and a more
robust, value-added solution using the JumboSwitch from
TC Communications in Irvine, California.
Although the traditional Ethernet Switch would have
satisfied the basic communications requirements of
the proposed network, they opted to go with the
JumboSwitch. The JumboSwitch offered a more
comprehensive solution, especially for future expansion
that would likely require more than just Ethernet.
The JumboSwitch also offered a more intuitive and
powerful Network Management System and multiple
interface card options including TDM-over-IP and VoIP.
The JumboSwitch solution cost about 10% more than a
standard Ethernet Switch, however the product selection
team determined that extra benefits justified the extra
cost. Specific benefits to this application included:
- JumboSwitch TCView® NMS allows users to monitor
the health of the network
- Extensive Network Management System (set card level
thresholds for temperature & power)
- Remote network management capability (worldwide
access)
- VoIP virtual PBX (add reliable telephone to remote
jungle locations)
- 4 modular chassis options (node configuration
flexibility)
- Hot-Swappable, Self-Configuring Ethernet cards (fast,
error-proof card changes)
The installation called for deploying the JumboSwitch in
two self-healing ring topologies (see Figure 1) providing
the communications link to the main SONET ring for plant
management and process controls.
Eighteen JumboSwitches were installed at each of
9 network nodes to connect Controllers and PLDs
for generators, turbines, compressors and auxiliary
communications.