Ethernet Brain Boards Ease Migration

As such, they are designed to migrate existing Optomux installations to faster networks, higher performance and more communication options. The E1 is designed to upgrade the B1 brain board for digital I/O systems, while the E2 is designed for analog I/O systems as an upgrade for the B2 brain board. The E1 and E2 brain boards offer both 10/100Mbps Ethernet and RS-422/485 serial networking, and support multiple protocols simultaneously. In addition to the Optomux protocol over serial, the E1 and E2 also support OptoMMP (memory-map protocol used with the vendor’s newer SNAP Ethernet systems), Optomux protocol over Ethernet, OPC through OptoOPCServer and Modbus/TCP. “With the introduction of the E1 and E2, we have Ethernet-enabled Optomux,” says Mark Engman, vice president of engineering at the vendor. “With a simple brain board swap-out, a 20-year-old I/O system can quickly, easily and affordably be upgraded and made to communicate over an Ethernet network, while preserving the customer’s investment in I/O modules, racks, sensors and actuators, wiring and labor.” The E1 list price is $295, while the E2 list price is $315.