Chapter 4
Commissioning Wireless
Devices
Field Communicator

A Field Communicator is used to configure
HART devices. WirelessHART devices are
preconfigured using the same tools and
methods used on wired HART devices.
However, WirelessHART devices require the
additional configuration of the Join Key and
Network ID to join the correct wireless network.

A device uses the Network ID to determine
which wireless network to join in a large
installation spanning multiple process areas.
Once the device has heard one or more
neighbors, it uses the Join Key to encrypt the
join messages exchanged with the network
manager.

The network manager, in turn, authenticates the
device and incorporates the device into the
network.
Connecting a Field Communicator to a
Wireless Device

The Field Communicator connects
to wireless devices through the
devices’ FSK (frequency-shift
keying) communication terminals.

The Field Communicator connects
directly to the communication
terminals on a wireless device.

Once connected, the field
communicator automatically polls
for connected devices using the
selected polling options.
HART Online Menu and Device
Dashboard Online Menu

With many devices, an online menu
that appears once a device
connection has been established.

This menu displays critical process
information that is continuously
updated, including device setup,
primary variable (PV), analog output
(AO), PV lower range value (LRV)
and PV upper range value (URV).

Depending on the device
description, the first online screen
may be a standard HART menu or a
Device Dashboard menu.

For WirelessHART devices, Network
ID and Join Key are set within the
Configure menu.
1420 Wireless Gateway Explorer Page

If a wireless device was configured
with the Network ID and Join Key, and
sufficient time for network polling has
passed, the device should be
connected to the network. To verify
connectivity, the user should open the
gateway’s integral web interface and
navigate to the Explorer page.

This page will display the transmitter’s
HART tag, Primary Variable (PV),
Secondary Variable (SV), Tertiary
Variable (TV), Quaternary Variable
(QV) and Update Rate.

A green status indicator means that
the device is working properly. A red
indicator means that there is a
problem with either the device or its
communication path.
1420 Wireless Gateway Network Settings Page

The most common cause of
connection problems is incorrect
configuration of the Network ID and
Join Key. The Network ID and Join
Key in the device both must match
that of the gateway.

The Network ID and Join Key may be
obtained from the gateway on the
Setup>Network>Settings page of the
web interface as shown.

The Network ID and Join Key for the
entire network can be changed from
this page; the method described in the
previous section a Field
Communicator is used for a device
joining an existing wireless network.
Integration of Wireless Network with DCS System

Wireless networks are
integrated into plant
automation systems
through the gateway.
Several protocols
including Modbus, OPC,
and HART-IP are often
supported.

Connecting the wireless
network to the plant
automation system may
be achieved in a wide
variety of ways with
greatly varying levels of
integration. An example of
a fully integrated setup is
illustrated in this figure.
Wireless IO Network in an Explorer View

In small networks, the gateway should be
located near the center of the network.
For large networks or applications that
require the gateway to be mounted inside
a control room or rack room with remote
access points, it is best practice to build
the initial network around the location of
the access points. The network can then
be expanded to reach remote areas of
the process unit. This approach will
provide a solid foundation on which to
expand the network

In one example of a fully integrated
systems, the Wireless I/O Network
appears under the Control Network in an
Explorer view and can support up to 120
Wireless Gateway nodes. This figure
shows the Wireless I/O Network
Wireless Reconcile I/O Dialog

Once a wireless network
is integrated into a host
system, the next step is
to connect the wireless
devices with the control
applications. This can be
achieved in a large
number of ways. For
example, this is achieved
with the “Reconcile I/O”
procedure.

Reconcile I/O links
wireless devices with
those configured in the
host system database.
The host applications
then access those
devices and their data
points via the database
configuration.
Network Overview Display

The WirelessHART gateway is
the primary interface for
communicating with network
devices and host applications.

The gateway collects and
maintains cached response
messages from all devices in the
network.

The WirelessHART gateway is
accessed through web pages.
These web pages provide
access to a wide range of
diagnostics information, and with
the right login credentials to a
limited set of configuration
capabilities. An overview of the
gateway’s diagnostics is shown
Device States in the Network

The network overview display
provides summary information
on devices connected, devices
reporting power failures,
devices with naming problems
and other top-level
diagnostics.

More detailed information can
be found on devices and join
failures as well as other items.
This figure shows the overall
state of all the devices in the
network.
Network Statistics Display

Another important
diagnostic screen is
network statistics.

Network statistics show the
total number of transmits,
receives, burst messages
and lost packets across the
entire network.

An example of the network
statistics display is shown
in this figure
Host Statistics

Network statistics
between the gateway
and the host system are
another important
diagnostic.

This figure shows the
User Datagram Protocol
(UDP ) network statistics
between the gateway
and the host system. The
other host statistics are
not shown
DeltaV Diagnostics

An important measure of wireless
and wired networks is the host’s
ability to monitor and diagnose the
overall health of the network.

The Diagnostics view supported by
the control system is a starting
point to diagnose nodes
(controllers and workstations) and
subsystems for IO access in the
control system.

An example of how problems
related to wireless devices are
reported in the diagnostics view is
shown in this example where the
Fisher DVC6000 Control Valve
assigned to Channel 10 has Loop
Current Fixed
Device Communication Statistics

The screen shown in this
figure is launched from the
diagnostic view.

The gateway
communication statistics
with a valve are shown in
this example.
Device Manager

Asset Management Suite (AMS)
Device Manager is an
application that allows users to
view and configure wireless
devices online in a wireless
network.

Control system applications
such as AMS Device Manager
are often used as an alternative
or in addition to handheld field
communicator

Both Device Manager and the
wireless network could be
integrated with the host system,
in which Device Manager would
access the devices through the
host. This figure shows a
wireless network hierarchy in
Device Manager.
Device Diagnostics – DVC 6200 Valve Display

For a wireless device to join
a gateway's self-organizing
network, it must first be
provisioned (configured) for
that network. Once
provisioned, the wireless
device joins the network and
appears in Device Manager.

To diagnose the device it is
only necessary to select the
device and proceed to the
diagnostics display. This
figure shows an example of
the diagnostics display for a
wireless Fisher DVC 6200
device.

The Wi-Analys tool accepts
security keys through user
input and uses this key to
decode messages from the
Wi-Htest suite designed to
exercise WirelessHART
devices, thus facilitating
compliance assessment.

These messages could be
those intended for the WiAnalys tool, or legitimate
WirelessHART commands
from the Wi-HTest suite to the
device that assign keys to the
device.

The Wi-Analys suite will use
the keys it possesses to
authenticate or decrypt.
Messages that fail are
indicated with different colors.
Exercise: Device Diagnostics
This workshop provides several exercises that will show the diagnostic information that is
available from a wireless network. In this workshop we look at diagnostics information from
of a wireless network. It is assumed that the wireless network is already integrated into the
control system and the devices are integrated with the control modules.

Step 1: To launch DeltaV diagnostics view click Start → DeltaV → Operator →
Diagnostics.

Step 2: Expand the following nodes in sequence: Control Network, Controller nNode,
Assigned Wireless I/O, Wireless Gateway, C01.

Step 3: Click on individual channels under C01, check respective parameter values,
observe whether the Value parameter updates.

Step 4: Expand a channel node, click on the assigned wireless device under it and
check its attributes.
Process: Device Diagnostics
This workshop is designed to illustrate diagnostic information that is available from a wireless
network. An interface used in the workshop is shown below.
Exercise: Commissioning Wireless Devices
This workshop provides several exercises that will illustrate the steps to add a new field
device to a wireless network. In this workshop a new wireless device is added to the control
system and the measurement it provides is added to a control module. It is assumed that
the wireless gateway has been added to the control system LAN and assigned to the
controller.

Step 1: Configure a new wireless device using a field communicator. Enable the burst
mode to publish data. Power it on and let it join the wireless network.

Step 2: In the control system explorer view of field devices, open the Reconcile I/O
dialog box, find the new device and, drag and drop it to an unused channel.

Step 3: Create a new control module and, assign it to the controller. Add an AI function
block and assign its IO_IN to the tag of the channel assigned to the new device.

Step 4: Download the controller.

Step 5: Open the control module online and observe that the value of the AI block
periodically updates. The updates come from the burst data of the new device.
Process: Commissioning Wireless Devices
This workshop is designed to illustrate features that are typically available in commercial
products to commission a wireless network. An example tree view used in the workshop
is shown below.