Networking and SCADA engineers are tasked with creating and operating safe, efficient
water and wastewater management systems for their local and regional communities to support complex drainage systems, distributed lift stations and municipal water treatment facilities. Today, smart water management technology enables these services to incorporate automation and get intelligent data insights for much greater visibility and control over these operations.
In the challenging world of water management, application operating environments are commonly remote and harsh, which makes using LTE wireless networks ideal for connecting remote assets. Below are four critical requirements to consider when upgrading to new technology and network management tools.
- Equipment reliability: How long is the warranty of your communication gear? Pumps, PLCs and RTUs can be expected to last for years with minimal maintenance.
- Network reliability: Mission critical systems like smart water/wastewater management systems must have reliable network connections to keep these systems up and running flawlessly. For example, Digi cellular routers such as the Digi WR31 provide extremely resilient cellular connection through Digi’s patented SureLink™, VRRP+ protocol and dual SIM slots for dual carrier failover.
- Flexible networking options: It is typical for municipalities to designate a primary and secondary, backup cellular carrier for SCADA telemetry equipment installed across a wide geographic area. The ideal 4G LTE device will support software-selectable carrier switching.
- System security: 4G LTE devices and management tools must support guidelines and requirements for water management systems as defined by the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Act in the U.S. and similar legislation in other countries. It should also enable enterprise security features like access-controlled ports, encrypted data storage, authentic boot and firewalls, as well as connections to security equipment such as IP cameras.
- Remote Management - Once devices are installed and systems are operational, the challenge of operating a network of distributed telemetry equipment begins. Remote configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting tools are essential. Digi Remote Manager® provides comprehensive, secure monitoring and management of remote devices, as well as the capability to perform mass firmware updates across your entire deployment.