A passive monitoring tool for evaluation of routing in WirelessHART networks

Abstract

Wireless communication networks have received strong interest for applications in industrial environments. The use of wireless networks in automation systems introduces stringent requirements regarding real-time communication, reliability and security. The WirelessHART protocol aims to meet these requirements. In this protocol, a device known as Network Manager is responsible for the entire network configuration, including route definition and resource allocation for the communications. The route definition is a complex process, due to wireless networks characteristics, limited resources of devices and stringent application requirements. This work presents a tool that enables the evaluation of the topology and routes used in operational WirelessHART networks. By capturing packets at the physical layer, information of operating conditions is obtained, where anomalies in network topology and routes can be identified. In the case study, a WirelessHART network was deployed in a laboratory, and by the developed tool, important information about the network conditions was obtained, such as topology, routes, neighbors, superframes and links configured among devices. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2013.