Campbell Scientific LoggerNet Datalogger Support Software - Manual (Page 118)

Section 4. Setting up Datalogger Networks
4.3 Network Planner
The Network Planner is a graphical application that assists you in designing
PakBus datalogger networks. You interact with a drawing canvas on which you
place stations and add peripheral devices to those stations. You then create
links between stations and specify the nature of those links. Finally, you
specify the activities that will take place between various devices within the
network. As you do these things, the Network Planner automatically specifies
many individual device settings such as PakBus address, neighbor lists, verify
intervals, network parameters, etc.
4.3.1 Functional Overview
A Network Planner model is made up of stations, links between these stations,
and activities that occur over these links.
The first step in developing a Network Planner model is to create the stations.
A station is created by adding a root device to the Drawing Canvas. Examples
of root devices include PakBus dataloggers, the LoggerNet server, as well as
radio and phone modems. Once the root device is added to the model, any
peripherals that connect to the root device are added. After adding the stations
to your network, you must identify links between stations and the activities that
occur over those links.
After the stations, peripherals, links, and activities have been added, all items
on the Configure Devices list will need to be completed in order to configure
the devices in the system. Check boxes are provided that allow items to be
checked off as an indication that they have been completed.
At anytime, details about a station can be viewed and edited by selecting the
station on the Drawing Canvas and viewing the Station Summary.
Each of these steps in creating a Network Planner model is described in detail
below. Refer to the online help for a step-by-step example of creating a simple
Network Planner model. The online help also has a step-by-step example of
creating a model for a simple wireless sensor network.
4.3.2 The Drawing Canvas
The Drawing Canvas is the large section in the center of the Network Planner
window that is highlighted in the figure below. As stations are added to the
network, they are placed on the drawing canvas. As links are added between
stations, they are indicated on the drawing canvas as lines between the stations.
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