How is product interoperability assured?
For many users of control networks, this is the single most important question. Interoperable products can expand your business, increase your profit margins, save your customers money, and offer you increased vendor choices when specifying systems. In short, it’s good for everyone from developers, to integrators to end-users. Integration without frustration – the ability to integrate products from multiple sources without the need for custom development – can be the driving force that leads to the search for a control network technology. LonWorks networks approach interoperability in three main ways. Technology offers a three-part solution to this challenge. First, up until 1996, Echelon made the protocol available on the Neuron Chip only. Since most every LonWorks node available today has a Neuron in it, they share a baseline level of interoperability. It encapsulates as much as possible into standard silicon, to reduce the potential for diverging interpretations. This serves two pur
