Adaptation of a Remote Control System for Data Exchange using a Mobile Data Channel

Abstract

Analysis results of usage of remote automatic control and monitoring applications in Lithuanian technical and economical environment are presented. Available systems are analysed from costs and precision point of view. The most suitable communication channel is the GPRS/EDGE mobile data transmission network. The coverage of the network is about 98% of territory of the country and data transmission is possible online in both directions at any moment. From comparison of costs it could be noted that for online monitoring we have two cheap alternatives: DSL – where a cable network is available and GPRS/EDGE mostly in all territory of Lithuania. Usage of private APN (Accesses Point Name) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) technologies for increasing communication security of a remote automation system is analysed. It is recommended to use data exchange among remote automatic applications and the central server using more than one mobile network provider. It increases connection reliability from 98% up to 99,99% and significantly reduces downtime of the remote system. An algorithm of an add-on to mobile automation system that supports two mobile data channels is presented. Ill. 5, bibl. 10 (in English; summaries in Lithuanian, English, Russian).