
TP400 WirelessHARTTM - Operation, Maintenance and Instructions Manual
VI
Network Manager
The Network Manager is an application that can be embedded in the WirelessHART Gateway. On a
WirelessHART network is only allowed to have one Network Manager. Among its responsibilities, the
Network Manager distributes network identity (advertisement) publishing its existence, manages and
authenticates the addition (joining) of devices to the network. It also distributes individual securitykeys
(static or rotating) to the devices to ensure secure communication between it and the devices. The
Network Manager assigns communication band to the devices already connected to the network that
requested services to it, as well as manages the routes between the devices on the mesh network.
Specifically about the joining process of a WirelessHART device to the network, the Network Manager
validatesthe NetworkID andthe Join Keyattributes whichare configuredin the WirelessHART Gateway
and WirelessHART devices.
The Network ID identifies a WirelessHART network in unique way. It is an unsigned integer attribute
and must be configured on the WirelessHART Gateway and all WirelessHART devices. Considering a
WirelessHART network installed in a plant, the permitted values for the Network ID ranges from 0 (hex
0x0000) to 32767 (0x7FFF hexadecimal).
The Join Key is a security key used to encrypt joining requests from WirelessHART devices that receive
the advertisement with the Network Id identical to theirs. It may be single or eachWirelessHART device
may be configured with an individual Join Key. In the first case, the WirelessHART Gateway and all
WirelessHART devices must be configured with the same Join Key. In the secondcase, which provides
higher communication security level, (a) must be configured in the WirelessHART Gateway a list with
individual Join Keys, i.e., a key for each WirelessHART device, and (b) you must configure each
WirelessHART device with its individual Join Key. The Join Key is a hexadecimal string of 16 bytes.
There is no restriction to the hexadecimal value of each byte. The table below shows examples of some
join keys.
JOIN KEYS 16-BYTE HEXADECIMAL STRING
00000000000000000000000000000000 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
00000000000000000000000000000302 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x02
00000000FFFFFFFF0000000000000000 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF,
0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
550000000000000000000000000000AA 0x55, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xAA
WirelessHART device
The WirelessHART field device is the device that connects to the process, being able to receive and/or
transmit data on the WirelessHART network. It is a WirelessHART router (repeater) by nature, i.e., it is
able to retransmit messages to/from other devices on the WirelessHART network.
WirelessHART Adapter
It is a bridge-type device, because it is able to provide data of HART + 4 to 20mA field device, legacy, to
the host via WirelessHART. The adapter uses HART FSK standard communication, wired, to access
data from HART field devices. And the adapter also uses the WirelessHART communication to provide
data of the field device to the host. The adapter thus enables a HART field device to work on
WirelessHART network.
Planning a WirelessHART network
The planning of a WirelessHART network is a task that is very similar to the activities that currently we
perform with conventional wired devices. Furthermore, due to the simplicity of a mesh WirelessHART
network, is exempt, in general, detailed field surveys, which are usually needed when we plan networks
based on other wireless technologies.
Basically, a WirelessHART network involves planning, design, installation and commissioning phases.
Planning
This phase requires the execution of the following steps: