© Siemens AG 2019

Industrial Wireless Communication

iFeatures – special
industrial functions for
wireless applications
Industrial Wireless LAN

Edition
Brochure 03/2019 siemens.com/iwlan
 © Siemens AG 2019

iFeatures for Real-time

special demands communication

Requirements on industrial networks are constantly in- Industrial Point Coordination Function (iPCF) and industri-
creasing in the course of digitalization. Wireless commu- al Point Coordination Function Management Channel
nication via Industrial Wireless LAN (IWLAN) is already (iPCF-MC) for required deterministics and fast roaming in
used in countless solutions, e.g. by mobile network parti- PROFINET and EtherNet/IP applications
cipants in automatic guided vehicles (AGV) or in crane
In the PROFINET environment, controllers and I/O cannot
applications.
communicate reliably with each other via the regular IEEE
Not only the hardware, but also the software of the net- 802.11 WLAN standard because real-time communication
work components must meet special requirements for use and deterministics are lacking. In addition, the roaming times
in the industry. The SCALANCE W portfolio is perfectly between two radio cells need to be as quick as possible. Our
suited for this purpose. solution enabling use of PROFINET and EtherNet/IP via WLAN
Siemens has developed special iFeatures for use in indus- for wireless communication with SCALANCE W-700 is the
trial environments which are enabled by KEY-PLUGs or iPCF iFeature for guided applications or iPCF-MC for freely
CLPs inserted into the devices. These smart additional moving network devices.
functions can be easily activated as software – also subse- iPCF for linear applications
quently – on various IWLAN Access Points and Client Mod-
ules. This supplementary feature is especially relevant for overhead
monorails. In such linear structured applications, the use of
RCoax radiating cables instead of conventional antennas
ensures a reliable and continuous signal quality.

Advantages of iFeatures at a glance The iPCF iFeature enables the entire data flow of a radio cell
to be sorted – making the communication deterministic. This
◾ Reliable real-time communication with SCALANCE W-700 is managed by the Access Point which cyclically polls all the
(even with PROFIsafe) radio cell Clients. iPCF also facilitates fast and reliable switch-
ing between two radio cells. Here can be ensured constant
◾ High availability thanks to seamless redundancy
roaming times of significantly less than 50 ms.
◾ Secure IWLAN communication
iPCF-MC for applications with free-moving Clients
iPCF-MC is particularly suitable for applications involving
mobile Clients which move freely in the field and which
communicate with the controller via PROFINET (and even
KEY-PLUG iFeatures For For PROFIsafe) or EtherNet/IP. iPCF-MC provides the necessary
(for W-700) or Access Points Client Modules
CLP (for W-1700) (or Access Points deterministics and real-time communication. Although rarely
in Client mode)
required, applications with RCoax and directional antennas
KEY-PLUG W780 iPCF are also possible.
iFeatures iPCF-MC
iPRP ● ● As with iPCF, the Clients are cyclically polled (deterministics).
iREF*
Inter AP-Blocking* With the iPCF-MC iFeature, the Client scans its environment
continuously for alternative Access Points. Should the radio
KEY-PLUG W740 iPCF
iFeatures iPCF-MC ● quality deteriorate, a change to another Access Point can be
iPRP
implemented planned and very quickly. This is possible by
KEY-PLUG W700 Inter AP-Blocking using two wireless interfaces of the Access Point simulta-
●
Security neously in different ways: While one interface transmits a
SCALANCE iPRP cyclic signal (beacon), the other is used for data transfer.
CLP 2GB W1780 ● ●
iFeatures

SCALANCE iPRP
CLP 2GB W1740 ●
iFeatures
* iREF and inter AP-Blocking in Access Point mode only
 © Siemens AG 2019

iPCF for linear applications

RCoax Cable

SCALANCE W778

Antenna
ANT793-4MN

SCALANCE W734
Hanger 1

Hanger 2

Hanger 3

Hanger 4

Hanger 5

G_IK10_XX_30171
iPCF-MC for applications with free-moving Clients

SIMATIC S7-1500
Radio cell 1 Radio cell 2

Access Point Access Point

SCALANCE SCALANCE
W788 W788

Client Module Client Module Client Module

SCALANCE SCALANCE SCALANCE SIMATIC HMI
W748 with W748 with W748 with
ANT795-6MN ANT795-6MN ANT795-6MN

SCALANCE SCALANCE SCALANCE

XC-200 XC-200 XC-200
G_IK10_XX_30282

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)

Industrial Ethernet
PROFIsafe
 © Siemens AG 2019

Redundancy

Industrial Parallel Redundancy Protocol (iPRP) for The iPRP iFeature facilitates the use of redundancy techno-
redundant, reliable IWLAN communication logy for parallel utilization of two radio links in wireless
networks. This supplementary function enables redundant
Spatial barriers, poor wireless coverage or interferences often
communication over two IWLAN connections, even for
lead to disturbances. Also the duration of a roaming process
moving applications. Disruptions to data transfer on one
cannot generally be predicted. All these factors can often lead
radio link are compensated by parallel transmission on a
to a breakdown in communications.
second link: Whenever the roaming process is delayed or
These problems can occur in all mobile applications, such as interference occurs, communication continues running
in automatic guided vehicles (AGV), for example. Railway reliably via this second path.
applications in which Client Modules in the moving train
communicate with the Access Points on the trackside must
also meet special requirements.

1
SCALANCE
1 W1788-2 M12
SCALANCE
SCALANCE EEC
W1788-2 M12 SCALANCE
W1788-2 M12
SCALANCE EEC W1788-2 M12
SCALANCE
EEC
W1788-2 M12 EEC
W1788-2 M12
EEC EEC

SCALANCE SCALANCE
W778-1 M12
SCALANCE W778-1 M12
SCALANCE
EEC
W778-1 M12 EEC
W778-1 M12
EEC EEC

2
2 SCALANCE
SCALANCE
W1788-2 M12
W1788-2 M12
EEC
SCALANCE EEC SCALANCE
SCALANCE
W1788-2 M12 SCALANCE
W1788-2 M12
W1788-2 M12
EEC W1788-2
EEC M12
EEC EEC

SCALANCE SCALANCE
SCALANCE SCALANCE
W778-1 M12 W778-1 M12
W778-1 M12 W778-1 M12
EEC EEC
EEC EEC

3 3 SCALANCE
SCALANCE
W1788-2
W1788-2M12
M12
SCALANCE EEC
EEC SCALANCE
SCALANCE SCALANCE
W1788-2 M12
W1788-2 M12 W1788-2M12
W1788-2 M12
EEC
EEC EEC
EEC

SCALANCE
SCALANCE SCALANCE
SCALANCE
W778-1
W778-1M12
M12 W778-1M12
W778-1 M12
G_IK10_XX_30191
G_IK10_XX_30191

EEC
EEC EEC
EEC
 © Siemens AG 2019

Secure communication

Inter AP-Blocking for secure IWLAN communication With the Inter AP-Blocking iFeature, the communication of
the Clients connected to the Access Point can be restricted.
Inter AP-Blocking prevents cross-communication between
This additional security function ensures that Clients within
WLAN Clients. By defining secure communication partners
the network infrastructure only connect with the pre-defined,
and gateways, the security risk in a network environment
secure Access Points. Only those devices whose IP addresses
with unknown participants is reduced.
have been configured on the Access Point as allowed ad-
Normally, the Clients connected to an Access Point can com- dresses can be reached by the Clients. Communication with
municate with all the participants of the layer 2 network. This other network participants is prohibited and is blocked.
constitutes a potential security risk, because unknown and
unsafe network participants can also access your devices.
Communication to others in the network is therefore prohi-
bited in security related applications in order to avoid data
manipulation and theft or other failures.

SCALANCE SCALANCE SCALANCE

W1788 W1788 W1788
G_IK10_XX_30377

Radio cell 1 Radio cell 2 Radio cell 3

Ethernet Communication possible

Communication not possible
 © Siemens AG 2019

Get more information Security information

Wireless approvals: Siemens provides products and solutions with industrial
www.siemens.com/wireless-approvals security functions that support the secure operation of
plants, systems, machines and networks.
PLUGs for network components:
www.siemens.com/plugs In order to protect plants, systems, machines and networks
against cyber threats, it is necessary to implement – and
Services:
continuously maintain – a holistic, state-of-the-art industrial
www.siemens.com/industrial-networks-services
security concept. Siemens’ products and solutions constitute
one element of such a concept.
Siemens AG Customers are responsible for preventing unauthorized
Digital Industries
access to their plants, systems, machines and networks. Such
Process Automation
Östliche Rheinbrückenstr. 50 systems, machines and components should only be
76187 Karlsruhe, Germany connected to an enterprise network or the internet if and to
the extent such a connection is necessary and only when
appropriate security measures (e.g. firewalls and/or network
© Siemens AG 2019
segmentation) are in place.
Subject to change without prior notice
PDF (6ZB5530-0CX02-0BA1) For additional information on industrial security measures
BR 0319 6 En
that may be implemented, please visit
Produced in Germany
https://www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity.
Siemens’ products and solutions undergo continuous deve-
The information provided in this catalog contains merely general
descriptions or characteristics of performance which in case of actual
lopment to make them more secure. Siemens strongly
use do not always apply as described or which may change as a result recommends that product updates are applied as soon as
of further development of the products. An obligation to provide the they are available and that the latest product versions are
respective characteristics shall only exist if expressly agreed in the used. Use of product versions that are no longer supported,
terms of contract. Availability and technical specifications are subject to
and failure to apply the latest updates may increase
change without notice.
customer’s exposure to cyber threats.
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