RIPlink use cases

RIPlink allows for choosing the right topology for deploying IP applications, taking into account key criteria such as scalability, performance and device capabilities constraints. As with regular IP deployments, when the solution evolves and expands, applications can be added or moved to new devices.

 

RIPlink suits to a variety of use cases. Actual deployment can be a combination of the main use cases explained below.

 

 

In some deployment scenarios, RIPlink Gateway is transparent to the application.
The IP application running on RIPlink Devices connects directly to an IP application hosted in the back end – or another device – in the IP network. In such use case, the RIPlink Gateway is generic and does not require knowledge about the application.
As pictured above, the ZigBee “smart fridge” application is connected directly to the back-end IP application, transported transparently by the RIPlink Gateway.
A typical application is device administration: a light server application runs on the RIPlink Device, to which the back-end system can connect, thus controlling or configuring device settings. 

In other deployment scenarios, some IP applications can be hosted in the RIPlink Gateway itself.
The RIPlink Gateway application connects on one side to IP applications running on the RIPlink devices, and on the other side, over the IP network, to a back-end server. RIPlink Gateway applications typically perform data collection, filtering, compression, but also any other feature.
In the Figure above, the electricity and gas meters are connected respectively over PLC and Low Power RF networks to the RIPlink Gateway, which acts as a concentrator by reporting energy consumption to the back end server.
 

RIPlink can also be used simply in a local environment, without external IP connectivity, taking the benefits of the simple IP style application development. In the Figure above, this is the case of the in-home display connected to the RIPlink Gateway to display of energy consumption.
 

The above use-cases can be simply extended to the case of several non-IP networks. An RIPlink Gateway can support simultaneously several non-IP networks. Applications running on the RIPlink Devices from the different non-IP networks communicate with each other, to the RIPlink Gateway IP application and to any back-end or remote IP application over the IP network.
In addition, the RIPlink Gateway can of course be designed also to manage devices not supporting RIPlink as represented in the Figure for the ZigBee switch. Such devices will not be addressable directly from IP network.