Data Communication

¶ … Communication -- transmission through wireless and SLIP forms I've got no strings to hold me down." The Disney version of Pinocchio's enthusiasm for his own wireless status as a 'real boy' is paralleled in the recent enthusiasm of many individual users of the Internet's enthusiasm for 'going wireless.' The delight of personal cable modem and broadband devotee's own 'got no strings' status at their home office spaces has encouraged many corporations to also eschew SLIP modem technology in exchange for the use of wireless technology on a wider scale.

Still, fully implementing wireless instrumentation on network scale, no pun intended, has been "an elusive goal for some time," for many industries because of cost and logistical problems. (Drake, 2003) Also, as electronics and data processing technology using SLIP ring data transmissions systems move forward, and industrial instrumentation developers build finer tuned processes, better management information, and greater productivity and performance, many industry analysts think wireless may not be the 'way to go' for many industries.

SLIP ring data transmissions are short for Serial Line Internet Protocols, according to Webopedia, the Internet dictionary of computer and engineering terminology. This means that SLIP ring data transmissions, in short, are the standard protocol connections to the Internet, usually through a dial-up modem connections or cables. (Webopedia, 2004) SLIP ring data transmissions are also frequently used in amusement rides, medical CT scanners, and other heavy-duty communication lines today.

(PolySci, 2004) Large slip rings allow for the capability to transfer multiple signals through fiber optic cables and span in diameter from 50 centimeters and a length up to 18 degrees in circumference. (2004) The data transmissions are usually, especially with such heavy fiberoptic cables, sturdy, clean and accurate -- critical for the medical and amusement capabilities of the technology -- but also quite slow in comparision to wireless technology.

The SLIP technology can become more easily impacted by weather conditions than can wireless technology, and although the rings still allows for connections over a larger range of areas, it also ties the users down to a specific geographic location in terms of the physical limitations of the network's outlay of lines and cables, as opposed to the more fragile and less reliable, but potentially more portable form of wireless connections. SLIP was developed in the 1980.

Then, modem communications typically were limited to 2400 bps, and the use of the modem was the only or preferred method of connection to the World Wide Web. Thus, SLIP was initially designed for simple communication over serial lines. SLIP can be used on serial ports and supports "asynchronous" links. (Webopedia, 2004) But one of the weaknesses of SLIP for data communication is that it can only transport TCP/IP traffic in singular form in contrast to wireless sources of pluralistic data communication.

(CCSI, 2004) Today, many dream of replacing all forms of SLIP cables with wireless technology.

In the case of one company's deployment of an underground wireless installation, despite the fact that "the temperatures ranged from 120°F to 150°F with 100% humidity" and "water and mud spray were everywhere "and the receiver was on a platform across an access road and on the other side of the steel oil derrick," the "product worked as designed," and no "condensation of buildup appeared inside the box," and communication continued as per usual with SLIP data rings.

(Drake, 2003) Even the use of the largest and sturdiest slip ring type could not have withstood such an onslaught. However, according to Rockwell Automation, one of the most common myths surrounding wireless networks is that they will eventually replace all wired connections. Rockwell Automation's spokesperson believes that the main reason that wireless will not replace wired is the cost difference that still exists between the two forms. "Wired is still cheaper than wireless, especially because wireless users have to purchase additional modems and interface equipment.

Also, chips for wireless protocols cost about seven times more than chips included in hardwired products," such as SLIP. And while the prices of wireless chips continue to fall, "the wireless vs. wired gap will remain significant -- depending on market demand and the related volume," particularly for large industries, in the foreseeable future. (2003) Because of these cost differences, wireless will be reserved mainly for personal use, Rockwell Automation's spokesperson believes.

Also, "if there are too many wireless networks and devices in the same area, they will interfere with each other," and lastly, wireless technology in contrast to SLIP, is "lacking one key ingredient for the plant floor -- power. No matter what type of equipment is on the plant floor, it still has to be supplied with power. Simply put, completely eliminating wires is not an option. (2003) However, industry analyst Rebecca Taylor says, "let's stop the debilitating debate." Everyone must recognize that the "two technologies are aimed at different situations.

Without both technologies, the mobile device market will take far longer to develop while we wait for one of the standards to replicate.