This page is designed to give Engineering Consultants a tailored view of the MultiTrode product range.
Why Work with MultiTrode?
MultiTrode is a specialist in Pump Station and Lift Station Control and Monitoring - the only company with this focus. Since 1986, we have developed high quality innovative products enabling our customers to become better managers of their water and wastewater assets.
Our customers choose our products and software because they are reliable, well supported and - most of all - they reduce operations costs associated with running wastewater collection and water supply systems
Product Specifications
Specification documents in MS Word and PDF of our products are located under Products & Software. Some popular ones include:
MultiSmart Pump Station Manager Specification
Probe Specification
PumpView Specification
You can locate the spec for any product. Just click Products & Software, select the product you are looking for and find the link in the menu.
Communications Protocols
The MultiSmart Pump Station Manager includes an advanced RTU (Remote Telemetry Unit). The current protocols supported are:
- DNP3 Level 2 - Master and Slave
- MODBUS (TCP, RTU, ASCII) - Master and Slave
In general, we recommend DNP3 for telemetry, and Modbus for local communications. However, the majority of wastewater collection systems in the US use MODBUS for the telemetry protocol. The easiest way to integrate MultiSmart into an existing MODBUS system is to use MODBUS.
Two of our White Papers cover the advantages of DNP3 over Modbus and the new Security implementation in DNP3.
The MultiSmart RTU communications page gives more background.
We also have frequent blog posts on SCADA and telemetry. Recent posts include some basics: Why use DNP3? Part One and Why use DNP3? Part Two.
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SCADA for MultiSmart
What SCADA Systems Does MultiSmart Integrate Into?
MultiSmart integrates into all modern SCADA systems including:
- Wonderware
- RSView
- Intellution
- Cimplicity
- Citect
- ClearSCADA
- National Instruments
- Trihedral
- Iconics Genesis32
How Does MultiSmart Integrate?
All modern SCADA systems include drivers for Modbus and usually for DNP3 as well. It's the benefit of open protocols - any modern SCADA can work with any modern RTU. More about an RTU.
Integration is a complex subject, so this isn't an attempt to be comprehensive. In brief, a typical SCADA or telemetry system usually communicates through a polling engine, like a Master RTU or Master PLC. This unit collects data from the field, then communicates with the SCADA front end - often known as the HMI (Human Machine Interface).
The important element is what protocol is used for communicating between the Master Station and the RTUs. If the existing protocol is MODBUS or DNP3, then MultiSmart fits right in. If the current protocol is something else, like Allen Bradley DF1, then some investment in infrastructure is needed.
Typically, with a radio network, a new frequency is added, and the first MultiSmart is connected on the new frequency with DNP3 or MODBUS. Assuming that the existing Master Station supports these protocols, the new site is brought in on a new channel to the existing Master Station.
If the existing Master doesn't support modern protocols, then a new Master Station is configured to handle the new MultiSmart sites that are being brought on. This new Master Station communicates to the SCADA system in parallel with the existing Master Station.
What is Outpost2?
Outpost2 is a SCADA system for MultiSmart. It's not limited to MultiSmart, but the main benefit of Outpost2 is the integration with MultiSmart.
Outpost2 is essentially an open SCADA platform (Genesis32 from Iconics) with a predefined project for MultiSmart. It integrates most of the MultiSmart functionality as standard. This means that around 400-500 tags are included for each site, providing advanced asset management, predictive maintenance and major operational benefits.
Outpost2 provides two major benefits over a generic platform - 1) a wealth of asset data and 2) reduced cost because it includes an "add MultiSmart site" feature. More about Outpost2 SCADA.
Does this mean that Outpost2 is better than other SCADA platforms? No. In fact, we welcome other SCADA vendors and SI's providing new and better functionality. A great example is Trihedral - see our News Detail announcement and our blog on Trihedral's 'add MultiSmart site'.
Subjects to be Covered
This page is a work in progress. Please bookmark it and visit again soon. If you have any topic recommendations, please email Darcy Sullivan, Marketing Manager, darcys@multitrode.com.
Subjects we will cover in the future include:
- Why specify the MultiSmart Pump Station Manager for Control and Monitoring of Lift Stations/Pump Stations
- Applications with the best fit to MultiSmart
- The Advantages and Disadvantages of PumpView compared with traditional SCADA
- How the Probe works
If you have specific questions, feel free to contact us at USsales@multitrode.com.
