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Point-to-Point Links. Sometimes referred to as a wireless bridge, a point-to-point link replaces a single communications cable. A point-to-point link might be used to connect a PLC to a remote monitoring station.

Point-to-point links can communicate reliably as long as the two end points are close enough to one another to escape the effects of RF interference and path loss. If you can't achieve a reliable connection initially, sometimes you can relocate the radios or boost the transmit power to achieve the desired reliability.

Point-to-Multipoint Links. These wireless systems (e.g., IEEE 802.11 or Bluetooth) have one base station, or access point, that controls communications with all of the other wireless nodes in the network. Also referred to as a hub-and-spoke or star topology, this architecture is similar to wired "home-run" systems, in which all of the signals converge on one terminal block.

Signals in point-to-multipoint networks converge at a single access point. The reliability of these networks is set by the quality of the RF link between the central access point and the end points.

In industrial settings, it can be hard to find a location for an access point that provides dependable communications with each end point. Moving an access point to improve communications with one end point will often degrade communications with other end points.

Although you can wire together multiple access points to improve reliability, the cost of additional wiring can defeat the original reasons for choosing a wireless solution.

Tags:  point access communications points wireless links reliability these achieve multipoint