You can install multiple IzoT Routers in a LonTalk/IP network. This is useful for creating large networks. You can install up to 300 devices in an ISI network, and up to 32,385 devices in a network managed with an IzoT Net Server, OpenLNS Server, or LNS Server. The three network management servers are referred to collectively as the IzoT Net Server in this documentation—except where limitations are described for the LNS Server. An Ethernet IP-70 channel is typically used as the backbone channel that is attached to the LAN ports of all the IzoT Routers in the network. The LON ports of each of the IzoT Routers and any attached U60 DIN network interfaces may be attached to a multidrop FT or RS-485 channel.

You can connect multiple IzoT Routers to the same FT channel to create a redundant router configuration. The LAN ports of any IzoT Routers in a redundant configuration cannot be connected to the same Ethernet hub. They must be connected either to an Ethernet switch, or into separate hubs. If you connect two redundant IzoT Routers to the same hub, IP packet looping can occur that degrades network performance.

Example 1

The following example illustrates an IzoT Commissioning (CT) Tool network with two IzoT Routers supporting connections between devices on different LON channels. The network interface for the IzoT CT computer is on the IP-70 LAN channel and communicates with the LON devices through the IzoT Router.

Host IP and LonTalk/IP Addresses

The following table summarizes the host IP and LonTalk/IP addresses for the two IzoT Routers in the example network:

IP Routes

The following table summarizes the required IP routes:

The first route for each IzoT Router specifies the route for messages addressed to the LonTalk/IP address of the LAN side of the router. The second route for each IzoT Router specifies the route for messages address to the LonTalk/IP subnet on the LON side of the router.

The steps to define the required routes depend on the type of IP network gateway that you are using. Following is an example configuration for the gateway in an Asus Wireless Router for the example network.

Example 2

The next example illustrates a more complex network with two IzoT Routers and LonTalk/IP devices on both the LAN and LON channels, with connections between the devices. The devices on the LON channels are based on the FT 6050 Smart Transceiver, as in the previous example. One of the devices on the LAN channel is based on the CPM 4200 Wi-Fi Module, the other is based on a Raspberry Pi running the IzoT Device Stack EX. All of these devices communicate as peer-to-peer devices.