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Abstract: The PLM-1 technology offers multiple protocols usage on the same power line network at a lower cost than any others technologies.
Most PLC technologies support a single protocol that is, in general, tightly coupled to a silicon transceiver. Designers of such PLC technologies assume that the protocol they propose will be appropriate for all anticipated applications. However, is it at all possible for a single protocol to fulfill the needs of each and every application? Simple devices such as light dimmers meet simple applications and thus only require a simple protocol, using little space and keeping costs low. On the other hand, sophisticated applications require elaborate protocols implementing packet segmentation, duplicate rejection, routing, and other complex functions. Both simple (e.g., light dimmers) and sophisticated types of devices must be able to share a given power line and co-operate within a single, given application.
Networks may include simple nodes that implement a low cost protocol and complex nodes that require sophisticated protocols. The PLM-1 technology, a general-data transportation mean, is protocol-neutral, i.e., it transports for given applications any current or future protocol, alone or concurrently, and carries, on the same network, simple protocols for simple applications and complex protocols for sophisticated applications. After transmitting packet type and priority, the PLM-1 chip transmits protocol identification information. Any node that does not implement a given protocol simply discards the related packets; thus a given light dimmer, for example, is not required to parse complex packets and only implements those functions pertinent to its application.
(See: Power Line: A Public Resource.)
The PLC-1 technology can transport multiple protocols concurrently on a given PL network: up to 43 standard protocols and 768 user-defined protocols. It is easy to tailor a dedicated protocol for a given application. If you choose, nonetheless, to define your own protocol, be sure to reserve a protocol identification number (PID) to ensure that your application will not impede on other applications and protocols sharing the same PL network, nor be impeded upon.
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