The E1 and E2 brain boards are designed to be drop-in replacements for existing B1 and B2 installations. E1s and E2s provide all the functionality of the serial-based B1s and B2s but add Ethernet networking and additional protocol support. Installing E1/E2 brain boards requires no other changes to software, racks, power supplies, input and output modules, or field wiring.

Why upgrade, then?

While the new Ethernet Optomux brain boards preserve all of your existing system components, the real story is how they provide new options for expanding the functionality and extending the life of your Optomux I/O system.

These new options include: Ethernet Networking - Ethernet networks are widely available and extremely versatile.

For example, if you need to extend your I/O system across large geographical areas--in another building or across the country--Ethernet works well.

Multiple Protocols - The E1 and E2 brain boards offer additional communication protocols that you can use simultaneously with Optomux.

If you need to access I/O data from a Modbus/TCP host, for example, you can do so at the same time your legacy Optomux application is controlling the I/O system.

Software Variety - Because the E1 and E2 brain boards offer the OptoMMP (memory-mapped protocol) used by our industrial automation software suite ioProject and SNAP Ethernet systems, you can now develop your control and HMI applications more quickly, easily, and cost-effectively than ever before.

Expanded I/O Hardware - The E-series brain boards communicate in the same manner as our SNAP Ultimate, SNAP Ethernet, and SNAP Simple I/O, so extending your system to include the latest SNAP I/O is easy to do.