Product overview and engineering role
The SimtoLink Wi-SUN FAN border router sits between the field area network and the IP backbone. It carries route advertisements, PAN management, and the uplink backhaul. Streetlight networks, meter-side AMI, and distribution automation use it where the field needs a self-organizing, multi-hop mesh and a carrier-style operations model.
Multi-path routing, parent-and-child diagnosis, and staged OTA are supported. The router can meet an NS or EMS over MQTT or a leased line. SimtoLink supplies a FAN topology sheet and an RF parameter template, so a municipal or utility integrator can finish network-entry tests and keep a KPI report running.
Reliability and site fit
Salt-spray and vibration type tests are covered. Ports include surge and reverse-polarity protection. A stronger ground and a partitioned layout cut ground-loop and common-mode risk. Outdoor and coastal orders can move to a higher ingress rating and an anti-corrosion coating.
Parameters can be imported in a batch, thresholds can be set as policy, and models that include it can record events or waveforms. Configuration and firmware update over OTA. On site, SimtoLink suggests a power-on self-test, a communications time sync, and a sample check. Metering or safety-related jobs can add help with a third-party metrology submission and type-test papers.
Key hardware parameters
The table is this router’s typical hardware, for selection and for tender clauses. A wider range, redundant power, or an intrinsically safe explosion-proof build is quoted apart. Ask SimtoLink for the Hardware Specification and the Installation and Commissioning Guide. Sister order codes can differ. The nameplate and the documents shipped with the router govern.
| Parameter | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | ARM Cortex-A55 quad-core | Fanless |
| Memory/Storage | 4G/32G eMMC | Industrial grade |
| Ethernet | Single GbE | Redundant RSTP |
| Serial Port | 8×RS485 | Isolation 2.5kV |
| Wireless | LTE Cat.4 | External antenna |
| Protocol Stack | BACnet/IP | Extendable |
| Operating temperature | -40～75 ℃ | Wide temperature |
| Power supply | PoE+ | Redundant terminals |
| Installation | DIN rail | Grounding required |
| Security | TLS1.2 | Signed firmware |
Typical applications
Three field patterns for this router, when you are laying out the network and judging what the backhaul actually saves:
Streetlights and municipal pole stations
Single-lamp controllers hop across the FAN to the border router, which returns lighting schedules, energy use, and fault codes, so fiber does not have to land on every pole.
Distribution automation and ring-main units
Pole-top switches and FTUs on suburban feeders reach the master station over a Wi-SUN mesh. The border router handles secure access and clock sync.
Meter-side AMI and energy metering
A large meter population needs routing that can grow, and an authenticated join. The FAN border router is the trusted exit toward the billing or dispatch master station.
Installation, grounding, and maintenance
- Check the supply range and polarity before you apply power. If the feed is uncertain, measure bus voltage and breaker rating.
- Use shielded twisted pair, with the shield grounded at one end, and do not lash it to high-power cable over a long parallel run.
- Prove bidirectional read and write, and the threshold trigger, against the platform in the lab before the site cutover.
- Outdoors, sort drainage and ventilation first, walk the seal faces on a schedule, and keep lightning-protection earth resistance inside the local rule.
- Plan a sample inspection and a log archive every 6 months.
Ordering, documents, and support
The hardware specification, outline drawings, a wiring table, and an example project are available from SimtoLink. Volume orders can add a sample review and a resident factory inspection. Warranty and calibration are set by the contract and the documents that ship with the router.