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The LonWorks® Control Networking Platform
The LonWorks series of networking protocols were developed by Echelon® Corporation for the needs of control and automation applications and are now managed by the LonMark® International trade group. The LonWorks platform was initially developed in an effort to move away from the proprietary centralized control model, where a central controller receives all measurements from remote sensors and sends all commands to remote actuators. In an effort to eliminate the controller as a single failure point and increase the efficiency and power of control systems, the LonWorks platform introduced a concept of “connection” enabling devices to exchange data directly, using a subscribe/notify model.
At the physical layer, the LonWorks platform is media independent; including media types for copper pairs (wires) and power lines, radio, infrared light, and optical fiber.
The LonWorks platform is one of the most popular protocols for building and industrial automation, claiming over 90 million installed devices.
4.1 Standardization
In 2008, LonWorks also was approved as ISO standards: ISO/IEC 14 908-1, -2, -3, and -4 for the protocol, twisted-pair channel, power-line channel, and IP-tunneled channel, respectively.
4.1.1 United States of America
The communication protocol (a.k.a., the LonTalk® protocol; Echelon's trade name) was submitted to ANSI in 1999 and accepted as a standard for control networking (ANSI/CEA-709.1; originally EIA-709.1). Shortly ...
