| Newly open protocol facilitates low-end device networking |
Oct. 04, 2000
Salt Lake City, UT -- (press release excerpt) -- emWare Inc. announced today that it is releasing the technical specifications for its emNet networking protocol through its Open Program Access License (OPAL) initiative, making emNet open and royalty free. emNet is a simple, lightweight, device networking protocol that enables users to control, manage and report the state of everyday devices. The opening of emNet will enable the marketplace to develop a unified standard for networking everyday devices and ensure interoperability between new and existing products from leading device manufacturers. emWare is also releasing its emMicro source code for non-commercial deployment. emNet and emMicro are primary components of emWare’s fourth-generation EMIT device networking software infrastructure.
"As an emerging company in the device networking space, emWare’s OPAL initiative is significant," said Ethan Cohen, senior analyst for Aberdeen Group. "emWare’s decision to release the technical specifications for emNet and the source code for emMicro, when other device networking companies are keeping their protocols and source code proprietary, shows thought and market leadership."
"The multiplicity of proprietary networking protocols in the device networking market has resulted in its slow development," stated Michael D. Nelson, CEO and co-founder of emWare. "Our strategy is a bold move: releasing elements of our intellectual property is a means for emWare to ignite the device networking market. By embracing an open strategy, emWare and other companies will collaborate to engineer more efficient, interoperable device networking solutions that no company could produce single-handedly."
emNet Open Protocol
The emNet open protocol is a robust device networking protocol that is complementary to the EMIT device networking software and emGateway. emNet is optimized for networking devices using small microcontrollers that are not capable of supporting TCP/IP, and have limited memory and processing power. emNet provides reliable communications over common transports such as RS232, RS485, modem, RF, IR, powerline, Ethernet, and others. emNet is just one of many protocols supported by the EMIT infrastructure. New and legacy devices using proprietary or other open protocols can seamlessly be networked through emWare's emGateway software ensuring interoperability of all the devices on the network.
emGateway is an interoperable gateway, not just a protocol converter, that allows developers to use any interface and any protocol to manage devices and device networks. It is protocol agnostic. emGateway not only works with emMicro and emNet, it also connects legacy devices using other protocols. emGateway also manages the entire process of device networking, from devices to subnet controllers, all the way to the wide-area network.
"We expect the contrasting needs of different devices to continue to drive multiple networking standards," says Glen Allmendinger, President of Harbor Research. "Thus, emNet will have to coexist with standards designed for multi-media and high-complexity devices. emGateway’s flexibility allows these standards to interwork and to evolve in parallel, without sub-optimizing each other. OEMs can therefore deploy products with confidence of forward compatibility and interoperability."
Open Program Access License (OPAL)
Anyone may license the emNet open protocol through the OPAL initiative. By accepting the OPAL emNet license agreement, developers receive the emNet Protocol Specification document. This document describes emNet's rules for governing the transmission and reception of data between networked embedded device applications.
In addition, the OPAL initiative offers developers a limited license to examine emMicro device object server software. OPAL licensees may use emMicro source code, but only for non-commercial purposes. Developers who wish to create products that use emMicro for any commercial purposes may contact emWare to obtain a commercial license.
The emNet open protocol and emMicro source code are available today directly from emWare on CD-ROM, and the emNet protocol may also be downloaded from emWare's web site, at www.emware.com/opal. The cost per CD is $10.
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