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AMS-Net Alarm Networking

Connect AMS-Net is an industrial-strength networking backbone developed by Drax Technology for the express purposes of the collection and distribution of alarm and event data in medium to large buildings and on sites with multiple buildings.

One of the issues a planner must face when considering dealing with the alarms and fault notifications in a building is that the alarm indications will not all be in one place. Some may be in the roof area, some in switchrooms, and some in basements. And quite often none of them are where they are really needed - in front of the people who really matter.

AMS-net provides fast, reliable communications between different alarms systems and display devices. Based around proven industrial networking techniques and building upon Drax's experience in the networking and alarm management business, AMS-Net has been developed to provide a high integrity cost-effective solution to the problems of alarm monitoring, management and distribution.

See an example of AMS-Net used with AMX1.

AMS-Net Applications

• AMS-Net has many networking applications, including:
• Monitoring and reporting alarms,: fire, security, technical
• Controlling alarm equipment
• Monitoring faults
• Integrating alarms from different manufactures
• Integrating alarms from different disciplines
• Providing interaction between different manufacturers and different disciplines

AMS-Net Components
AMS-Net consists of a range of modules which are used as building blocks to create a system tailored to each application. These modules include:

• AMS-Net Gateways - these collect information from alarm control panels via a single serial link. They also distribute controls to those panels. Drax have developed a range of interface protocols. Should the protocol you need not be available in our range, then our software development team can easily create a new interface (subject to the protocol being made available to us).
• AMS Net Input/Output units - A wide variety of input/output configurations can be provided using AMS-Net nodes and plug-in modules. These can pick up input signals - i.e. alarms, events, faults - from equipment which does not have a serial connection, or for which the protocol is not available. These can also provide outputs, to control alarm panels, lights, or any other equipment. The plug in modules include digital inputs, relay outputs, isolated inputs and supervised inputs.
• Repeaters - these extend the maximum length of the network data cable and make distances of many kilometres possible.
• Modems - see below for a full description
• A variety of housings - we can supply 'bare' AMS-Net nodes for fitting inside existing cabinets, or fully housed items in industrial quality steel enclosures. The 'bare' nodes work on 10 to 30 volts with low power consumption, so it is frequently possible to 'steal' a little power form the equipment being monitored and controlled. The housed units can be supplies with or without a 230v mains supply, with battery backup as an option.

AMS-Net nodes can be used to collect make repeater panels using LEDs or, as is much more common, they are used to collect alarms which are displayed on one or more AMX1 alarm management workstations.

Modems
Wouldn't life be simple if all sites consisted of a single building with all technical, plant and alarm systems neatly within reach? Of course, that is not the case in the real world. Many sites consist of several buildings. If these are all on the same site, then AMS-Net is an ideal solution, but sometimes part of the site is further afield. However, AMS-Net can still solve this problem - using modems.

A remote site could be across a busy truck road, with no possibility of running a data cable to it, or it may be in another county. By using telephone lines, modems, and AMS-Net modem interfaces the remote site can be brought into the main AMS-Net network and the remote systems appear just as part of the one big system

You don't want to use telephone lines? Maybe you have a TCP/IP Ethernet connection to your remote site(s)? See TCP/IP networking.

AMS-Net Advantages

• Low-cost high-integrity alarm networking
• Equipment from different manufacturers can be mixed
• Different disciplines can be mixed in one system
• Low-cost two-core data cable
• It's easy to extend or modify the system by extending the data cable to new locations
• AMX1 alarm management displays can be installed anywhere on site
• Interaction between different manufacturers and different disciplines
• Standard I/O modules connect to any equipment
• Low-cost serial connection using Gateways for full alarm information

Datasheets for some of the AMS-Net Range are available in thedownload area.