Echelon FTXL - Manual (Page 15)

FTXL User’s Guide 3
the ANSI/CEA-709.1 (EN14908-1) Control Network Protocol as the “LonTalk
protocol”, although other interoperable implementations exist.
A L
ON
W
ORKS
Device with a Single Processor Chip
A basic L ON W ORKS device consists of four primary components:
1. An application processor that implements the application layer, or both
the application and presentation layers, of the LonTalk protocol
2. A protocol engine that implements layers 2 through 5 (or 2 through 7) of
the LonTalk protocol
3. A network transceiver that provides the physical interface for the
L ON W ORKS network communications media, and implements the physical
layer of the LonTalk protocol
4. Circuitry to implement the device I/O
These components can be combined in a physical device. For example, Echelon’s
Smart Transceiver product can be used as a single-chip solution that combines all
four components in a single chip. When used in this way, the Smart Transceiver
runs the device’s application, implements the LonTalk protocol, and interfaces
with the physical communications media through a transformer. Figure 1 on
page 4 shows the seven-layer LonTalk protocol on a single Neuron Chip or Smart
Transceiver.
A L
ON W ORKS device that uses a single processor chip is called a Neuron-hosted
device, which means that the Neuron-based processor (the Smart Transceiver)
runs both the application and the LonTalk protocol.