Check out our White Paper Series!
A complete library of helpful advice and survival guides for every aspect of system monitoring and control.
1-800-693-0351
Have a specific question? Ask our team of expert engineers and get a specific answer!
Sign up for the next DPS Factory Training!
Whether you're new to our equipment or you've used it for years, DPS factory training is the best way to get more from your monitoring.
Reserve Your Seat TodayIf you're in contact with the telecom and IT worlds, you must have heard of the acronym "RTU." In this article, we'll try to answer: what is a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) exactly?
Let's walk through the basics of this important remote monitoring technology.
First, let's start with why you'd need a remote monitoring device like an RTU at all.
If you're reading this, chances are that you probably have one, a few, or maybe even a hundred sites that you need to keep track of. They might be wireless phone towers or power substations, server rooms, or just about anything else really.
But what exactly are the specific places where Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) shine? Let's dive into some of the areas where these robust devices are most useful:
Petrochemical Refineries: RTUs are crucial in monitoring and controlling processes in oil refineries, ensuring safety and efficiency.
Nuclear Power Plants: They play a vital role in managing complex systems where precision and reliability are paramount.
Agriculture: From irrigation systems to crop monitoring, RTUs help optimize farming operations.
Telecom: In Telecommunications, RTUs assist in monitoring equipment at remote sites by providing real-time data.
Chemical Plants: These units withstand harsh conditions, making them ideal for chemical processing facilities.
Sewage and Water Treatment Plants: RTUs are used to monitor and control water quality and treatment processes.
Food Processing: Ensuring food safety and quality, RTUs manage various stages of production.
Automobile and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: They help streamline operations and ensure compliance with industry standards.
RTUs are particularly valuable in environments characterized by challenging conditions like high temperatures, chemical exposure, and strong vibrations. Their resilience makes them the go-to choice over other controllers, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which might degrade quickly in such demanding settings. This is particularly true of remote sites.
Remote sites are unmanned locations; so there's no one there most of the time. You could have an equipment failure, runaway temperatures, or a break-in - but you'll only know what happened after something affects your actual service delivery, something goes offline completely, or your customers call and complain.
This can get expensive very quickly.
You have to respond in a panic, you can lose customers, and you might even face government fines and penalties (depending on your industry). Also, even under normal circumstances, you can waste drive time traveling to and from sites when you really didn't need to.
So, what's the solution?
You need some kind of rugged electronic device with attached sensors that will reliably sit out at your remote site and monitor what's going on. It will then be able to tell you when something wrong is happening - so you can understand and fix the problem while it's still small.
That's what an RTU is. The RTU abbreviation should lead you to ask what RTU stands for. RTU stands for Remote Telemetry Unit or Remote Terminal Unit. It's a unit that you install at a remote site to inform you about alarm conditions.
RTU means Remote Terminal Unit, but it can also be called Remote Telemetry Unit or Remote Telecontrol Unit.
To better understand the definition of an RTU in terms of remote monitoring, let's break down the acronym.
An RTU is a device that you install at a remote location to monitor the other equipment you have there - plus relevant environmental values, such as temperature, humidity, and water leakage that have a direct effect on electronic equipment. There's not much reason to have an RTU where you have full-time staffing, because those areas are already covered by attentive personnel at all times.
This device is going to act as a terminal for telemetry information. The alarm data that's sent to you is known as "telemetry." It's a terminal device in the sense that data is collected from individual pieces of equipment, aggregated at the RTU, and then sent to you using your chosen communications method.
Unit simply means that an RTU is a single device that performs the functions described above.
Learn the differences between remote telemetry units and programmable logic controllers.
The inputs on your RTU is what allows it to be your eyes and ears in a remote location. Through its inputs, it can get information from remote equipment and the remote environment in order to trigger an alarm.
When you get an alarm notification, control relays on your RTU allow you to take action and send commands to your remote equipment in order to fix the situation in a timely manner.
Most RTUs have the following three basic input and outputs types:
You will end up wasting money if you don't choose and deploy the right unit to fit your site. You need to choose a model that has the right balance of inputs and outputs for you.
RTUs collect information from their local environments in several ways.
First, the gear that forms the backbone of your network will generally report problems as they occur. These reports take the form of discrete contact closure alarms on more-detailed protocol messages.
Second, your RTU may have onboard and external sensors that measure level like temperature and humidity. Also, important technical values like battery and tank levels and power voltages may be monitored.
Once your RTU has collected important information, it needs a way to tell you about it.
First, you have to choose one or more communication channels. In many cases, you'll simply use LAN/Ethernet. For more remote sites (or those with legacy tech), you might use another method, such as a dial-up modem, wireless GSM/CDMA, or dedicated RS232/RS485 serial.
Once the channel is set, your RTU will use a protocol to send status information. One of the most common is SNMP - short for Simple Network Management Protocol. This is common on RTUs designed for either Telecom or IT environments. Directly-monitored RTUs can use HTTP/HTTPS to provide an on-board web interface that you can access from any web browser on the network.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system RTUs will tend to use DNP3 or Modbus to talk. Many older RTUs use a vendor-specific proprietary protocol that is compatible only with other monitoring equipment from that same vendor, or with multi-protocol devices.
Learn the differences and similiraties between SCADA and Distributed Control Systems (DCS).
With telemetry data logged from your RTU and sent as I described above, how will you receive information so you can take action?
After collecting alarm data and sensor measurements, your RTU will communicate with you (or present data on request) in a variety of ways.
If you have just a few RTUs, you can monitor each unit using increasingly common web interfaces that describe events collected by just one RTU at a time.
The best RTU units out there will give you other options to monitor your network. You'd be able to not only access a web communication interface via PC but also via smartphone. You can even get automatic phone calls, text messages, or emails that describe the problem in detail. Also, alerts can be limited to the most important problems, this way you won't constantly be woken in the middle of the night by a smartphone screen filled with too many alarms to interpret.
As stated above, if you have just a few RTUs, you can choose a model that will directly email or send you a text message.
However, in the real world, most companies have numerous RTUs. If that's also your case, then it's better to have a central master server that collects data from all of your units and displays it on one screen for you and the rest of your team. In other words, the central master station will collect alarms from all your RTUs, then it'll summarize all detected problems in a single, convenient interface.
Virtually all RTUs will have some method of sending data to a central master console. This can take the form of many different protocols and communications channels (and protocols can be either polled or asynchronous), but they all accomplish the same function: you can view data collected from your entire fleet of RTUs in one central office.
This way, you can have your master station send you a text message, email, or even recorded-voice phone calls to alert you to serious problems.
If you've decided to invest in an RTU to solve your visibility issues, there are some things you need to consider in order to get the right balance of capacity, interface, and features - and to ultimately know what you really need.
It's important to select an RTU that not only meets your current requirements but is also compatible with your existing network transport.
Take a look at some questions that will help you start your network monitoring inventory:
Also, before you select an RTU, think about what your ultimate goals are for your network monitoring.
The following is a list of questions that will help you form your future network monitoring plans:
Now that you have taken a look at some of the most important factors involved in deciding which RTU to choose, let's take into consideration some essential features that any high-quality unit must offer.
Here's a list of must-have capabilities you should look for. If a device can't meet these basic requirements, cross it off your list.
Another very important aspect to take into consideration when deciding upon an RTU is looking at how alarms will be transported back to your control office.
Once alarm data has been collected at your remote sites, it needs to be transmitted over a data network to your alarm presentation master. There are two things you should keep in mind about RTU alarm data transport:
It's also essential to note that the size of your network will determine the needs and requirements of your RTUs.
While modern Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) have advanced significantly, they cannot fully replicate the unique advantages of Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) in certain industrial environments. Here's why:
PLCs: Primarily designed for local control, PLCs rely heavily on high-speed, wired connections due to their focus on proximity operations. They are seldom used for wireless data transfer, making them ideal for environments where stability is necessary and wide area communicaiton is not.
RTUs: Built for remote monitoring over larger areas, RTUs utilize wireless connections to communicate and operate. Their design allows them to efficiently manage devices even in geographically dispersed and harsh locations.
PLCs: Often found in automated manufacturing, PLCs control devices like pumps, motors, and valves. These controllers require explicit programming in languages such as Ladder Logic or Structured Text. This reqiures expert knowledge. Their logic determines the execution of automated processes through digital or analog signals.
RTUs: Designed to monitor remote sites and equipment, RTUs detect and prevent issues related to maintenance and security. Programming often occurs via straightforward web interfaces, reducing the need for specialized software or extensive technical expertise.
PLCs: Generally suitable for milder environments, PLCs are cost-effective for local automation tasks. They often feature built-in displays for human interaction, showcasing equipment status and facilitating manual overrides.
RTUs: Constructed to withstand harsh conditions, RTUs are rugged and can operate in extreme temperatures. They often include backup power sources, such as batteries or solar panels, ensuring reliability even during power outages.
PLCs: Simpler in design compared to RTUs, they often pair with SCADA systems and may feature displays to assist human operators in controlling processes manually. Their protocl pool is typically smaller which could lead to integration issues.
RTUs: Considered self-contained computers, RTUs possess components like processors, memory, and storage. They can connect with DCS, SCADA, and other advanced systems, providing intelligent control across multiple processes without frequent human intervention. All DPS equipment works on over 70 different protocols including legacy ones.
PLCs: Due to their simplicity and focus on local applications, PLCs are generally more affordable and suited for less complex, localized tasks.
RTUs: Their robust design and ability to cover wide geographic areas make RTUs more expensive. However, this investment is justified by their capability to perform reliably in demanding conditions and prevent major incidents/downtime.
In summary, while modern PLCs have grown more capable, RTUs remain indispensable for mission-critical, remote site management due to their reliability, comprehensive protocol support, and integrated autonomous features. For organizations focused on maximum uptime and minimal manual intervention, RTUs like those from DPS Telecom are still the gold standard.
With the information collected by your RTUs, you can maintain excellent situational awareness and react perfectly to remote threats.
However, no RTU is quite like another. Many different models exist to give you flexibility as you plan your monitoring system. You shouldn't buy less alarm capacity and sensor inputs than you need, or you won't get a complete picture of your network status after you deploy your brand new system.
You also shouldn't buy tremendously more capacity than you'll ever be able to use, or you'd be wasting your budget without the hope of a return. You need to find an RTU that has a bit more capacity than you need right now, so you have room to grow.
This all falls not only on the RTUs you've decided to roll out at your sites but also on which vendor you've chosen to purchase from. In order to make a good decision, you must always choose to buy from remote monitoring experts - as quality can vary widely between manufacturers.
DPS is a trusted provider of monitoring and control solutions for over 30 years, so we are experts on designing a reliable system for collecting and managing your alarm and control information. Our engineers have the design experience required to make sure your RTUs are a perfect fit for you.
If you want to know more about how you can monitor your remote sites, download our SCADA Tutorial White Paper.
Morgana Siggins
Morgana Siggins is a marketing writer, content creator, and documentation specialist at DPS Telecom. She has created over 200 blog articles and videos sharing her years of experience in the remote monitoring industry.
