What Router?
Hi, I have a Micrologix 1400 based system. If I wanted to set up a local connection to monitor my system from my iPhone, can you confirm that the following steps are correct?
1. Connect my Micrologix PLC using a physical connection to a wireless-capable router
2. Set the router's address to the same subnet as the PLC
3. Connect my iPhone to the wireless network created by my new router
Also, could you recommend a wireless router for this application? If not some specs to look for would be helpful.
Many options
Your setup is right for local connections. You can use any wireless router, many users chose one in the Linksys range though.
For remote connections you also have to tell the MicroLogix the gateway address, (the local address where the Internet router is). Again any DSL or Cable router will do it. For simple connections you will just have to specify NAT settings in it, that is pretty straightforward. If you do not have a wired connection where the PLC is you can chose instead a 3G router. Some users are using Digi or NetComm routers.
If you need VPN security then the options narrow a bit. I got positive feedback from the Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT installed and configured as a VPN/PPTP server, but I don't know about newest models. PPTP is one of the VPN protocols supported by the iPhone. Please note that iPhone supported VPNs will not work with the standard Linksys firmware. It looks to me that Linksys has recently dropped the option to have DD-WRT already installed on new routers, but you can find here a list of DD-WRT supported routers from many manufacturers: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices.
Joan