Operation of the WiFi-equipped JACE allows it to be accessed via a wireless 802.11 connection, for example. a station (fox) connection from Workbench, or a station-to-station fox connection, or a Workbench platform connection, or a browser connection, all from a host on that same network. You specify that network in the TCP/IP platform configuration of the JACE, under the “Interface 3” section of the platform TCP/IP Configuration view, or in the station’s equivalent TcpIpPlatformService view.
By default, the Interface 3 (bc0) adapter is not enabled—you need to enable it and then specify the appropriate network serviced by the target WiFi router/access point. Just as when enabling both Ethernet LAN ports on the JACE, the Interface 3 bc0 wireless adapter must specify a different network (subnet) than either LAN1 or (if enabled) LAN2.
A JACE does not provide IP routing or bridging operation between different Interfaces (LAN ports, WiFi, GPRS, dialup).
Even if no permanent LAN1 connection is made to the WiFi-equipped JACE, it may be typical to leave it (Interface 1) enabled and configured to a known static IP address. This could help facilitate on-site NiagaraAX maintenance, for example, by connecting an Ethernet cable directly between its LAN1 port and an engineering workstation laptop, and then accessing it using this separate network.
Be aware that any QNX-based JACE has only a single IPv4 TCP/IP gateway and (potential) set of IPv4 DNS servers, which apply to all Eth/IP interfaces (en0, en1, bc0). If the WiFi network (Interface 3, bc0) is the primary operating network for the JACE, you should specify IP address values for the JACE’s IPv4 gateway and DNS servers accordingly. Often the IP address of the target Wifi router/access point is used as the “IPv4 Gateway”, and its DNS server addresses are reused in the JACE’s TCP/IP setup. Otherwise, outbound operations from the JACE’s station, e.g. IP-based discover operations, or WeatherService or other customized applications, may fail because a route or host was not found.
Finally, note these two differences between Interface 3 (bc0) and the two onboard LAN ports (en0, en1):
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System shell access (serial shell or Telnet JACE) to the JACE does not provide TCP/IP configuration of the WiFi adapter, via its “Update Network Settings” menu selection. This is for the JACE onboard LAN ports only. However, you do see some configured values for the “bc0” adapter atop the menu.
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When performing a discover operation in the Niagara Station Manager view from another remote NiagaraAX host like a Supervisor or other JACE, the JACE’s reported IP address can be wrong. In this case, the Supervisor is on the same network served by the WiFi router/access point connected to the JACE. The NiagaraStation for the WiFi JACE will appear discovered showing its LAN1 (en0) IP address—and not the IP address for Interface 3 (bc0) that was actually used.
In this case, to successfully add the discovered station to the Supervisor station’s NiagaraNetwork, you need to know what its Interface 3 IP address is, and replace the incorrect reported address.
Note a similar issue occurs when your Workbench host is connected on the WiFi-equipped network, and you issue the “Find Station” command (from File menu: ->->). Again, the discovered entry for the WiFi JACE is likely to show its LAN 1 IP address, and will be unreachable if selected for station connection in that dialog.