An inter-operable remote terminal unit

5) A remote terminal unit 30 configured for communicating with one or more servers (10, 15) of a distributed control system 100 over a plant automation network 20, and a plurality of field devices (40, 50, 53, 56) including a first set of field devices (40) capable of communicating using a first wireless communication protocol and a second set of field devices (50, 53, 56) capable of communicating using a second wireless communication protocol, the remote terminal unit 30 comprising:

• a. one or more radio front ends 320 for transmitting and receiving signals from the plurality of field devices (40, 50, 53, 56);
• b. a plurality of configuration blocks;
• and
• c. a controller 330 configured to
• i. scan for a beacon message from a first field device from the plurality of field devices (40, 50, 53, 56);
• ii. determine a corresponding wireless communication protocol associated from the first field device, based on a header of the beacon message;
• iii. identify a first set of configuration blocks for communicating with the first field device based on a configuration schema file, wherein the first set of configuration blocks are associated the corresponding wireless communication protocol of the first field device;
• iv. build a protocol stack for use with a radio front end from the one or more radio front ends using the first set of configuration blocks, for communicating with the first field device from the plurality of field devices (40, 50, 53, 56).