p15 pick your network topology carefully p20 things

Transcription

Q1 • 2014
VITAL
SIGNS
Network Wellness Depends on How You Respond to
Many Issues. Luckily, the Tools and Methods to Deal
with Them Are Diverse and Growing in Number
P15 PICK YOUR NETWORK TOPOLOGY CAREFULLY
P20 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GOING MOBILE
P26 THE BEAUTY OF SINGLE-POINT CONTROL
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CONTENTS
Volume XII, No. 1
FEATURES
COVER STORY
E VA L U AT E 1 0
DESIGN
15
Internet
Internet Firewall
!
Business Network
DMZ
Business/Control
System Firewall
15
PLCs
Wireless Topology
Design Choices
!
DCS
Controllers
SCADA RTU
It’s Not Complicated, but Make Your
Choices Carefully
BY IAN VERHAPPEN
Host Co
Remote I/O
Wired
Analog
RESEARCH 22
Vital Signs
Network Wellness Depends on How You Respond to Many Issues. Luckily, the
Tools and Methods to Deal with Them Are Diverse and Growing in Number
BY JIM MONTAGUE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Fieldbus
Network
Management:
It’s a Must
Uncomplicated Network
Management Software Is Essential
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
5 FIRST BIT
Less Clunky
7 PACKETS
Release of Final Spec for ISA100.11a
Device Integration
9 BUS STOP
Self-Help for Cable Procurement
19 PARITY CHECK
Ethernet: Choose Wisely
20 BANDWIDTH
Going Mobile?
24 PRODUCTS
26 TERMINATOR
The Beauty of Single-Point Control
INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING is published four times annually to select subscribers of CONTROL and CONTROL DESIGN magazines by PUTMAN MEDIA INC. (also publishers of CHEMICAL
PROCESSING, FOOD PROCESSING, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING and PLANT SERVICES), 1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 400N, Schaumburg, IL. (Phone: 630/467-1300; Fax: 630/4671124.) Address all correspondence to Editorial and Executive Offices, same address. ©Putman Media 2014. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or part
without consent of the copyright owner. INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Single copies $15.
2014 • Q1 • INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING
3
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©2012 Hilscher North America, Inc. All trademarks are the properties of their respective companies.
Supported Real-Time
Ethernet Systems
• EtherCAT
• EtherNet/IP
• POWERLINK
• PROFINET
• SERCOS III
• Modbus TCP
Supported
Fieldbus Systems
• CANopen
• CC-Link (Slave)
• DeviceNet
• PROFIBUS
• Serial
PROFINET
to I/O Link
S7 MPI
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Converter
t eFri rmsi tn abti to r
Less Clunky
When automobiles first were introduced
at the beginning of the last century, they
gave unprecedented freedom to regular folks,
multiplied exponentially, and pretty soon it
seemed like everyone had one. Sound familiar?
However, they also got stuck in the mud all
the time because most U.S. roads were pretty
much dirt, and it took decades for the nation’s
street-building and paving capacity to even begin
to catch up. So what started as breathtaking
technical innovation and momentary freedom
was punctuated by a persistently clunky
infrastructure. There’s that echo again.
Early efforts to extract car travel from those
mud ruts included local sponsorships of “seed
miles” along roads such as the Lincoln Highway,
which local developers, car dealers and other
boosters would pay for, so drivers could get a
taste of some smooth driving. Very seductive.
The tide really only began to turn in the
1950s with the gradual construction of the U.S.
Interstate highway system, but even then, many
major and arterial roads only got evened out in
more recent decades. Of course, the legacy of
paving everything is endless maintenance, forever
sitting in traffic and wasting fuel, and the old joke
in most temperate zone states that there are only
two seasons—winter and road construction.
Nevertheless, as any teenager waiting for his
or her 16th birthday and driver’s license will tell
you, driving is vastly faster, better and more hip
than walking, biking or mass transit. Again, this is
just like the Internet and all the smartphones and
tablet PCs we use to reach it. I mean, no one would
prefer to go to a brick-and-mortar library and go
back to doing painstaking research in books, right?
However, despite all the streamlined wonderfulness of the Internet and our sleek interfaces, I still
get the feeling that there’s a chronic clunkiness to it.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s excellent to FaceTime and
see my daughter’s face when she’s half a world away
in India or Turkey, and I’m extremely grateful for it.
However, at the same time, the frequent seize-ups
and snags in audio and video transmissions can be
pretty frustrating. I’m sorry for seeming ungrateful
and, no, I wouldn’t rather go back to putting dimes
in a payphone or walking. Over time, all these
network hiccups become so common that they’re
almost invisible, but it’s easy to understand why
engineers are reluctant to trust critical operations to
such a communications infrastructure.
The good news is that many industrial networking
tools, much like the nation’s roads, continually are
being straightened, graded and smoothed. While
reporting this issue’s “Vital Signs” cover article and
researching several others, I’ve once again been
reminded of how many industrial-networking
components have point-and-click configuration, or
that many different kinds of network management
software show all of an application’s participating
devices, whether they’re experiencing any problems,
and precisely where they’re located and what to
do if they drop out. Likewise, when they need to be
replaced, some basic transmitters and other process
control instruments can be switched out manually,
but then they’ll alert the network and automatically
configure themselves. This definitely can smooth
out some bumps in anyone’s network, but only if
users are aware of the capabilities and ease of use
available to them.
For instance, the Czech Republic’s largest
producer of brown coal, Severočeské doly a.s.
(www.sdas.cz), reports its open-pit Bílina mine
removes 53 million square meters of topsoil
to extract 10 million tons of coal per year, but
it recently needed to upgrade the old, bulky,
increasingly unsupported, SHDSL modem-based
network that monitored its production processes.
As a result, Bílina worked with FCC PS (www.fccps.
cz), a system integrator in Praha, Czech Republic,
to replace the mine’s old networking components
with Westermo’s (www.westermo.com) Wolverine
Manager Ethernet Extender modules and its WeOS
operating system, but still retain the mine’s existing
communication cabling.
FCC PS reports that Bílina’s network is mainly
used to provide communication between its central
office and substation PLCs throughout the mine.
However, because the Wolverine devices run at
data rates up to 15.3 Mbps, the integrator says that
the mine also was able to install a stable, reliable,
surprisingly high-resolution video surveillance
system on its existing network infrastructure.
Ah, yes! After endless miles of teeth-rattling
bumps and mud-holes on roads or hang-ups and
outages on industrial networks, a little smooth
driving or flawness network performance can be
very refreshing.
After endless
miles of teethrattling bumps
and mud-holes on
roads or hang-ups
and outages on
industrial networks,
a little smooth
driving or network
performance can be
very refreshing.
JIM mONTAGUe
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
[email protected]
2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking
5
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t e PA
r mCi KnET
a tSo r
Spec for ISA100.11a Device Integration Released
The Fieldbus Foundation (www.fieldbus.
org) released the final specification for
integration of ISA100.11a wireless field devices
into its Foundation for Remote Operations
Management (ROM) technology. This
development allows automation end users to
employ multiple wired and wireless protocols
for greater flexibility and expandability.
Foundation for ROM will extend the capabilities of
Foundation fieldbus to enable the implementation
of a predictive and proactive maintenance strategy
for remote assets that previously could not support
one. It provides a unified digital infrastructure for
asset management in applications ranging from tank
farms and terminals to pipelines, offshore platforms
and OEM skids.
With this release, the Fieldbus Foundation
finalized the remote I/O, wired HART,
WirelessHART and ISA100.11a portions of
the Foundation for ROM specification. The
technology integrates these protocols, along
with H1 fieldbus, into the Foundation fieldbus
managed infrastructure. The new Foundation
specification means that end users will be able
to manage their ISA100.11a wireless devices
just like Foundation fieldbus devices within
the Foundation fieldbus infrastructure. The
new specification includes parameters for
ISA100.11a transducer blocks, providing the
block application objects into which ISA100.11a
variables may be mapped for access by other
fieldbus devices. The transducer blocks also
provide a mechanism to pass data to and from
ISA100.11a devices directly from configuration
or asset management hosts.
The foundation’s ROM infrastructure provides
a single source for data management, diagnostics,
alarms and alerts, data quality control, controlin-the-field capability and object-oriented block
structure. Its high-speed Ethernet (HSE) TCP/IP
protocol enables remote operations information
to be communicated to the control system over
any wired or wireless backhaul network using
the architecture model developed in a joint
collaboration between the Fieldbus Foundation
and the International Society for Automation
(ISA) within the ISA100.15 Wireless Backhaul
Networks Working Group.
CIP Safety Expanded to Include Safe Motion
The next edition of The CIP Safety
specification will include services for safe motion
applications, reports ODVA (www.odva.org). With
the addition of these services, users will be able to
deploy networked motion control systems using
EtherNet/IP and Sercos III in applications requiring
safe-motion functions such as safe torque off and
safety-limited positions.
As it relates to safe motion, these recent
enhancements relied on IEC 61800-5-2
(Adjustable-Speed Electrical Power Drive System–
Part 5-2: Safety Requirements—Functional)
as a framework. Initiated by ODVA and Sercos
International (www.sercos.de) as part of the
machinery initiative, the enhancements were
developed further by ODVA’s technical working
group for functional safety, the Special Interest
Group (SIG) for CIP Safety. The interest group is a
collaboration of multiple vendors with expertise in
functional safety and safe motion, including Bosch
Rexroth, Rockwell Automation and Schneider
Electric, among others, and involves technical
expertise from Sercos International.
The resulting CIP Safety services for safe motion
include support for drives on EtherNet/IP and
Sercos III. The safe motion enhancements to CIP
Safety are part of ODVA’s semi-annual update of
its family of specifications, which, for the second
publication cycle of 2013, include more than 20
different enhancements.
In 2006, Sercos International announced
that it would adopt CIP Safety as its safety
protocol for Sercos. Since that time, ODVA and
Sercos International have worked together on
enhancements to the CIP Safety specification and its
associated conformance tests, as well as on broader
industry topics such as machine integration.
ODVA’s offer of conformance tests for CIP
Safety now extends to devices for Sercos III,
EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet. Devices that
meet the requirements for ODVA’s CIP Safety
conformance test and are certified by an
authorized competent body for full compliance
with IEC 61508 will receive a Declaration of
Conformity from ODVA indicating compliance
with the CIP Safety specification.
Bits & Bytes
The International Society of
Automation (ISA, www.isa.
org) announced that the FDT
Group (www.fdtgroup.org) has
become an ISA Promotional
Partner. FDT Group is an
independent, not-for-profit
association of international
companies active in process
and factory automation. As
an ISA Promotional Partner,
FDT Group will provide the
ISA community with access
to device maintenance and
management strategies through
a range of ISA media and other
direct-marketing opportunities.
The Fieldbus Foundation 2014
General Assembly meeting in
Rotterdam, the Netherlands,
originally scheduled for March
25-28, has been postponed
until the fall because of security
protocols surrounding a nuclear
summit to be held nearby the
same week. The new dates and
location will be announced later.
Wireless solutions provider
connectBlue, (www.
connectblue.com) signed
an agreement with Sigma
Connectivity (www.
sigmaconnectivity.se), a
consultancy specializing in
solutions for the Internet of
Things. Sigma Connectivity will
develop automated test fixtures
to be used as test tools in the
facilities where connectBlue’s
latest Multiradio module is
produced. The automated test
fixtures are designed for highvolume production, and will
add flexibility through modular
design and increase the current
capacity at the facilities.
7
How Our Readers Value the
Functions of Industrial Ethernet
t e PA
r mCi KnET
a tSo r
100
Vendors seeking to prepare for the CIP Safety
conformance test will also be able to purchase the
ODVA Conformance Test Software for CIP Safety. This
software is the same used by ODVA’s TSPs to determine
compliance with the CIP Safety specification.
71%
64%
55%
50
42%
38%
26%
0
Interoperability
datio
o
d
a
t
stit
ct
o
MTConnect/OPC UA Spec
Candidate Available
Leverages
corporate IP
infrastructure
Low cost
Open standards
Uniformity
Web-enabled
data access
U
U
U
U
U
U
The MTC nne In
u e n OPC F un
n
have made available the MTConnect-OPC A Companion We surveyed our readers and found that open standards was the most valued
specification release candidate (RC). The companion
industrial Ethernet function. Leveraging corporate IT was the least valued.
standard will allow the existing information model
MTConnect is an open, royalty-free communication standard
provided by MTConnect to be leveraged by existing OPC A systems
intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing
at the enterprise level, according to Tom Burke, president and executive
equipment, devices and software applications, harnessing a
director of the OPC Foundation (www.opcfoundation.org).
wealth of information and data available from the shop floor.
“The MTConnect-OPC A companion specification has been
The OPC Foundation says the A standard provides secure,
developed to ensure a uniform information model that can be used via
the MTConnect standard and the OPC A standard,” says Paul Warndorf, reliable, high-speed communications, and is the result of the
collaboration of the leading worldwide automation suppliers.
secretary of the MTConnect Institute (www.mtconnect.org) and vice
The OPC A specification defines a standard set of interfaces,
president of manufacturing technology at AMT–The Association For
methods and an extensible set of objects for use in process
Manufacturing Technology (www.amtonline.org/). “This information
control and manufacturing automation applications to facilitate
model can be used by manufacturing technology equipment, devices,
interoperability.
software or other products that implement our standards.”
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7/3/12 12:20 AM
t eBrUmS i n
S TO
at o
Pr
Self-Help for Cable Procurement
Our site electrical foreman has us pretty
spoiled. We’ve worked together long enough that
I explain many day-to-day jobs without a lot of
drafting—sometimes not even a sketch, let alone a
bill of materials.
His employer, who has a long-term maintenance
agreement with our site, does the procurement
for many of the “bulk commodity” items such as
conduit, supports, wire and cable. So when we
were adding a redundant power supply to a local
panel, I said, “Just use some twisted-pair cable for
hookup.” But when I inspected the completed job
later, I was a little troubled to find black and red
insulated conductors (not our normal black-andwhite standard), solid conductors versus stranded,
no shields and silver-gray jackets.
“The stuff we normally use was back-ordered
until Friday,” he told me. My nonchalance had some
relatively minor consequences—a few more details
to mark up on the as-built drawings—but it could
have been a bigger issue had this not been wiring
contained entirely within a primarily dc local panel.
Many applications subject signal and power
cables to weather extremes, moisture, oil and
chemicals, temperature extremes, dust, mud,
constant movement, vibration, excessive
electromagnetic interference (EMI) or “noise,”
and harmful radiation. An under-specified or
incorrectly specified cable might function for a
while, but could create issues when one of the
elements in our hostile environments takes its toll.
It’s our responsibility as engineers and designers
to ensure we have the correct material specified
to function for the life of the asset. Virtually every
engineer has experienced that sinking feeling of
“Shucks, that’s not what I wanted,” when their
specification becomes reality. Then he has been
compelled to sharpen his pencils for the next goaround. There are many forces at work that can
result in substitutions we didn’t anticipate.
If you’ve delegated the procurement of
commodities to a third party, one of these forces is
the good wire and cable salesperson. Selling a more
commoditized and more easily cloned product like
cable can be a tough business, and winning a job
hinges heavily on price and availability. We might
call out a very specific brand and model number
in our bill of materials, but such specs invariably
contain the infamous phrase “…or equal.”
You might as well say, “Just surprise me.”
The individual who represents the brand you
trust just might take your business for granted,
and the other guy, who brings baseball caps
and doughnuts, ends up getting the random
order. Some contractors even could be savvy (or
cynical) enough to gamble that you’ll live with
the “Brand X” substitution rather than make
them rip it out.
Another potential mutation of our
requirements can happen in our own trusty
procurement department. Its mission in the
enterprise is to drive down the cost of the wire,
cable and other commodities we’re trying to lock
down. The same eager army of competing sales
professionals calls on the the folks there, and
entertains them on the golf course.
While we may celebrate when our projects
unfold predictably and operate as intended, the
procurement folks are evaluated on how much
they reduce costs. When engineering wants to
say, “Just get me what I want,” procurement has
to protest, “Let us do our job.”
Our specifications for cable need to be
tight enough to allow procurement to enlist
a minimum number of potential bidders. It’s
helpful if engineering and procurement can
agree to limit the bidders to a known field of prequalified suppliers. With a good understanding of
procurement’s mission, objectives and priorities,
an engineering professional or project engineer
can avoid a lot of frustration and optimize his or
her effectiveness in delivering projects on time
and under budget.
If your job is large enough, you can ask
procurement to divide the scope of supply
between two or more suppliers. For example, the
“winner” gets 70% of the cable on the project,
and the next two competitors get 20% and 10%
respectively. Samples of each lot of cable can be
tested and compared as they are received, and
any discrepancies in quality or schedule can be
leveraged to scale back one supplier in favor of
the next bidder.
While it’s easy to take cable procurement
for granted, a little effort can help ensure your
projects are free of unforeseen surprises, some
of which can be nasty and lead to trouble down
the road.
Virtually every
engineer has
experienced that
sinking feeling of
“Shucks, that’s not
what I wanted.”
John Rezabek
[email protected]
9
VITAL
SIGNS
Network Wellness Depends on How You Respond to
Many Issues. Luckily, the Tools and Methods to Deal
with Them Are Diverse and Growing in Number
BY JIM MONTAGUE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
W
hatever the differences in their applications, situation or
locations, all industrial networks need a few common things
to survive and function. So just as people require air, water, food,
shelter, healthcare, education for the kids and the local equivalent of
Monday Night Football, all industrial networks need wire and cable,
connectors, switches, power, signal conditioning, communication
protocols, and support and monitoring software to make sure all their
elements are running properly.
None of these needs are very difficult to fulfill. All they
require is a little awareness and the initiative to go out and
get them. Unfortunately, despite their many common
needs, industrial networks have grown up quickly in
all kinds of different applications and industries, so
knowledge of their basic needs and providing for them
is often lacking. Thankfully, many new methods and tools,
usually from veteran, IT-based networks and their users, are
showing up to help their industrial counterparts.
CAN’T FIND THE PROBLEM
Israel-based N.R. Spuntech Industries (www.spuntech.com)
manufactures non-woven, hydro-entangled, Spunlace fabric used
in the medical, construction, agricultural and consumer products
industries. The production line at its new, 20,000-m2 plant in Roxboro,
N.C., runs seven PLCs and about 350 nodes on a Profibus network.
The line can turn any combination of raw cotton, cotton, viscose,
10
INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING • Q1 • 2014
polyester or polypropylene fibers into rolls of finished fabrics via a
complex and tightly monitored series of operations, including opening,
cording, drying and packaging.
Though the facility was new, the production line’s network began
experiencing random and sporadic instances of nodes dropping on and
off. “Each occurrence cut the lines of communication between the line’s
monitoring station and critical pieces of equipment, leaving us without
eyes or ears on the production floor,” says Paul Hall, process control and
IT manager at the Roxboro plant. “Because of these intermittent issues,
we were forced to stop the production line multiple times, sometimes
for hours. The resulting costs in lost revenue were substantial.”
Hall was further frustrated that these interruptions in the network’s
communications happened without warning, without any pattern and
often self-corrected without providing any clues as to what triggered
them. “We were unable to physically or programmatically determine
the root of the problem, and so we had to approach each new day
ready for anything,” Hall says. “This unresolved problem felt like a
ticking time bomb and caused us a lot of stress.”
GET INSIDE, LOOK AROUND
To cure his sick network, Hall researched various monitoring and
diagnostic solutions that could provide accessible and in-depth visibility
into its performance and eventually selected Th Link central network
access point components and Th Scope diagnostic software from
Trebing + Himstedt (www.t-h.us). Th Link provided immediate OPC
compatibility, which allowed Hall to tie the new access points directly
to his existing SCADA system and monitor the real-time health of his
network (Figure 1). It also enabled his operators and technicians to
centralize their activities on one system instead of jumping from PC to
PC to monitor and diagnose network issues.
Within the first week of adding Th Link and Th Scope to the Roxboro
plant’s network, Hall used it to monitor the next network interruption
when it occurred, and identified and isolated a particular unit on the
production line that caused the chronic node dropouts and downtime.
“When this problem occurred before, we could only guess at the cause,”
Hall explains. “It could have been anything from a faulty part to a
loose connection. Now, analysis from our access points and diagnostic
software was fast, accurate and detailed, and quickly pinpointed
the cause of the interruptions. They’re almost like having a Profibus
technician in a little gray box. They also paid for themselves in the first
week because they enabled us to make the necessary adjustments and
repairs, and we haven’t had any downtime related to this issue since
then, which saves a lot of revenue.” Hall adds that Spuntech also plans
to use Th Link and Th Scope to help identify predictive trends, which
will enable the Roxboro plant to be more proactive in managing its
network and related assets.
DEEP DIAGNOSTICSAUTOMATICALLY
Just as medicine advanced from simple X-rays to higher-resolution
CAT and PET scans, IT-based software and other tools for examining
industrial networks, operations data and the content they transmit
have grown more sophisticated and varied in recent years.
“The other change is that network health has gone from looking
for the causes of individual problems and solving them reactively to
11
Little Black Doctor Bag
Many older folks remember when doctors used to make house
calls and brought their little, oblong leather satchels with their
stethoscopes, tongue depressors, etc. Well, network health is aided
by an even bigger bag of tricks. Here are some of the most useful
cures from A to Z.
• The Dude network monitor is a new, free application by
MikroTik (www.mikrotik.com) that can improve network
management. It automatically scans all devices within
specified subnets, draws and lays out a map of networks,
monitors services of devices and alerts users in case of
service problems.
• Nessus from Tenable Network Security (www.tenable.
com) is a widely deployed network vulnerability and
configuration assessment software.
• Netbiter (www.netbiter.com) is an M2M remote
management solution from HMS Industrial Networks that
lets users monitor, control and supervise performance
and operation of remote equipment and installations via
Ethernet, GSM, GPRS or 3G networks.
• NetDecoder protocol analyzer from Frontline Test Equipment
(www.fte.com) can diagnose and troubleshoot communication
problems in industrial networks. NetDecoder can monitor and
provide detailed timing, data and messaging information for
serial, fieldbus and Ethernet networks.
• ProfiTrace from Procentec (www.procentec.com) is a mobile
analyzer for maintenance and troubleshooting of Profibus
networks, and it combines all required elements in one
device to detect most Profibus faults.
• Snort (www.snort.org) is a free, open-source network
intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS),
developed by Sourcefire.
• Solarwinds (www.solarwinds.com) offers network,
applications, virtualization and storage management
software to maintain, monitor and troubleshoot IT networks.
• Tcpdump (www.tcpdump.org) is free software and a
common packet analyzer that runs under the command line
and enables users to intercept and display TCP/IP and other
packets being transmitted or received over a network to
which the computer is attached.
• WhatsUp Gold (WUG, www.whatsupgold.com) network
monitoring and management software was developed by
Ipswitch, and it offers network, system, application and
log monitoring and management in physical and virtual
infrastructures.
• Wireshark (www.wireshark.org) is a free, downloadable
protocol analyzer that lets users capture and interactively
browse traffic running on a computer network.
[For a look at more network monitoring and management tools,
check our Research section, pp 22-23.]
continuously monitoring networks and solving them proactively,” says
Carl Henning, deputy director of Profibus Int’l (PI) North America
(www.us.profinet.com). “We’re also reducing those 3 a.m. calls by
making it easier for less-skilled technicians to change out failed devices
without having to call in other engineers as often, or break out PCs
and do a lot of configuration. In fact, Profinet has a simple devicereplacement feature that allows a new device to be put in and be
automatically recognized and configured by its network.”
Dan Schaffer, business development manager for networking
and security at Phoenix Contact (www.phoenixcontact.com), adds,
“People monitor their physical health by weighing themselves and
getting periodic cholesterol checks, etc. Monitoring a network
isn’t much different, except you use tools like simple network
management protocol (SNMP) for particular ‘push’ events on the
network, free Wireshark software for monitoring and baselining
traffic, and our FL View software to help visualize your network and
quickly pinpoint bandwidth or link problems.
“From the highest level to the most detailed, SNMP and Syslog
can push information to the operator or to a security incident and
event monitor (SIEM), while tools such as FL View can show which
devices are connected to which switch ports, which connections are
experiencing heavy traffic or errors, and so on. Wireshark and similar
packet-capturing tools can give you a deep dive into your network
traffic and show what’s going on on a packet-by-packet basis.” On the
hardware side, Schaffer says preventive measures such as network
segmentation and using managed switches to act as firewalls can help
keep the network free from unwanted or unauthorized traffic.
Jim Toepper, product marketing manager for Moxa’s (www.
moxa.com) Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure division, explains that
monitoring network health in today’s applications must be automated.
“There are so many industrial Ethernet nodes going live all the time that
there’s simply not enough manpower to check them individually, so
we’ve got to have software that monitors and manages them,” Toepper
says. “Luckily, we’ve gained the ability to integrate network monitoring
into existing SCADA systems via OPC-UA communications that provide
a bridge to many network components.”
Pulse of
Primary Arteries
Figure 1: Spuntech
Industries uses Th Link
central network access
points to secure OPC
compatibility, monitor
traffic in real time
and troubleshoot the
network that manages
the non-woven textile
production line at
its new facility in
Roxboro, N.C.
Trebing + Himstedt
12
Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014
suffered from obsolete equipment, scarce
spare parts, limited interface support and
incompatible hardware. It was also difficult to
maintain 27 separate control programs, and
their ladder logic format made it difficult to
program communications or other functions.
All of these issues made it impossible to
required temperature levels.
However, control for the plant and its
26 cold-storage units was based on almost
15-year-old, stand-alone PLCs that exchanged
data and populated a SCADA system via an
outdated Modbus Plus network with a low
2 Mbps throughput. This whole network
scaLabLE
mOdbus soLuTIons
FOR
cOmpactlOgix
CompactLogix
RUN
NS
L24ER
QBFC1B
FORCE
LINK 1
I/O
LINK 2
OK
SD
ETH
P1
CFG
BP
OK
ETH
CompactLogix
L36ERM
RUN
NS
FORCE
LINK 1
I/O
LINK 2
OK
SD
COMM ADAPTER
a p p l i c at i o n s
COMM ADAPTER
To help its network devices report on
their status and any issues, Toepper says that
Moxa’s managed Ethernet switches come
with its MX View monitoring software,
which is based on SNMP, has Internet Group
Management Protocol (ICMP) pings and
is offered free for up to 20 nodes. MX View
also can recognize devices from Rockwell
Automation and Siemens Industry. Some
new MX View 2.3 features added at the end
of 2013 include the ability to show Power
over Ethernet (PoE) links, display power levels
on the line, monitor up to 2,000 nodes from
one PC server and deliver more detailed
reports. Toepper says that Moxa is adding
several features to its MX Studio software
this year, including network installation
functions that scale to thousands of
units, more monitoring capabilities, and
troubleshooting software that gathers
configuration files from switches, checks if
there are any conflicts or corrupt data in
their configuration files, and then sends a
Zip file to alert Moxa and the user.
ETH
P1
P2
CFG
BP
OK
ETH
P1
App
P2
App
STRENGTH IN SIMPLICITY
While network health can be evaluated
anytime during normal operations, it’s
especially important to examine a network
when it’s first installed or upgraded to new
equipment and communications capabilities. If
the revamp reduces the network’s complexity,
then it’s more likely to be more healthy too.
For example, the Mercamadrid wholesale
market covers 547 acres, and includes separate
facilities for meat, fish, fruit and vegetables,
that feed more than 12 million people in
and around Madrid, Spain. The huge facility’s
Mercado Central de Carnes processes,
packages and distributes close to 137,000
tons of beef, pork, lamb and other products
per year, and its top 25 distributors share 10+
acres of cold-storage and handling space in
a three-story building. The meat market’s
natural gas-powered cold production plant
provides ethylene glycol and liquid ammonia
as heat transfer media for each distributor’s
refrigerators via 43 miles of pipeline manifold,
plus other fluids for cleaning and maintenance.
The plant’s 23 compressors consume almost
23,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour and
generate 5,590 kW per hour to maintain
CompactLogix™ L2x
LITE
Modbus TCP/IP
• 240 I/O words
• 160 commands
• 10 clients
• 2 servers
CompactLogix™ L3x
enhanced
Modbus TCP/IP
• Up to 10,000 words of data
for large applications
• 320 commands
• 20 clients
• 20 servers
+1- 661-716 - 5100
www.psft.com
A S I A PA C I F I C | A F R I C A | E U R O P E | M I D D L E E A S T | L AT I N A M E R I C A | N O R T H A M E R I C A
“When this network problem occurred
before, we could only guess at the cause. It
could have been anything from a faulty part
to a loose connection. Now analysis from
our access points and diagnostic software
is fast, accurate, and detailed, and quickly
pinpoints the cause of the interruptions.”
pages and report on the activities of the cold plant and client units
to any authorized user with an Internet browser. Conversely, users
can monitor their units and download new module configurations,
while Optomation can check in and remotely troubleshoot new
instrumentation tasks or issues without being onsite.
“The dam broke on Ethernet years ago, and everyone’s been
embracing it since then,” says Ben Orchard, Opto 22’s application gineer.
14
Opto 22
upgrade the cold plant or implement new control programs to improve
chiller performance.
As a result, Mercamadrid sought help from Madrid-based system
integrator Optomation Systems (www.optomation.es), which
recommended replacing the old controls network with new operator
interfaces and an Ethernet TCP/IP network using dedicated Ethernet
switches in a less-costly ring topology with a supporting power ring,
and linking the cold plant, maintenance areas and all 26 client, coldstorage units (Figure 2).
New controls at the cold plant include a programmable automation
controller (PAC) from Opto 22 (www.opto22.com), which connects to
an existing PLC at each of the 23 plant compressors. Optomation adds
that the PAC uses Modbus RTU to enable start/stop commands and
setting of operational values according to an algorithm that constantly
checks the refrigerant requirements of all client units.
The integrator says its controllers, network and users also benefit
because it created one common software program for its controllers
and HMIs on the 26 client units, which can be downloaded to each one
and greatly simplifies refrigeration operations and network performance.
It built the network’s unified software program by using the PAC’s
dynamic subroutines, object pointers, file manipulation, XML parsing
and other features. As a result, specific parameters for each client unit
are defined by simple text files uploaded over the network by FTP
into its PAC, including its I/O definition and configuration, number,
type and name of chambers, number of chillers by chamber and so
on. The common control program uses this information to adapt itself
accordingly, similar to a batch production control program.
Finally, Optomation added its Web Portal software to the meat
market’s refrigeration network, which allows it to collect data from
all the controllers, fill an SQL database, generate dynamic Web
Simpler Nervous System
Figure 2: The cold production plant at Mercamadrid’s Mercado
Central de Carnes in Madrid, Spain, revamped and simplified its
network with Ethernet switches that find the best path between
points and are arranged in a ring topology to manage and
distribute refrigerant fluids to 26 cold-storage units.
“Now everyone is pushing IT-based data-to-cloud services, so they can
have even more big data available everywhere, all the time. Of course,
manufacturers want in on this too. Gone are the days when plants and
applications could be down for an hour or even half an hour.”
Inoculated by Ethernet
Not surprisingly, one of the best ways to improve network health is
to make the transition to Ethernet because it’s so pervasive and has
so many IT-based diagnostics tools. For instance, Sandia National
Laboratories (SNL, www.sandia.gov) in Albuquerque, N.M., recently
worked with system integrator VI Control Systems (www.vicontrols.
com) to replace the obsolete 386-based computers, controls and aging
point-to-point networking on SNL’s annular core research reactor
(ACRR), and they opted for nine PCs running Windows and LabView
software, I/O modules and timing hardware from National Instruments
(www.ni.com), and motion components from Delta Tau Data Systems
(www.deltatau.com).
“We chose Ethernet for communications because of its durability
and prevalence in industrial and business networks,” says Neal Pederson,
VI’s president. “A switching hub connects of the control system’s nine
PCs and six FieldPoint network modules. The network is isolated for
improved system stability and security. Also, a DataSocket server runs
on one PC to provide communications between the nine PCs. Each PC
has write privileges to one DataSocket dataset, but all nine PCs can read
from any of the data sets.
“The system handles time-critical operations by using discrete logic
hardware or by using the NI timing boards. A program scan-time
update and associated rotating graphics are displayed on every screen,
which indicates proper operation of the LabView code. The primary
ACRR computer control system works with a 50-msec loop cycle time.
Three of the nine computers continuously monitor each other and
use a watchdog shutdown function. As a result, if any one of the three
computers doesn’t update its watchdog through DataSocket every
second, then the two other computers initiate a watchdog shutdown
and terminate reactor operations. This protects against any computer
crashes and network problems.”
DESIGN
Wireless Topology: You’ve Got Choices
It’s Not Complicated, but Make Your Choices Carefully to Get the
Network Best-Suited to Your Needs
by Ian Verhappen
It should come as no surprise that many of the basic
rules for selecting wireless networks are similar to those for wired or
any other network. Just like our corporate networks are a combination
of different wired and wireless installations with routers, domains and
subnets, “the ideal wireless network should have a blend of mesh I/O
nodes and some star-configured nodes when necessary,” Dick Caro,
CMC Associates (www.cmc.us/index.html) reminds us.
Because wireless networks do follow the basic rules of network
design, the contributors to this article all agreed that the following
five steps suggested by Prabhu Soundarrajan, global director, RAE
Systems (www.raesystems.com), are similar to the ones they use,
though, as we will see, there is much discussion on the degree of
detail required for the various steps.
1. Understand the application;
2. Do a thorough site survey assisted by mathematical modelling to
understand the radio, frequency (RF) environment and topology;
3. Select the right instrument protocol and standard for installation;
4. Engineer the network with redundancy to install a robust, reliable
wireless network and system; and
5. Monitor the network topology post-installation using remotemonitoring techniques.
Though the last step is not actually part of the design stage, the
information gathered ensures long-term network health and, of course,
provides additional data points in the event of expansion. It’s almost a
sure thing that once a wireless system is in place, additional uses will be
found for it. Now let’s look at each of the above in a bit more depth.
Application
Understanding the application is the necessary first step, since it’s
the basis or reason for installing or expanding the network. There are
very different requirements for a field sensor network in a facility than
for a pipeline/SCADA system, especially with regards to bandwidth
requirements and, most importantly, distances. We will focus on facility
or plant networks, meaning those using IEEE 802 standards-based radios.
The most common application for wireless is to capture some
signal, previously uneconomical for a wired connection, which Jonas
Berge, director, Applied Technology, Emerson Process Management
(www2.emersonprocess.com), Singapore, has experienced. “Most
wireless transmitters are used to measure points that were previously
checked manually once per shift, once per day, week, month, year,
turnaround or perhaps not at all,” Berge says. “These applications
don’t need fast update periods. If, on the other hand, you plan to
use wireless for closed-loop control, then the update rate will be
determined by the process response time, which might require
update rates of less than one second, and will require a reliable power
supply other than, or in addition to, the battery to ensure long life.
Understanding what you’re trying to do leads to the next item:
determining where you will install the system, which requires that you
have an understanding of the site conditions.
“RF background noise can come from
sources like solar activity, high-frequency
digital products or competing forms of
radio communications. The background
noise sets a noise floor that is a function
of the frequency at which the desired
signals are lost in the background ruckus.”
Site Conditions
Though not everyone agrees that a site survey is required. Mike Fahrion
director of product management, B&B Electronics (www.bb-elec.
com) says, “RF background noise can come from sources such as solar
activity, high-frequency digital products or competing forms of radio
communications. The background noise establishes a noise floor that
is a function of frequency at which the desired signals are lost in the
background ruckus.” So a site survey is the best method to determine
your base level of background noise and for that reason is worth doing.
“Improve your receive sensitivity and, therefore, your range by
reducing data rates over the air,” Fahrion continues. “As baud rate
goes down, the receive sensitivity goes up. However, the noise floor
often will be lower than the radio-receive sensitivity of your radio,
in which case, it wouldn’t be a factor in your system design. But if
15
DESIGN
you’re in an environment where high degrees of RF noise exist in your
frequency band, use the noise floor figures rather than the radioreceive sensitivity to make your calculations.”
To aid an initial wireless network layout in cases where you
have only very preliminary information, such as during a front-end
engineering design or feasibility study, or when you might not have
a site survey, or in the case of a greenfield facility, Fahrion has a pathloss rule of thumb. “Never exceed 50% of the manufacturer’s rated
line-of-sight distance,” he says. “This alone yields a theoretical 6dB
fade margin—a big step on the way to the required 10dB. De-rate
more aggressively if you have obstacles between the two antennas,
but not near the antennas, and de-rate to 10% of the manufacture’s
line-of-site ratings if you have multiple obstacles, obstacles located near
the antennas, or if the antennas are located indoors.”
The counter argument to the need for a site survey is that by
using a mesh network, installation simply is a matter of installing
additional nodes to increase the coverage and, hence, strengthen
the network to overcome signal shortfalls. “Don’t rely on RF studies
of the plant for robust network planning,” Berge says. “These studies
are often very expensive and only capture the RF environment at
that single point in time. Pumps, motors, cars and the weather
can change RF patterns, and will vary unpredictably. Instead, use
network-planning tools that can account for the total network and
varying obstruction density.”
The wireless field sensor networks (ISA100.11a, WirelessHART and
ZigBee) used in industrial settings are all based on IEEE 802.15.4 radios.
As a result, all IEEE 802.15.4 radios have the same range. The protocol has
no impact on distance. “All protocols using IEEE 802.15.4 have the same
limitations,” Berge says. “Range is determined by transmission power,
antenna gain and receiver sensitivity. With transmission power and
antenna gain limited by national regulations, the only range difference is in
radio chip sensitivity. Therefore, the same IEEE 802.15.4 chip can be used
for WirelessHART or any other protocol, and they will achieve the same
distance. Line-of-sight range of hundreds of meters becomes irrelevant.
Once down among the steel, the extent of coverage is a matter of how well
the wireless technology can get around all these steel obstacles.”
Internet
Internet Firewall
!
Business Network
DMZ
Business/Control
System Firewall
PLCs
Star
!
DCS
Controllers
SCADA RTU
WiFi
Host Connection
Gateway
Remote I/O
COMPATIBLE SYSTEMS
The wireless protocol you choose is a
function of your preferred control system.
The wireless topology must work with a
much larger system.
16
Wired
Analog
Fieldbus
Mesh
Protocols and Topology
Knowing what, why and where you’re measuring raises the question of
how you will communicate that information over the wireless network,
which means selecting the protocol(s).
With any network, the choice of which protocol you plan to use
is also a function of what control system you either use or selected.
“[End users] should consider ISA 100 wireless only if they’re happy
with using Honeywell or Yokogawa field instruments and DCSs,” Caro
advises. “Likewise, if they prefer Rosemount/Emerson, ABB, Siemens or
Endress+Hauser field instruments, and Emerson, ABB or Siemens DCSs,
then they should use WirelessHART.”
““On topologies, mesh seems to be the latest
buzz, but try troubleshooting one.
Mesh radios usually require omni
antennas. This opens them up to
interference coming from 360º. However, if
equipment is moving, THEN mesh networks
are the only practical option.”
If you do not have an integrated end-to-end solution, such as
WirelessHART with HART/IP or ISA100.11a /ISA100.15, you have
to do more work and map registers across protocols by connecting
the control system to the gateway with another protocol, such as
Modbus/TCP and/or an OPC client/server interface.
The most commonly used field sensor network topology is the
mesh topology, with its ability to “hop” from device to device,
circumventing obstacles. It has proven successful in plant settings,
while also providing overall distance and coverage increase by
automatically relaying messages from one device to the next. Industry
practices are tending towards a rule of thumb that there should be a
maximum of seven hops between any field device and its associated,
preferably redundant, gateway.
Julian Sanchez-Ballesteros (www.linkedin.com/pub/juliansanchez-ballesteros/70/944/504), an independent solutions
consultant for wireless industrial automation, agrees with Berge
that when designing a topology, “The best practice is to place
one gateway per process unit, as gateways currently can handle a
limited number of wireless field devices—usually up to 100 field
devices at an eight-second update rate or greater, but reduced to
25 field devices at two seconds or less.”
Sanchez-Ballesteros also believes that, “When dealing with
multiple, relatively small wireless sensor networks (WSN) or an
application requiring very fast response time, a redundant star
topology, such as the one offered by ISA 100.11a, makes sense
because it allows low field-device power consumption and fast
updates without sacrificing reliability thanks to mechanisms such
as duocast.” This again confirms the adage that you must match
the tool to the task at hand.
If, when installing a control wireless network, you also want to
connect your field staff with other parts of your network, putting in a
Wi-Fi backhaul in parallel often makes sense. Wi-Fi is simply Ethernet
without wires, though it doesn’t necessarily natively fully support all
features, such as multicast. Therefore, just as with wired networks,
be sure to check out what software features your protocol requires
before purchasing the associated hardware.
In addition to providing a backhaul system and field staff
communications, a Wi-Fi infrastructure can be used for location
tracking and identification. In such cases, it uses signal strength
and time difference of arrival to determine the location via active
Wi-Fi-based tags periodically transmitting a signal received by the
Wi-Fi network.
Sanchez-Bellesteros has done just that. “It makes much more
sense to use a wireless backbone to link multiple WSNs to expand
geographically the quantity of field devices,” he says. “Access points
can form a Wi-Fi mesh at 5 GHz, serve as a gateway for the WSN, and
at the same time provide support for Wi-Fi applications at 2.4 GHz,
such as remote workers, RTLS, voice and video.
Berge has one additional caution if you choose to use a Wi-Fi
backhaul. “Since 1997, Wi-Fi has gone from IEEE 802.11 to 11a,
11b, 11g and 11n in rapid succession, and 11ac and 11s soon will
be released as well,” he reminds. “It’s therefore a good idea to
keep Wi-Fi access points as independent enclosures from wireless
sensor network access points, so that one can be replaced without
impacting the other.”
Reliability
Reliability in control systems and networks tends to lean to
redundancy. Mesh networks by their nature incorporate redundant
communications paths, however, the design must be robust
enough to avoid pinch points and connect to redundant gateways
to minimize single points of failure. “On topologies, mesh seems
to be the latest buzz, but try troubleshooting one,” warns Brian
Cunningham, sales and application engineer at Eaton (www.eaton.
com). “Mesh radios usually require omni antennas. This opens them
up to interference coming from 360º. However, if equipment is
moving, mesh networks are the only practical option.”
Though we have not mentioned them directly, in part because
industrial wireless protocols incorporate a number cybersecurity
features already, this aspect of any design is critical to success.
Monitoring
A truly successful project needs to operate for many years, which means
it will require maintenance, and effective maintenance needs monitoring
to show when something needs work.
One of the biggest concerns with wireless networks is battery life.
“The IEEE 802.15.4 radio used by devices in wireless sensor networks is
extremely low-power, and is transmitting in very short bursts,” Berge
17
DESIGN
explains. “Most of the power for a wireless transmitter is consumed
by the sensor, not the radio. The power consumption for each type of
sensor is different. The transmitter goes into low-power sleep mode
between measurements to conserve power, and, as we all know, the
faster the update period, the more frequently the device wakes up and
powers on, reducing battery life.”
“When dealing with multiple relatively
Let Us Pick Your Brain
small wireless sensor networks (WSN)
In upcoming issues of Control Design,
we’ll explore subjects that include:
• What’s your company’s design approach to energyefficient machines?
or an application requiring very fast
response time, a redundant star topology,
such as the one offered by ISA 100.11a,
• How do you best support legacy controls on installed
machines in the field?
• What does Mechatronics mean to you today?
makes sense, as it allows low field-device
• What’s the machine builder’s role in factory network
security?
power consumption and fast updates
• If you were King of Automation, what would you change?
without sacrificing reliability thanks to
• Step up and talk to us about these or any other machine
automation topic that’s affecting the way you do your job
today and those that might affect it tomorrow.
mechanisms such as duocast.”
We want to hear the thoughts and experiences of our
machine builder and system integrator readers.
Joe Feeley
Jim Montague
editor in chief
executive editor
[email protected]
[email protected]
Nancy J. Bartels
Katherine Bonfante
managing editor
digital managing editor
[email protected]
[email protected]
Dan Hebert
Hank Hogan
senior technical editor
contributing editor
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sarah Cechowski
Jeremy Pollard
associate digital editor
columnist
[email protected]
[email protected]
Lori Goldberg
editorial assistant
[email protected]
Call us at 630/467-1301
or start the conversation in our Machine Builder Forum on
When a transmitter wakes up at the set update period to make a
measurement, it turns on the sensor and measurement electronics
including the local display to make the measurement, as well as the
radio to send the value. So to make a measurement, the transmitter
is fully powered and, as a result, a complex device such as a pressure
transmitter will have two to three times less battery life than a
discrete transmitter.
The routing transmitter also has to wake up to relay the message(s)
from one or more neighboring devices. However, to relay the data,
it has to turn on only the radio. Sanchez-Ballesteros reports that
waking up can affect battery life in several ways. “A direct connection
to the host, such as a star configuration or a node that doesn’t
need to retransmit signals, could last 9.5 years, effectively the shelf
life of a battery,” he says. “If it’s part of a well-formed mesh with
three neighbors, life is reduced by 35%, and if all messages need to
route through the device, the life is reduced by roughly 60%.” This is
definitely good reason to design your network with access points or
gateways properly placed in each process unit.
There are other parameters such as “retries” that provide basis
indications of network health, and tools to assist in this area are
becoming available. So as we gain experience not only with the
networks, but also the associated tools to maintain them, reliability will
also increase.
There is no single answer to selecting the best topology for all
situations. Sanchez-Ballesteros says, “Many wireless solutions have some
overlap in their applications range, and that’s good, as competition
drives evolution.”
18
pa
t erri m
t yi ncahteocrk
Lots of Choices. Choose Wisely
Engineering is in large part about making
choices—informed choices—with sound reasoning
and judgment. This is no less true when you design
industrial networks, especially if you plan to use
Ethernet. I say this about Ethernet because it has
become so ubiquitous and relatively robust that
I feel many people believe that all you have to
do is run cable, plug it in to the right port on the
end device or intermediate node, and then the
software available in the transport and network
layers (TCP, UDP and IP) on the appliances will
overcome any design mistakes.
Assuming that software will compensate for
design mistakes, you still need to make other
choices for the data link and physical layers,
including whether your physical layer actually will
be physical (copper, fiber) or wireless.
A sampling of some of the other decisions to be
made include:
1) With the increasing use of IPv6 will your
network require supporting this revision and all
the enhancements it brings? Is quality of service
(QoS) required, so you can assign priorities to
different types of messages? If so, QoS, which
is part of IPv6, could push you in this direction.
What about support for other protocols, such as
6lowPAN and ISA100.11, which both use IPv6?
2) What about node power? Will you have
separate power to each device or use Power over
Ethernet (PoE)? If PoE, which version? IEEE 802.3af,
IEEE 802.3at or a proprietary eight-wire offering?
3) Will you use static or dynamic IP addressing,
and how will you manage your addresses to avoid
conflict, as well as device replacement?
4) What about the distance between nodes,
since copper still is restricted to 100 meters?
Beyond that length you generally move to fiber
and then must choose between single- or multimode fiber, as well as plastic or glass core. If you
choose the wireless route, then distance becomes
more complex. (See page 15, “Wireless Topology
Design Choices.”)
5) If you install a wireless network, will you use a
dedicated licensed frequency or a license-free, ISMbased system? Regardless of which you choose,
it’s a good idea to conduct a spectrum study
to determine possible sources of interference,
especially in an industrial setting where there
are multiple sources of EMI/RFI noise, as well as
opportunities for signal reflection.
If you choose to implement an ISM-based
solution, then spectrum management becomes
more important because there are potentially
many signal sources using the same frequencies
and channels, including those you’re using with
IEEE 802.11-based systems for backhaul and IT
infrastructure, and IEEE 802.15 systems for fieldlevel networks and Bluetooth devices.
Ethernet represents the lowest four layers of
the OSI model. The protocol (typically Layer 7 or
“User Layer 8”) and security are equally important.
Remember that most, but not all, industrial
networking protocols use “standard” TCP/UDPand IP-based Ethernet, so verify that your network
equipment supports the protocols you plan to
use. Ask the company from whom you’re buying
the field nodes to suggest potential suppliers. The
suggested supplier likely has been tested with the
other equipment you’re buying, thus removing
another potential conflict.
The most basic consideration for cybersecurity,
besides the physical security aspect, is to work
with your IT department to avoid the potential of
duplicate IP addresses and preferably to negotiate
for a separate, dedicated range of IP addresses
for the process control network(s) you will
install. Depending on the size and complexity of
the networks, this negotiation can be as simple
as having a dedicated subnet mask reserved
for industrial network use. An important side
benefit of working with the IT department is that
making IT aware you have networks means you
now a potential ally to help you in the event that
something does go wrong.
Devices and networks are becoming more
intelligent, so making connections is that much
easier because of the solid engineering behind
the products. A good, solid industrial network,
like anything else, starts with a good foundation,
which means a well-thought-out, engineered and
designed solution that requires knowledge and
making the right choices at the right time.
Each new year brings with it exciting new
technologies, each solving a particular problem
or creating a new opportunity. However what
remains the same is that we will continue to have
to make choices to obtain working systems and
solutions. That’s what engineering is all about.
An important
side benefit of
working with the IT
department is THAT
making it aware
you have networks
means you NOW have
a potential ally to
help you iF Something
does go wrong.
IAN VERHAPPEN
iverhappen@
industrialsutomationnetworks.com
19
bandwidth
Industrial
applications often
don’t require much
bandwidth. What
they do need is
high reliability.
Going Mobile? Things You Should Know
To paraphrase the old adage, putting a
mobile device on an industrial network is all about
security, security and security. Of course, it helps
for the device and infrastructure to be rugged,
reliable and have the right capabilities too.
Having a plan doesn’t hurt either, says Christian
Johansson, global product manager of 800xA asset
management and device integration at ABB (www.
abb.us). The company makes a line of industrial
wireless routers it uses in its products, including
the 800xA control system family.
“Wireless solutions sometimes start in small
scale and extend over time,” Johansson says.
“When defining a strategy, the big picture should,
if possible, be considered, so the right technology
and policies are defined at an early stage.”
The security of the network is important, but so
too is the infrastructure design. For instance, one
choice would be to go with wireless access points,
but that requires wiring each one individually.
Alternatively, the infrastructure could be a wireless
mesh network. In this approach, perhaps only one
in 10 routers connects to the wired backhaul. The
advantage of much less wiring has to be balanced
against greater demands on the wireless network.
Ensuring that the infrastructure can deal
with these demands is made easier if it supports
diagnostic features such as SNMP v3 (Simple
Network Management Protocol) and SNMP
Traps, Johansson says. It’s also vital that the
network management system and software be
able to handle prioritized virtual networks and
personalized workspaces. The first of these allows
different communication priority levels. In that
case, highly important controller messages aren’t
slowed by something less important such as email.
As for personalized workspaces and interfaces,
they enable a network and automation system
to tailor itself to the demands of a laptop, tablet
or a smartphone. Thus, they allow the system to
provide appropriate performance for differing
classes of devices.
It’s important to have the right type
of network setup, says Barry Turner, sales
engineering manager at industrial automation
and networking solutions supplier Red Lion
Controls (www.redlion.net). The company
makes a line of regularly updated Wi-Fi radios
specifically for industrial settings.
Industrial applications often don’t require
much bandwidth, Turner says. What they do
need is high reliability. “The best way to provide
a reliable Wi-Fi radio link is to use devices that
support multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO)
communications,” Turner says. “The use of MIMO
will ensure that signals received from multiple
paths, which is known as multipath, are put back
together as they should be.”
What’s more, anything that produces a radio
signal at either 2.4- or 5.8-GHz frequency can
create wireless interference. A spectrum analyzer
can detect possible interference.
As for security, connections need to be
encrypted, preferably using WPA2-AES for a WiDevice Security
System Access
Passcodes
*****
Biometrics
Device Communications
Wi-Fi
Internet
Cellular
SSL
VPN
Hank hogan
Contributing EDITOR
[email protected]
20
Figure 1. When going mobile, consider system access, communication and, above all, security.
bandwidth
Fi network, Turner says. Most Wi-Fi radios also support
security based on the hardware address of the connecting
client. This MAC-based security can be a good idea if
combined with encryption of data.
Opto 22 (www.opto22.com) doesn’t make wireless
mobile devices, but it does use them and works with
end users adopting the technology. Application engineer
Ben Orchard notes that multilayered security is a must.
Mobile devices can be lost or stolen, so there’s a need
to institute passwords and passcodes. The latter is a
minimum for any smartphone or tablet. There also must
be a means to wipe, lock or locate a misplaced device.
In addition, there should be authentication and
security at the application level, Orchard says. The first
ensures users can’t gain access to an application just by
clicking on an icon. As for the second, the traffic to and
from an application might take place over a variety of
networks. Consequently, an application should use secure
sockets layer (SSL) for communications.
As for the mobile device itself, ideally it needs to be
able to function as intended in bright sunlight or dim
Five Must-Dos for a Successful Wireless Network
• Have a plan.
• Build or buy a rugged infrastructure and mobile device.
• Make sure the infrastructure and device are reliable.
• Ensure device and infrastructure capabilities meet your needs.
• Make both the infrastructure and the device secure.
shadow, as well as in high or low temperatures. Putting
smart phones and tablets in cases and enclosures can help
them withstand the often harsh environments and harsh
treatment on plant floors, Orchard says.
He adds that this takes work, but the benefits outweigh
any disadvantages. Mobile devices can function as gateways
to a company’s documentation, essentially putting an
entire library in a pocket. In addition, they can photograph
the results of processing on end products, which can help
disposition of suspect product and correct errors. The
camera that makes this possible can do even more to make
things easier for end users. “The camera also doubles as a
bar-code and QR reader,” Orchard says.
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T ERRE M
S EI A
N RACT H
OR
Network Management: It’s a Must
AS INDUSTRIAL NETWORKS GROW AND DO MORE, THE NEED FOR UNCOMPLICATED NETWORK
MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS ESSENTIAL
ADOPTING ETHERNET AS THE STANDARD FOR INDUSTRIAL
automation networks is progressing at a fast rate. While Ethernet
has brought great successes in data transparency and efficiency, the
increased complexity of these large networks can also be a challenge
for plant maintenance.
“To help address this challenge, companies are providing Network
Monitoring Systems (NMS) designed for industrial automation
applications and that allow easy access to diagnostic information and
graphical representations of the network,” says Tim Pitterling, product
manager, Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure, Siemens Industry. “In
addition, industrial NMSs don’t require an IT background to use them,
and can be used without specific training or long ramp-up time.”
Further, Pitterling says, industrial NMSs support standard
protocols including Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for device
discovery and cyclical device data collection. “NMSs also use
Profinet protocols such as Discovery and Configuration Protocol
(DCP) and Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP),” explains
Pitterling. “This information can then be provided via an easy-tounderstand Web interface that can be displayed on an HMI directly
on the plant floor. The systems also support OPC to integrate the
diagnostic information into a SCADA system.”
Wago adds its customers are looking for innovation in their
network management. “They want to keep up to date with market
trends and consistently have the most competitively advanced
product on the market,” says Charlie Norz, product manager, Wago
I/O Systems. “Consumer requirements change very quickly, so
being easily adaptable is a big plus for industrial manufacturers. The
integrated webserver inside our SD card-equipped media controller
makes it easy to configure over the network, so no software is
needed outside of a Web browser.”
In today’s industrial market, having managed switches without
management software is almost unheard of. “All managed switch
vendors offer the basics in terms of management, which usually
includes setup software and web-based configuration software,”
says Jim Toepper, product marketing manager, Industrial Ethernet
Infrastructure, Moxa Americas. “Today’s needs are changing due to
larger networks being installed. Integrators and end users require
both monitoring and configuration software that can see the
entire network. This software is now being used for centralized
monitoring, auditing and reporting, which is a more comprehensive
view than previously required for industrial networks.”
SEE SERCOS
feature-rich libraries and a set of tools to develop custom machineto-machine (M2M) applications on top of the Aleos embedded
intelligence platform using AirLink GX400 and GX440 gateways.
Integrating these applications with Sierra Wireless’ AirVantage M2M
cloud platform lets developers design and create end-to-end M2M
implementations.
Sierra Wireless; 604/232-1488; www.sierrawireless.com
Free downloadable update for
the Sercos Monitor allows a
comprehensive and detailed
analysis of the data traffic in Sercos
III networks, easing development,
testing and troubleshooting. The
monitor allows retroactive evaluation
of captured and stored network records in the pcap file format,
and analysis of network traffic in real time (live capture). Overview
functions for topology, communications phases and service channel
transmission enable targeted launch of the analysis process. A capture
trigger and filters can be defined to capture only Ethernet frames that
meet specific requirements.
Sercos International; +49-7162-946895; www.sercos.de
ENDTOEND M2M
Aleos Application Framework includes
an integrated development environment,
22
SEES IT ALL
Sinema Server V12 software can
monitor 500 components per
station or up to 50,000 clients.
The software continuously
monitors Ethernet and Profinet
networks. All physical port
level connections, as well as
machine- or application-specific network configurations, are displayed.
Any malfunction in the network is flagged for quick fault identification
and removal. Connected components are automatically identified via
SNMP and Profinet devices via Device Control Protocol (DCP). The
diagnostics function provides and documents name, device type, serial
number, product-specific status configuration and identification data.
Alarm threshold values for a specific device can be defined.
Siemens Industry; 800/241-4453; www.usa.siemens.com/industry
include automatic discovery of vendor and model for EtherNet/
IP applications; diagnostic reports sent to smartphones or tablets;
dashboard for analysis and viewing of multiple networks; and
IntraVue Plug for PLC I/O or OEM applications.
Network Vision; 877/499-8100; www.intravue.net
FOR THE MASSES
CYBERSECURE
Install, configure and manage
multiple Ethernet switches
simultaneously with Windowsbased MXconfig, which is
compatible with most of Moxa’s
industrial Ethernet switches. Tools
include mass device configuration
and deployment, link sequence detection, configuration overview and
documentation, and user privilege settings. MXconfig can display a
mass configuration overview that lets users see functional information
for all their devices at the same time.
Moxa Americas; 714/528-6777; www.moxa.com
Magnum MNS-6K-Secure software
is an optional, network management
software designed for customers
needing extra security. It includes
security features, such as an SNTP
server, which provides synchronized time services to support critical
applications. These can include video surveillance, where event
information is time-dependent, or any application in which several
network devices and attached computers and databases need to be
time-coordinated.
GarrettCom; 510/438-9071; www.garrettcom.com
WATCH THAT NETWORK
EServ for legacy serial communications in industrial
environments aids the integration of legacy,
mission-critical components with newer network
technologies by bridging the gap between older
serial and contemporary Ethernet and Modbus TCP/
IP protocols. Connectivity options for 10/100Base-TX
and multimode fiber applications are available in
each series.
N-Tron; 251/342-2164; www.n-tron.com
Industrial HiVision software for
industrial network management
provides a SCADA-like view into
network performance. Easy to
integrate into SCADA applications,
the software offers a built-in SNMPto-OPC server. Users can turn
individual network components into a
complete network architecture, while
monitoring and reporting on system performance.
Belden; 800/belden1; www.belden.com
SNOOP YOUR SNMP DEVICES
MOD TO MOD
SNM
P
OPC t
n
Clieation
SNMP OPC Server Suite for KEPServerEX
enables monitoring and analysis of
SNMP-enabled Ethernet devices, and
reliably incorporates data from switches,
routers and uninterruptible power
supplies directly into HMI, trending,
SCADA and historian devices. SNMP
driver delivers automatic discovery and
configuration of SNMP-enabled devices.
Kepware Technologies; 207/775-1660; www.kepware.com
ic
Appl
S
UP
SNM
P
itch
Sw
itch
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
PS
Sw
PRESERVE THE LEGACY
U
itch
Sw
EXPERTISE FOR NONEXPERTS
IntraVue, a scalable solution for controls
engineers who are not network experts,
continually records key network
parameters and places the data in a
relational database. Data is presented
in a variety of time-based graphs and event logs. Capabilities
PC/S
er
erv
MB-Gateway single-port, Modbus gateway
module converts Modbus TCP to Modbus
RTU. The module has an automatic read
function with one RJ45 10/100 Mbps
Ethernet port and one RS-422/485 two- or
four-wire serial port. It supports up to 12
Modbus TCP client Ethernet connections
and up to 128 RTU server serial connections.
AutomationDirect; 770/889-2858;
www.automationdirect.com/modbus-gateway
EFFICIENCY GATES
Three 758 Series I/O-IPC models
function as CANopen masters that
directly interface with the SAE J1939
protocol. Carrying dual Ethernet ports for
Modbus TCP communication, I/O-IPCs
are gateways to Wago’s J1939 interface
function block that supports large engine
and generator efficiency.
Wago; 800/346-7245; www.wago.us
23
t eP rRO
m Di nUaCtToS r
CLOSE THE GATES
Floodgate Defender firewall appliance
provides a critical layer of security for Internet
connected devices. It’s configured with
communication policies customized for the
device it protects. It enforces the policies,
blocking attacks before a connection can be established, and provides
stateful packet inspection (SPI) and rules-based filtering. A secure Web
interface is provided for configuring communication policies.
Icon Labs; 888/235-3443; www.iconlabs.com
PUT FIBER IN YOUR SERIAL
Serial to fiberoptic Ethernet converters integrate
RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 serial-port devices into
industrial Ethernet networks for transmission
over longer distances, and help maintain existing
automation components, while upgrading the
overall infrastructure. They extend serial transmission
channels to up to 5 km without external signal boosters, and protect
from electromagnetic interference. The devices come in both SC and ST
fiber connection options, and have automatic baud rate recognition.
Weidmüller; 800/849-9343; www.weidmuller.com
PLENTY OF ZIP
Zipport multi-wire connectors and
accessories include 10A, 16A and 32B
frame sizes made of heavy-duty metal or
thermoplastic housings. Connector hoods
are available with top-entry and side-entry
cable passages and feature Pg threaded cable passages. Accessories
include IP66 and IP68 cable glands, Pg-to-NPT adapters and blanking
plugs. Insert plates are available in blank, reducer and cutout styles.
AutomationDirect; 770-889-2858; www.automationdirect.com
CONVERT TO MODBUS
DIN-rail mount ADC analog-to-digital signal
converters accept analog signals from up to
eight loops or separately powered current,
voltage, temperature or any other parameter
sensor, and convert them to a digital signal
output that interfaces with the industrystandard Modbus RTU digital protocol using one network address.
NK Technologies; 800/959-4014; www.nktechnologies.com
THE SOURCE OF POWER
PPM-GIGE-2-POE PC/104-Plus module
integrates two independent Gigabit Ethernet
ports with power sourcing equipment (PSE)
circuits. It can source two remote-tethered,
802.3af/at-compliant, power-over-Ethernet
(POE) devices, supporting up to 25 W each, from an external dc
source. The POE controller for each channel goes through a detection,
24
discovery and classification process each time a network cable is
attached or removed. The controller additionally provides input
undervoltage lockout, input overvoltage lockout, over-temperature
detection, output voltage slew-rate limit during start-up and LED
status indication on each port.
WinSystems; 817/274-7553; www.winsystems.com
FIBER GOES FARTHER
SC type fiber-optic industrial media converters for
unmanaged EKI-3000 Ethernet switches include EKI3541M, a multi-mode version to transmit data up to
2 km, and EKI-3541S, a single-mode version to send
data up to 30 km. They transparently convert Ethernet
signals to optical. The plug-and-play devices carry IP40
certification for light industrial usage. They have an
operating voltage range of 12 to 48 Vdc and provide
3,000-Vdc surge (EFT) protection against overvoltage.
Advantech Industrial Automation; 800/205-7940; www.advantech.com/ea
PASSIVELY ACTIVE
Six-port M12 passive junction box is
designed to integrate multiple devices into
one unit. With one or two discrete signals
per port, it can provide up to 12 discrete
signals. The junction box consolidates
several discrete devices in an area to one
device, which is connected to a controller via one cable. The junction
box provides 2 A of current per signal and up to 9 A total current per
junction box.
Turck; 800/544-7769; www.turck.us
EASY INTERFACE
BusWorks XT Series Ethernet I/O modules
interface discrete I/O signals directly to
an EtherNet/IP, Modbus/TCP or Profinet
measurement and control system
network. They have dual Ethernet ports, removable front-facing
terminal blocks and support for a rail power bus. The USB port
provides connection to a PC for fast configuration and setup with
free Windows software. Two models offer 16 digital I/O channels,
supporting any combination of inputs and outputs for monitoring
or control functions involving discrete devices (on/off, high/low,
open/close). Modules operate -40 to 70 °C with noise immunity and
surge protection.
Acromag; 248/295-0880; www.acromag.com
SERIAL ISOLATION
7203e PCI Express serial interface has
two optically isolated serial ports,
individually configurable for RS-232,
RS-422 or RS-485. Each serial port uses
25
a high-performance UART with 128-byte Tx/Rx FIFOs that enables data rates to 460.8 Kbps. The
board’s 16C952 UART includes 9-bit framing support and is register-compatible with legacy 16550
software applications. The board derives a 62.5-MHz clock from the PCI Express link. In RS-485
mode, the board provides automatic control of the RS-485 driver in hardware, eliminating the
need for application software control.
Sealevel Systems; 864/843-4343; www.sealevel.com
SNOOPER DUPER
The Super Snooper line of Modbus scanners include
the ProVu PD6080 Series of 1/8-DIN digital panel
meters, and can be set up as Modbus RTU masters,
slaves or snoopers, monitoring multiple Modbus devices for up to 16 process variables, including
level, interface level, density and temperature. The meters provide two independently programmed
analog inputs and an array of math functions for sum, difference, average and ratio calculations.
They include dual analog inputs and an RS-485 serial communications module, allowing integration
of existing 4-20-mA transmitters and Modbus devices on the same display.
Precision Digital; 508/655-7300; www.predig.com
SERVICES SECURED
Stratix 5900 services router delivers virtual private
network (VPN) and firewall capabilities simultaneously
for securing cell/area zones, and connecting to a cell/area
zone from a remote location over an untrusted network.
The router runs on Cisco IOS and includes a wide area network (WAN) port and four Fast
Ethernet ports. The hardware includes embedded features, such as network address translation
(NAT), NBAR protocol filtering, access control lists (ACL) and quality of service (QoS) for
prioritization. It has extended shock and vibration capability, comes with a DIN-rail mount and
operates in a temperature range of -25 to 60 °C.
Rockwell Automation; 414/328-2000; www.rockwellautomation.com
Connection Protection
Contact us
1501 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 400N, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
[email protected]
Editorial team
Editor In Chief
Executive Editor
Managing Editor
Digital Managing Editor
Associate Digital Editor
Senior Technical Editor
Contributing Editor
Editorial Assistant
Joe Feeley
Jim Montague
Nancy Bartels
Katherine Bonfante
Sarah Cechowski
Dan Hebert
Hank Hogan
Lori Goldberg
Senior Production Manager Anetta Gauthier
Art Director
Angela Labate
Group Publisher/VP, Content Keith Larson
Director of Circulation
Jack Jones
VP, Creative Services
Steve Herner
President & CEO
VP, Circulation
CFO
Design & Production team
publishing team
Executive Staff
John Cappelletti
Jerry Clark
Rick Kasper
subscriptions
888/644-1803
sales team
Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager
Dave Fisher • [email protected]
24 Cannon Forge Dr., Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035
508/543-5172 • Fax: 508/543-3061
Midwestern and Southern Regional Manager
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555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
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218 Virginia, Suite 4, El Segundo, California 90245
310/607-0125 • Fax: 310/607-0168
Inside Sales Manager
Polly Dickson • [email protected]
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
MR398-JB series fiber-optic junction boxes are designed to
join two fiber-optic cables, and environmentally protect the
connection. The product provides a turnkey solution for installing
optical interconnect “hard points” in harsh-environment cabling
applications. The junction boxes are designed to seal the incoming
cables, while accommodating varying diameters of optical cable.
Standard models include LC Duplex to LC Duplex, LC Duplex to
ODVA LC, and ODVA LC to ODVA LC.
Micronor; 805/499-0114; www.micronor.com
reprints
Foster Reprints
Jill Kaletha • [email protected]
866/879-9144 ext.168 • www.fosterprinting.com
Ad Index
Universally Simpler
Universal Process I/O uses Universal Channel Technology to
liberate safety and process I/O, as well as the control cabinets from
channel-type dependency. This concept offers flexibility in I/O type,
eliminating the need for custom hardware alignment with different
I/O configurations. Universal cabinets allow the cabinets to be
standardized, since any field signal can be connected to any I/O
channel. It includes 32 Universal Channels per module, each channel
individually configurable as AI, AO, DI or DO; HART 7 support for AI
and AO; full optional I/O redundancy; and extended operating range of -40 to 70 °C.
Honeywell Process Solutions; 800/822-7673; www.honeywellprocess.com
Allied Electronics.......................................................6
AutomationDirect.....................................................2
CC-Link Partner Assn............................................. 28
Hilscher North America...........................................4
ProSoft Technology............................................... 13
25
Ultra Electronics.........................................................8
25
t e r m i n at o r
Industrial
networking for
machine control
systems has given
birth to this new
single-point control
method, which saves
money, provides
real value to our
customers AND GIVES
US a competitive
advantage.
Mitchell Hein
[email protected]
26
The Beauty of Single-Point Control
For more than 25 years, CMD has provided
high-speed converting equipment to the plastic
film industry. In that time, we’ve adopted many
improvements in technology that were directly
applicable to our control systems. From servomotors
and high-resolution color, flat-panel operator displays
to high-accuracy ultrasonic sensors and high-speed
PLCs, technology has made it possible to increase
speed, reliability and function, often without adding
cost. However, few things have provided such a
significant benefit as industrial Ethernet networking.
Film-converting lines always have consisted of
two to four independent machines. Converting lines
traditionally used hardwired analog speed signals to
communicate the speed of the film web among those
machines. With the advent of industrial Ethernet, the
functionality and flexibility of network connectivity
quickly replaced the 0- to 10-V signal.
Where the old system had issues with bias and
noise, the new Ethernet network allows every CMD
machine to follow a digital value, a system which has
far greater accuracy, repeatability and responsiveness
than the old analog line could ever hope to match.
But that was only scratching the surface. Once the
network link was in place for sharing the speed signal,
it was obvious that it could do so much more.
To improve our customer’s productivity, CMD
developed a system to track product quality issues
through the line and cull out only the product that
was defective. This system passed the information
from machine to machine on the network, with each
machine using the information to its benefit. CMD
also developed a common alarm history system,
which allowed a machine operator to view the
machine status of any machine from one operator
terminal. By consolidating all the information
needed in one place, an operator could spend far
less time running between machines, and more time
monitoring the line and optimizing its efficiency.
The success of that single-point control model led
to the next efficiency improvement. Once we saw
how much more efficient it was for a single machine
operator on a production line, it wasn’t long before
we realized that each production line could be
combined into a single plant network with the ability
to track production, view status and provide a birdseye view of the entire production floor.
For CMD and for our customers, industrial
networking ushered in the age of modern film
converting—and the story doesn’t end there.
Over the past several years, CMD diversified its
business model into new industries. As a result,
we currently build fast-fill, compressed natural gas
(CNG) systems. These compression and dispensing
systems provide fuel for trucking fleets that converted
from diesel fuel to CNG, which is significantly more
economical and environmentally friendly.
Unlike bag- and pouch-converting equipment,
the CNG filling sites are not a collection of machines
in one building. Individual sites are spread out across
the entire country. This presents a logistical challenge
when one considers that you can’t afford to have a
person at every site 24/7 to ensure that the system
functions as expected. Once again, our single-point
control model seemed to be the correct approach,
but we no longer could use a single hardwired plant
network to provide the backbone for our system.
Enter the Industrial Ethernet Router solution from
eWon (www.ewon.us). This device lets us establish a
VPN connection from our machine to anywhere via
the Internet, and it can be configured to send out
emails with status and alarm information. The router
seamlessly communicates on our local area network
with our PLC, and allows remote connection from
anywhere with a simple laptop.
The router allows you to create graphical, HTTPbased web page screens that can be accessed to show
current system pressures and temperatures. Software
updates and corrections can be rolled out to the
controller at each site without sending a service
person to that location—a benefit that reduces
servicing costs and increases speed of response. A
single service technician at a computer workstation
can monitor the current operating status of every
system installed in the country. If he can’t correct a
situation himself, he can act as a dispatcher to local
service contractors, who can take care of actual
mechanical maintenance.
The advent of industrial networking for machine
control systems has given birth to this new singlepoint control method, which saves money, provides
a real value to our customers, and gives us a
competitive advantage.
Mitchell Hein is an electrical engineer at CMD,
Appleton, Wis. (www.cmd-corp.com), a builder of
plastic converting machinery and automation, and
a growing supplier of CNG refueling equipment.
Custom REPRINts
Use reprints to
maximize your
marketing initiatives
and strengthen your
brand’s value.
Reprints are a simple way to put
information directly into the hands
of your target audience. Having been
featured in a well-respected publication
adds the credibility of a third-party
endorsement to your message.
RepRints aRe ideal foR:
n New Product Announcements
n Sales Aid For Your Field Force
n PR Materials & Media Kits
n Direct Mail Enclosures
n Customer & Prospect
Communications/Presentations
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n Conferences & Speaking Engagements
n Recruitment & Training Packages
Give yourself a competitive advantage with reprints. Call us today!
For additional information, please contact
Foster Printing Service, the official reprint
provider for Industrial Networking.
Call 866.879.9144 or
[email protected]
Leading open automation network for Asia | CC-Link
Your Gateway to Asia
Access markets closed
to your current network strategy
You’ve implemented the local open network technologies in your products. But now it’s time
to look further afield. Chances are these technologies leave a large part of the Asian market
inaccessible. So how can you also capture that? CC-Link is a market leading technology for
open automation networking in Asia. Adding this connectivity can lead to a significant business
increase in critical markets such as China. Our Gateway to Asia (G2A) program offers a
comprehensive package of development and marketing benefits to capture this additional
market share.
Interested? Contact us at [email protected],
or visit G2A.CCLinkAmerica.org
®
®
TM

p15 pick your network topology carefully p20 things

Transcription

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