p15 pick your network topology carefully p20 things
Transcription
p15 pick your network topology carefully p20 things
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 Manage your traffic Stride Ethernet Switches for Industrial Applications Starting at: Starting at: $ $ 445 u.s. SE-SW5M 199 u.s. Starting at: $ SE-SW5U-WT 99 u.s. SE-SW5U Our STRIDE family of industrial grade Ethernet switches and media converter is specifically built for industrial environments. Talk to your control system devices such as PLCs and HMIs reliably at high speed. Install Stride switches and your Ethernet control network will maintain more consistent cycle times even under heavy I/O and data exchange. Our newest managed switches offer fast Ethernet and Gigabit options, as well as fiber SFP transceiver modules for select units. Managed switches offer security, redundancy and enhanced traffic filtering. Advanced Industrial Hardware • Unmanaged switches offer up to 9 ports in plastic or metal housings • Managed switches in metal cases support up to 16 ports • All RJ45 ports are auto-detecting, auto-crossover and auto-polarity • Redundant power inputs with surge and spike protection • SC (push-pull type) fiber optic connector models, in addition to ST (slotted bayonet) style versions • SFP transceiver modules with LC fiber connectors available Real-time Performace • Store and forward wire speed switching - no delays • Full-duplex operation with flow control (no collisions!) • Auto crossover (MDI/MDIX) and auto polarity True Industrial Design • Ethernet Isolation -1500 VRMS 1 minute • Wide operating temperature ranges • UL (CUL) listed and CE certified • Hazardous locations rated for Class 1, Div. 2 Order Today, Ships Today! * See our Web site for details and restrictions. © Copyright 2014 AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA USA. All rights reserved. CHECK OUT PRICES ON ETHERNET SWITCHES Product Description AutomationDirect STRIDE Price/Part Number 5-port unmanaged Ethernet switch with (5) 10/100BaseT RJ45 Ethernet ports $99.00 8-port unmanaged Ethernet switch with (8) 10/100BaseT RJ45 Ethernet ports $174.00 5-port managed Ethernet switch with (5) 10/100BaseT RJ45 Ethernet ports SE-SW5U SE-SW8U $445.00 SE-SW5M 8-port managed Ethernet switch with (8) Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet ports and (4) combo SFP ports $1,290.00 16-port managed Ethernet switch with (16) 10/100BaseT RJ45 Ethernet ports $1,150.00 SE-SW8MG-4P SE-SW16M AutomationDirect prices are U.S. published prices from April 2013 Price List. Prices subject to change without notice. Research, price, and buy at: www.automationdirect.com/ethernet-switches 1-800-633-0405 the #1 value in automation 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 This is why the automation industry has become so attached to us. We’re the connect-convert-control-visualizeintegrate-and-adapt networking specialists. In the area of industrial networking, Hilscher is the most flexible vendor there is. We offer converters, gateways and proxies for most popular communication protocols, including fieldbuses, serial buses and Industrial Ethernets. We can also deliver advanced design and engineering solutions based on these technologies. And you can attach a great value to that! Low-cost Gateway Fieldbus Card Full-featured Gateway Real-time Ethernet Card IP 67 Gateway S7-3/400 SCADA Website For more information, or to receive our catalog visit our website at www.hilscher.com/usa or call 1.630.505.5301. ©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 to Ethernet 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 jmontague@putman.netl 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 5 From Off-The-Board to On-The-Board, Get On Board With Allied! Check out our interactive PCB Product Finder! alliedelec.com/PCB We have what you need in interconnect, passives, semiconductors, and more. 1.800.433.5700 © Allied Electronics, Inc 2014. ‘Allied Electronics’ and the Allied Electronics logo are trademarks of Allied Electronics, Inc. An Electrocomponents Company. 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. 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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.” New MX Multiplexers Transmit Up To 16 Channels, No Programming Required Features/Benefits: Transmits up to 80 km in either direction Call us today for complete information. RS-232/485 Dry Contact Input 4-20 mA to 0-10 Vdc 0-10 Vdc to 4-20 mA We deliver critical measurements UE-22-12-mxmp ad 7x4.625.indd 1 Tel: +1 512 434 2850 • Base unit supports up to 16 channels • I/O Modules are available in 2 and 4-channel versions • Transmit over single- or multi mode fiber • -40º to +85ºC operating temperature • No programming required! • Mounts on standard 35mm DIN-Rail Applications: • Remote analog data acquisition • Signal transmission in hazardous areas Toll-Free: +1 800 880 9333 www.ultra-nspi.com 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 jrezabek@ashland.com 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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 DIAGNOSTICSAUTOMATICALLY 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 2014 • Q1 • INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 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 Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014 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 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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 INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING • Q1 • 2014 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 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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 jfeeley@putman.net jmontague@putman.net Nancy J. Bartels Katherine Bonfante managing editor digital managing editor nbartels@putman.net kbonfante@putman.net Dan Hebert Hank Hogan senior technical editor contributing editor dhebert@putman.net hank@hankhogan.com Sarah Cechowski Jeremy Pollard associate digital editor columnist scechowski@putman.net jpollard@tsuonline.com Lori Goldberg editorial assistant lgoldberg@putman.net 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 Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014 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 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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 hank@hankhogan.com 20 Figure 1. When going mobile, consider system access, communication and, above all, security. Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014 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. The Best Place to Find the Perfect Job For You is Just a Click Away! Whether you’re actively searching for a new job or not, don’t miss what could be your next career opportunity. Post your resume anonymously at ControlGlobal.com for jobs within the Automation Industry. • Manage your job search • Post your resume anonymously and at no charge • Access hundreds of corporate job postings often not found on the monster boards • Setup advanced Job Alert system • Find highly targeted and focused job opportunities Contol Magazine has the career resources needed to find the perfect job. Control Connection Never let another job opportunity pass you by! THE CAREER RESOURCE FOR PROCESS AUTOMATION PROFESSIONALS Control Connection THE CAREER RESOURCE FOR MACHINE AUTOMATION PROFESSIONALS Job search today at jobs.controlglobal.com ChemConnection THE CAREER RESOURCE FOR CHEMICAL PROCESSING PROFESSIONALS 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 ENDTOEND M2M Aleos Application Framework includes an integrated development environment, 22 INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING • Q1 • 2014 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 CYBERSECURE 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 NONEXPERTS 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 2014 • Q1 • INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 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 Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014 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 industrialnetworking@putman.net 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 • dfisher@putman.net 24 Cannon Forge Dr., Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035 508/543-5172 • Fax: 508/543-3061 Midwestern and Southern Regional Manager Greg Zamin • gzamin@putman.net 555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143 630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124 Western Regional Manager Laura Martinez • lmartinez@putman.net 218 Virginia, Suite 4, El Segundo, California 90245 310/607-0125 • Fax: 310/607-0168 Inside Sales Manager Polly Dickson • pdickson@putman.net 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 • jillk@fosterprinting.com 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 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking Allied Electronics.......................................................6 AutomationDirect.....................................................2 CC-Link Partner Assn............................................. 28 Hilscher North America...........................................4 ProSoft Technology............................................... 13 25 Ultra Electronics.........................................................8 2014 • Q1 • Industrial Networking 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 mitchell.hein@cmd-corp.com 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 Industrial Networking • Q1 • 2014 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 n Trade Shows/Promotional Events 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 sales@fosterprinting.com 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 info@CCLinkAmerica.org, or visit G2A.CCLinkAmerica.org ® ® TM