To formally confirm a high level of safety, the manufacturers of EtherCAT devices must meet requirements during development, testing and implementation to ensure the safe operation of products. A wide range of support services are available including tools, tests, documents and consultation.

An OPC UA companion specification for CIP to OPC UA Gateways is based on assumptions that the cloud interface will use an OPC UA information model; it will use OPC UA transport mechanisms (MQTT, AMQP or HTTPS) and the cloud interface will use OPC UA defined cybersecurity roles, authentication and…

Two key challenges need to be addressed when building a stable PROFINET application over a WLAN infrastructure. The selected WLAN solution must support L2 forwarding in different configurations, and wireless latency and jitter need to be minimized to meet the requirements of the PROFINET application.

As devices are being constantly added to networks, device security is of paramount concern to asset owners. Complete system-level security must be built upon the foundations that consist of each individual component’s security functions, along with cybersecurity standards such as IEC 62443.

Synchronizing I/O tasks with application execution can result in improved application response times. In an ever-changing world where vendors are striving to eke out every bit of performance from their PLC systems, time synchronization is a method to add to the list of potential future upgrades.

Single Pair Ethernet offers reduction in wiring, node cost, size and power consumption, delivering communication and power over a single pair. New operational concepts are being developed to drive EtherNet/IP deployment to low-end constrained, in-cabinet devices such as contactors and push buttons.

Distributed IIoT applications require robust, secure operating systems to preprocess mission-critical information before transmitting to the cloud. Capable of addressing development, remote maintenance, data protection and support, Industrial Linux distributions have become popular edge gateway operating systems.

Digitization is shifting toward the sensor in the era of Industry 4.0 process automation. Implementation of smart sensors that can be integrated anywhere in a complex network allows them to pass on the digital form of recorded physical quantities over the network, versus digitizing analog signals transmitted to a controller.

Smart devices provide operators not only with I/O data but also with a wealth of information about industrial plant operation. Information collected from field devices such as diagnostic data, status information on devices and specific device parameters can also help plan predictive maintenance programs.

A modern network management system is an important part of maintaining plant availability in threat situations, as part of defense-in-depth in conjunction with firewalls and other security components. Especially against increasing cyberattacks, a network management system can deliver a decisive advantage.