The industrial Ethernet movement evolved from the realization that Ethernet products designed for a comfortable, well-controlled office setting were not suitable for use in harsh, less predictable industrial environments. The main reason for this is that commercial Ethernet equipment cannot meet the high reliability requirements demanded by industrial applications. In addition, industrial environments can be extremely hot, or unbearably cold, so that specially designed, more robust network equipment is required.
The industrial Ethernet revolution was also fueled by
the fact that an increasing number of device manufacturers,
such as PLC, DCS system, and field I/O manufacturers, now
produce products that come with a built-in Ethernet interface.
This led many standards organizations and societies to
introduce and promote Ethernet Industrial Protocol, which
allows industrial control devices to be integrated into
the same application. And since Ethernet is based on an
open standard, users are not bound by product manufacturers'
proprietary protocol and network structure. This simplifies
the user's
task substantially, since many different types of devices
can communicate with each other by just plugging the devices
into the same network.
When choosing which Ethernet equipment can best fulfill the requirements of your industrial application, and to ensure that your entire industrial system keeps running smoothly, you should look for industrial Ethernet products that have the following features:
- High reliability compared to office Ethernet products.
- Redundant power inputs to prevent single power failure.
- Support for ring topology to provide a redundant backup path.
- The ability to withstand extreme temperature conditions, such as from -40°C to 75°C.
- A rugged, high-strength casing
to keep out harmful substances.
- Certification by industry regulatory agencies.
- The ability to withstand shock, drop, and vibration conditions.
- Line-swap fast recovery that responds
when devices change their port position.
|
