thumb|Industrial [[Ethernet switch]]

Industrial Ethernet (IE) is the use of Ethernet in an industrial environment with protocols that provide determinism and real-time control. Protocols for industrial Ethernet include EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, POWERLINK, SERCOS III, CC-Link IE, and Modbus TCP. Many industrial Ethernet protocols use a modified media access control (MAC) layer to provide low latency and determinism.

When an industrial network must connect to an office network or external networks, a firewall system can be inserted to control exchange of data between the networks. This network separation preserves the performance and reliability of the industrial network.

Industrial environments are often much harsher, often subject to oil sprays, water sprays, and physical vibrations, so often industrial Ethernet requires a more rugged and watertight connector on one or both ends of the Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable, such as M12 connectors or M8 connectors, rather than the 8P8C connectors commonly used in homes and businesses.

Advantages and difficulties

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) communicate using one of several possible open or proprietary protocols, such as EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, Modbus, Sinec H1, Profibus, CANopen, DeviceNet or FOUNDATION Fieldbus. The idea to use standard Ethernet makes these systems more interoperable.

Some of the advantages over other types of industrial network include:

  • Increased speed, up from 9.6 kbit/s with RS-232 to 1 Gbit/s with Gigabit Ethernet
  • Ability to use ubiquitous Cat5e/Cat6 cables
  • Option to use optical fiber for increased distance
  • Ability to use standard networking hardware for wired and wireless communication
  • Ability to have more than two nodes on link, which was possible with RS-485 but not with RS-232
  • Potential to use peer-to-peer architectures as opposed to client–server ones
  • Better interoperability

Difficulties of using industrial Ethernet include:

  • Migrating existing systems to a new protocol
  • Real-time performance may suffer for protocols using TCP
  • Additional complexity associated with network technology
  • The minimum Ethernet frame size is 64 bytes, while typical industrial communication data sizes can be closer to 1–8 bytes. This protocol overhead affects data transmission efficiency.

See also

  • Advanced Physical Layer
  • Automotive Ethernet
  • Computer network
  • Distributed control system
  • Fieldbus
  • Human-machine interface
  • Media Redundancy Protocol
  • Modbus
  • Parallel Redundancy Protocol
  • Process control
  • Programmable logic controller
  • SCADA

References

  • Industrial Ethernet Advisory Group
  • Lammermann.eu: Ethernet as a Real-Time Technology

es:Red industrial#Soluciones con Ethernet