Your invaluable guide to IT/OT convergence

Industrial-IP have created a free six page book which gives you a guide to Network Fabric. The network fabric is the physical foundation that enables the convergence of information technology and operations technology into a single network infrastructure – including everything from switching, wireless, computing and storage systems as well as the connectivity, enclosures, pathways and cabling to all the automation and non-automation nodes across today's industrial plants. 

Changing industry demands means that plants must be armed with a reliable and robust network infrastructure for optimized productivity.

The eBook walks you through six chapters breaking down the foundation, value and implementation of a unified network fabric, along with case studies and resources for leveraging best practices throughout your operation.

Gain greater control of your business outcomes by harnessing the limitless potential of the Internet of Things by downloading this free eBook here.

For more information, contact your local Routeco office on 0370 607 1000 or email info@routeco.com

What to consider when starting your Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) journey – part two

Last week ProSoft Technology defined what the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) is and we looked at some of the ways old-school automation engineers are making use of IIoT concepts. This week will give you the opportunity to learn more about the things to consider before your systems are IIoT ready to fit into this new world of connected machines.

Network Migration 

• While many of your field devices are likely already on a network, it is probably not an Internet Protocol-based network. 
• Not to worry! Gateway devices and in-rack protocol interfaces in your controller allow you to easily connect those older networks to the IP-based applications that need that device data. 

Cybersecurity 

• While the interoperability of the IIoT brings great benefits, it also opens up new risks that we need to address. 
• It is important to understand what equipment can be accessed by whom, what connections are necessary and not necessary, and how data that’s transmitted outside the boundaries of your organisation’s network is protected.

Effective Energy Management 

• A great place to start your IIoT journey is effective energy management. Energy costs such as electricity, compressed air, natural gas, water, and steam are no longer considered overhead.
• Typical savings when energy costs are optimised can be 5 percent to 15 percent.
• Think of the savings to your production line if you could move the data collected by these networks into your PLC, where it could be analysed and optimised.

Design Connectivity In 

• Network connectivity through cellular, WLAN, or wired Ethernet should be designed into your system when you can. 
• IIoT applications will continue to evolve and grow in the value they can deliver, so it makes sense to build Internet Protocol into your systems even if you’re not using IP-based networks for control. 
• Consider how wireless technologies can layer on top of your current network, or perhaps replace an older networking technology.

Start Small 

• Look for applications in your industry that make sense, and give them a try. 
• One of the best parts of the IIoT concept is its scalability – Internet-based applications can just as easily serve one deployment as one million. 

Get Help 

• Most importantly, work with vendors you can trust. When it comes to industrial networking, ProSoft Technology has been helping engineers get different equipment all talking the same language for more than 25 years. 
• They can help you navigate your IIoT course, from connecting older Modbus® and PROFIBUS® networks to enabling remote equipment connectivity via cellular networks

If you would like to arrange for one of our team of Automation Engineers to visit you to discuss your IIoT needs and what Routeco can do to assist you on this journey  contact us at info@routeco.com or speak to a member of staff at your local Routeco branch on 0370 607 1000.

The full whitepaper from ProSoft Technology can be found here.

New White Paper helps simplify IP address management

Whether you are an Manufacturing facility, Machine Builder or System Integrator, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses within your Industrial Automation and Control System (IACS) application may need to be reused.

This whitepaper from Rockwell Automation and Cisco can help explain how to deploy network address translation within a converged plantwide ethernet architecture.

Cisco Systems and Rockwell Automation have produced the CPwE NAT architecture that is based upon industry standards. Network Address Translation (NAT) allows for the reuse of IP addressing without introducing a duplicate IP address error into your IACS application architecture.

The need for NAT is driven by both technology and business aspects. Design considerations allow end users to overcome common challenges where skid and machine builders use the same range of IP addresses for all machines produced. CPwE NAT aids both end users and OEMs in deploying a NAT-capable network through planning and design guidance, allowing for a network architecture optimised for IACS application needs.

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com

The whitepaper can be downloaded by clicking here.

Get the full value out of your network infrastructure with Stratix 5410

Getting the full value out of your network infrastructure is critical, especially in industrial environments where conditions can be extreme and high performance connectivity is required.

To address these challenges, Rockwell Automation offers the Allen-Bradley® Stratix 5410™ Industrial Distribution Switch with a 19” rack mount design to its existing line of Ethernet switches. With a rugged exterior, rear mounting capabilities and multiple fibre port options, this switch is an ideal solution for a centralised point of network distribution.

Features and benefits:

• 19” rack mount design for increased port density
• Platform with four 10-Gigabit uplinks and 24-gigabit downlinks for high performance network requirements
• Provides access switching and distribution layer routing capabilities for flexibility in designing network architectures
• Offers support for up to 12 ports of Power over Ethernet (PoE/PoE+) to help minimise hardware and cabling.

As part of the Stratix™ portfolio of products, the Stratix 5410 offers the same programming and support tools already familiar to both your Operations Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) professionals. With integration into Studio 5000 Automation Engineering and Design Environment, FactoryTalk View faceplates and Add-on Profiles can be leveraged for simplified configuration and monitoring. This optimised level of integration helps you experience easier commissioning and faster diagnostics retrieval.

The full range of Stratix products are available on the Routeco website here.

For more information contact us at info@routeco.com, 0370 607 1000 or visit our website at www.routeco.com

The future for Industrial Networks?

Traditionally, industrial networks have been set up in a point-to-point (pictured right) configuration, with a single cable terminated to plugs (i.e., a long patch cord).

Structured cabling is emerging as a more robust and sustainable infrastructure because it better facilitates growth and troubleshooting, factors that are important to manufacturing. However, there are pros and cons to each approach, depending on the implementation.

Point-to-point is ideal for short cable runs in an enclosure or small ring applications. However, plugs can be hard to terminate. Another consideration is stranded vs. solid cables. Stranded cables lead to reduced distance because of higher attenuation, while a solid conductor cable can break due to flexing. More importantly, fixed length, point-to-point cables cannot be readily extended or reconfigured as a structured approach with patch panels. In addition, some network test equipment excludes connections to the tester, therefore the entire channel is not tested.

  

Structured cabling (pictured below) is the preferred implementation for longer and more critical runs, such as connecting enclosures, machines, test equipment, and cameras, as it provides a means for troubleshooting and testability, growth, and reliability. Utilising patch cords, jacks, and horizontal cabling creates an optimized network channel. Also, the horizontal cable is easier and faster to reliably terminate to a jack versus a plug.

By installing network cabling to create spare network channels for growth, technicians can connect to a different channel when adding equipment or in the event of a network cabling failure.

While there is a focus on channel resiliency, the value of structured cabling is its systematic approach to planning and deploying cabling and cable management based on the Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Industrial Premises (TIA-1005-A).

Media Selection

Cable media is influenced by cable reach, harsh environments, electrical noise, bandwidth, and switch convergence. For example, proper copper channel cable transmits 100m while single-mode fibre optic cable can reach distances of many kilometres, depending on the transceiver selection.

• Corrosive, wet, and oily environments all impact network cable jackets, causing degradation. There are a variety of outer jacket coverings such as polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), which have varying levels of cable protection. The toughest jacket covering, polyurethane, is abrasion- and tear-resistant, and resistant to oil, radiation, fungus, oxidation, and ozone. Beneath the outer jacket, metallic foil or braid may be used to suppress electrical noise.
• Bandwidth requirements may necessitate higher category copper such as Category 6 and perhaps multi-mode and single-mode fibre that can transmit up to 10Gb/s.
• Deploying fibre cable for interswitch links in rings or redundant star configurations can minimise the recovery time from network interruption
• In less complex, smaller networks, copper may be suitable, but the recovery time for network faults needs to be weighed against downtime costs.                               

To discuss your network infrastructure requirements and problems with one of our team of Automation Specialists please contact us at info@routeco.com or click here to visit our website and browse our range of Panduit products 

Extension to Rockwell Automation’s Stratix 5400 portfolio

Rockwell Automation is extending the existing Stratix portfolio of industrial network infrastructure products to include a switch with an all Gigabit (GE) platform.

The Allen-Bradley Stratix 5400 industrial managed switch supports layer 2 switching and layer 3 routing with GE Power over Ethernet (PoE) and additional GE fibre ports, which enhance scalability for use in various applications.

This addition to the portfolio exhibits increased versatility with the ability to support multiple network configurations. When used as a layer 2 switch, the Stratix 5400 is an ideal solution for heavy industry applications where dual ring architectures are required or where high performance end devices, such as video or telephony, are needed.

When acting as a Layer 3 switch, routing is enabled between segmented networks for better performance and protection from unwanted network traffic. Segmenting the network helps to ease network changes, to simplify network security management by building domains of trust and to increase efficiency.

By choosing a switch co-developed by Rockwell Automation and Cisco, your Operations Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) professionals leverage tools and technology that is familiar to them. By helping to provide optimised integration, you can experience easier commissioning and faster diagnostics retrieval.

The Stratix 5400 range is available to purchase online here.

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com

Simplify the integration of machines into your existing network

Increasing use of EtherNet / IP in industrial automation means that there is an increasing need to properly manage machines on the network while ensuring change processes are easy to manage.

The new Allen-Bradley 1783 Network Address Translation (NAT) router helps deliver standard machines to end users without programming unique IP addresses. With reduced installation and configuration activity the Allen-Bradley 1783-NATR enables machines to be added, moved or replaced with little or no configuration. 

Being able to access real-time data is important. To produce and provide data, machines need to integrated into the broader network where information can be analysed and sent to the right place at the right time. The Network Address Translation provides flexibility to segment or isolate network traffic by determining which devices are exposed to the larger network. Furthermore, being able to isolate access to certain devices can help to optimise local network performance. 

Users are able to configure the device by using a module web page and/or EDS AOP using Studio 5000 Automation Engineering & Design Environment™.

Key Features: 

• Uses simple 1:1 Network Address Translation (NAT) to map IP addresses on the machine subnet to IP addresses on the control network
• Configurable via web page and/or Electronic Data Sheets (EDS) Add-on Profile (AOP)
• Simplified device backup and restore via SD card storing configuration
• Support both Linear and Device Level Ring (DLR) topologies on the machine network
• Designed for equipment in packaging, conveyor and process applications with machines that contain up to 32 Ethernet nodes

The Allen-Bradley 1783-Nat can be found here. 

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com

Extend your Ethernet/IP to hard-to-reach places with the new Stratix 5100

The New Allen-Bradley Stratix 5100 can function as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) or a Work Group Bridge (WGB), in both autonomous and unified networks. By providing connectivity in hard-to-wire and remotely accessible areas, the Stratix 5100 can increase productivity and efficiency on the plant floor. The Stratix 5100 is completely self-directing (autonomous) and does not require a Wireless LAN controller. 

Using the Stratix 5100 as a WGB allows you to connect up to 19 IP addresses, while providing wireless connectivity to wired clients that are connected using TCP/IP like Ethernet/IP. This design flexibility makes accessing critical production data easier in a network with multiple remotely accessible devices, helping reduce design time and operational costs when integrating machines and equipment into the industrial control network.

Key Benefits: 

• Same device can be used as a Wireless Access Point (autonomous) or Work Group Bridge (autonomous or a Cisco Unified network)
• Up to 19 IP addresses can be connected via Stratix 5100 in Work Group Bridge mode
• Device pre-programmed with default configuration for priority handling of EtherNet/IP and kit includes Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas, External power supply and Universal mounting bracket. 
• Cisco IOS for performance with Device Manager and CLI configuration options
• Premier Integration to the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture® system
• FactoryTalk® View & AOI Faceplate for status monitoring and alarming 
• Meets widely adopted IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n standards

The Stratix 5100 1783-WAPEK9 is suitable in the European Union (other regional versions are available) and is available on our website.

Further product specifications can be found here.

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com