The 7 Step Industrial Ethernet Checklist

When choosing an Industrial Ethernet protocol with which to network your automation application, there are a number of things you need to ask yourself. This is because all industrial automation networks are not created equal, and you need to quickly clarify those differences. In todays information-age, it should be easier than ever to make decisions based on the technical merit of an automation backbone, instead of following a particular vendors Industrial Ethernet protocol of choice. This guide is here to help.

The 7 Step Industrial Ethernet Checklist: Does the Industrial Ethernet help preserve your existing investments by easily integrating legacy fieldbuses? You might need to expand and diversify your manufacturing requirements in the future, and if so, is the Industrial Ethernet protocol equipped to handle it? Is the automation network backed by many large vendors, and not just supported by one company? Furthermore, is there a sizable community ready to offer technical support should the occasion arise? Is it easy to implement different topologies like line, tree, ring, star, and wireless structures? Are the diagnostics robust, comprehensive, and handled logically? Can you replace a device on a network with a new one with little effort?

T h e C h e c k l i s t

As experts and leaders in the fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet arena since 1994, PI North America is dedicated to educating the automation industry about the benefits of using these technologies. It is committed to standardization and openness to guarantee leading-edge, certified-interchangeable products from an enormous range of suppliers. PI North America is a member-supported, non-profit organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Members include vendors of hardware, software and systems, as well as end users and operators, scientific institutes, universities, distributors, and system integrators.

Author: Michael Bowne

1. Does the Industrial Ethernet help preserve your existing investments by easily integrating legacy fieldbuses?

Chances are you already have a fieldbus network installed (PROFIBUS, Modbus, etc.) and you are not looking to rip out that entire infrastructure just to replace it with an Industrial Ethernet network. Sure, the benefits of using an Ethernet-based protocol are many and varied, but a complete overhaul just might not make financial sense. And it the end, thats what its about: dollars and sense. This means youll want to integrate those systems into your new network architecture in sequence. Paramount to the success of this integration is: transparency. The more transparently that data is moved from one network to another, the faster that installation, commissioning, and maintenance can all be performed. If your fieldbus devices can be accessed directly by an engineering tool on the Industrial Ethernet level, think of the inherent simplicity. If an Ethernet-enabled controller can exchange process data directly with an I/O device that is fieldbus-enabled, this holds immense value. The products that perform these functions are sometimes called couplers, or gateways. So, when considering your flavor of Industrial Ethernet, make sure it plays well with legacy investments. Better yet, if the way that the data is brought into the network is predetermined in the protocols specification, then you can be sure the transition will be smooth. This is known as the proxy concept. Transitioning from your fieldbus network to an Industrial Ethernet is not going to happen overnight. But as the changeover progresses, those networks will need to be brought into the higher level Industrial Ethernet network. Making that integration as transparent as possible will reduce headaches.

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new Industrial Ethernet network backbone

Gateway or Proxy

existing fieldbus network

2. You might need to expand and diversify your manufacturing requirements in the future, and if so, is the Industrial Ethernet protocol equipped to handle it?
There are a number of reasons why you might need to add-to or enhance your factory or process environment. Be sure that your Industrial Ethernet of choice is a 100% solution, not an 80% solution. Customers Demands Change The marketplace for your product can be a shifting landscape as the demands of your customers change. From simply a throughput perspective, what if demand for your goods increases? For example, are you going to be able to add another machine to your line? This horizontal integration is a key element to making sure your production keeps pace with demand. Now what happens if the market requires new features of your product? Are you going to be able to add robotics or quickly add sensors, actuators, valves, pumps, and I/O devices? Make sure the Industrial Ethernet is an all-encompassing solution. Increase Competitive Advantage Using a closed network can hamper your ability to outpace the competition as you expand your automation network for new tasks. For example, lets say you needed to add highspeed drives: could you add them to your automation network without having to use a small specialized motion control bus? By not simply communicating with the drives using the Industrial Ethernet installed everywhere else, this can drive up costs. Now you want to add functional safety to your manufacturing. Not only is there a pragmatic case, but a financial case for safety as it minimizes downtime. Will you be able to tack that on to the infrastructure of your automation network? Be sure safety is an inherent and established part of the network specification. In addition to maximizing throughput and reducing downtime, you can also reduce costs to increase your competitive advantage. Does the Industrial Ethernet protocol have a method in place to handle energy management? The worlds leading manufacturers notice that even when they arent producing goods (nights, weekends etc.) theyre still using electricity! Since youve already got an automation network installed can you tack on energy management? If you put devices to sleep and have them restart predictably upon resuming production, this will cut your utility bills.

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Safety

Energy Management

Motion Control

100% Solution

Machine Integration

Redundancy

3. Is the automation network backed by many large vendors, and not just supported by one company?

If you are going to be installing an Industrial Ethernet network of a particular flavor, you want to be sure that it is used by more than just one company. Otherwise, what if that company decides to go in a different direction? Or worse yet, goes out of business? Maybe they choose not to support that protocol any longer. In any case, if many companies are using a particular Industrial Ethernet as their communication protocol of choice, this diversification can be a hedge against putting all of your eggs in a single companys basket. There are other advantages as well. Having a wide array of products from which to choose fosters competition and therefore lower prices for devices. Using an automation network from a single vendor means once installed, that company essentially only has to compete with itself, should you decide to add devices in the future. Even if an Industrial Ethernet claims to be open (and they all claim to be open), do a little research and see how many large backers the protocol has.

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4. Furthermore, is there a sizable community ready to offer technical support should the occasion arise?

Similar to Step 3 in our checklist, if a robust network of companies and individuals exists to support a particular Industrial Ethernet protocol, the benefits are huge. First and foremost, an organization should exist to train and educate users on industrial networking best practices, installation techniques, and technical aspects. Second, a quick path to development for vendors must be in place so that innovative devices can join the marketplace fast. To ensure these devices use the communication protocol properly, testlabs must be available to certify their interfaces. Finally, as a user of the automation networking standard, are there competence centers that offer help to answer any questions that may arise? From documentation to installation to commissioning through maintenance, a helping hand will generally lead to shorter implementation times and reduced downtimes. All of these facets need to be taken into account along with the breadth of the organization.

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5. Is it easy to implement different topologies like line, tree, ring, star, and wireless structures?

When any topology is possible, you can place devices and wiring wherever you wish. This will maximize efficiency from the very beginning of implementation. We are all familiar with the line topology from the fieldbus era, but the abilities of Ethernet allow for more flexibility. For example, if you have many devices in close proximity, like inside a cabinet, a switch might be used to create a star connection. Or you might have devices that cannot be reached via wire, so standard wireless could be used to bridge the gap. In larger networks a tree structure can be employed to integrate horizontally and then vertically. Using an Industrial Ethernet that supports only restricted topologies does not necessarily mean it cannot work for your application. It just means that it might raise costs through some extra wiring, hardware, or engineering time.

Ring structure

Star structure

Wireless

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Line structure

Optical fiber

Tree structure

6. Are the diagnostics robust, comprehensive, and handled logically?

When we first started proclaiming the benefits of using fieldbuses to users many years ago, the cost savings in reduced hardware were the main attraction. Instead of using many wires to home-run every single sensor, one cable could be run and devices linked sequentially. The backplane had essentially been distributed. This meant fewer wires, less conduit, fewer terminal blocks, and smaller cabinets. However, as time progressed, we found that the true cost savings were generated in the reduced downtime as a result of the incorporated diagnostics. Indeed costs are minimized from the outset with the reduction in hardware, but when a plant shuts down the lost production costs much more. Diagnostics are typically segmented into three types: device related, network related, and process related. In either case the error message generated should be standardized. That way the diagnostic information can be extracted independently of the tool used. The tool might be the engineering system itself or a dedicated diagnostic tool, or even via simple web browser. Ideally the Industrial Ethernet protocol will allow for all of these types of errors and tools to be used. Error messages should pass these tests: Be in plain text form as opposed to an error code that needs to be referenced in a manual Use name-based information so that you know exactly which device is reporting the fault Allow for a topology view to know exactly where the error is occurring Be accessible remotely If more than one tool is used, error messages should be able to be sent to multiple or even different locations depending on the situation This allows errors to be addressed quickly and in a targeted way. Again, these diagnostics should be part of the protocol specification.

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What? Who? Where? When? Why?

7. Can you replace a device on a network with a new one with little effort?
Moving beyond Step 6 in the checklist, if there is a device-related error, how quickly can it be replaced to reduce downtime? Take this scenario: at 3 a.m. suddenly production comes to a halt. The maintenance team calls the controls engineer who commutes to the plant; he plugs in his diagnostic tool and finds the error. He then gets a new (replacement) device, connects it to his engineering tool to set its address, and finally replaces the faulty device. In this scenario, much time could have been saved if the automation network passed the tests in Step 6 above. The maintenance team would have known the who/where/why of the error. Going even further, if they could replace the device themselves without requiring the controls engineer to first address the device with his engineering tool, this would be optimal. Some Industrial Ethernet protocols do support such a feature, coined simple device replacement. Here, the failed device is replaced with a brand new one, and the network is able to configure it and resume operation automatically. No dip switches need to be set, and as long as it is an exact replacement (we wouldnt be attempting to replace a valve with a drive) then the automation network will know that and return to data exchange. This is very powerful as the diminished downtime saves costs dramatically.

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Ethernet/IP

Modbus TCP

PROFINET
PROFIBUS DP / PA Foundation Fieldbus DeviceNet HART / Wireless HART Interbus AS-i more I/O Motion Control Safety Process Redundancy Machine to Machine Integration Energy Management Siemens GE Phoenix Contact PI Founded 1989 1,400 members 27 regional organizations 50 Competence Centers 11 Test Labs 26 Training Centers I/O Status Application Network Topology Yes Media Device Controller Bumpless

Preserves legacy fieldbus investments?

DeviceNet ControlNet CompoNet Modbus TCP

Modbus

Application Scope?

I/O Motion Control Safety Process Redundancy

I/O Safety Redundancy

Primary backer(s)

Rockwell ODVA Founded 1995 287 members 4 regional organizations 0 Competence Centers 3 Test Labs 1 Training Center I/O only Limited to IT or vendor tools No

Schneider Modbus IDA Founded 2002 65 members 0 regional organizations 0 Competence Centers 1 Test Lab 0 Training Centers Limited to IT or vendor tools

Organization

C o m p a r i s o n T a b l e

Diagnostics?

Simple Device Replacement? Redundancy?

No

Media

Media