I. Industrial Ethernet
Therefore, industrial Ethernet, which differs from commercial Ethernet, is used in industrial field control applications. Industrial Ethernet focuses on providing an interactive mechanism for coordination and cooperation between controllers, operator stations, and various workstations using switched Ethernet technology, and seamlessly integrating with upper-layer information networks. Industrial Ethernet is gradually becoming mainstream in monitoring layer networks and is penetrating into field device layer networks. Industrial Ethernet has many advantages over previous automation technologies; however, things are relative. While enjoying the benefits of open interconnectivity, we should be keenly aware of its potential pitfalls and serious consequences. Open interconnectivity is an advantage of Industrial Ethernet; remote monitoring, control, debugging, and diagnostics greatly enhance the distributed and flexible nature of control, breaking down time and space limitations. However, these applications must ensure authorized legitimacy and auditability. Encryption can be used in Industrial Ethernet applications to prevent the theft of critical information. There are two main cryptographic systems: symmetric and asymmetric. In symmetric cryptography, both encryption and decryption use the same key, and the key is kept secret. Since key distribution must be completed before communication, this step is insecure. Therefore, an asymmetric cryptography system is adopted. Since industrial Ethernet primarily transmits periodic short messages, this encryption method is relatively fast and feasible for industrial Ethernet. However, measures must also be taken to prevent the access of external nodes.
II. Common Industrial Ethernet Application Solutions
1. Industrial Ethernet OpenIE Data Communication Solution
This article discusses the implementation of Siemens' open industrial Ethernet application solution in conjunction with a data acquisition and processing system. It introduces the process of achieving free Ethernet communication between the Simatic PLC platform and third-party devices based on the TCP/IP protocol in the Open IE environment, and its successful application in the semiconductor industry.
2. Application of SNMP Protocol in WAGO Industrial Ethernet System
SNMP network management technology can be fully applied to WAGO industrial Ethernet control products, enabling real-time data from the industrial field to be directly transmitted to the factory management system. This facilitates equipment management throughout the factory, improves management efficiency, and reduces management costs. Furthermore, SNMPv3 uses the DES algorithm to encrypt data communication and employs MD5 and SHA technologies to verify node identifiers, preventing attackers from impersonating management nodes and ensuring the security of the SNMP system.
3. Design of a ZigBee Industrial Ethernet Gateway Based on an ARM9 Processor
This article introduces a ZigBee industrial Ethernet gateway design based on the AT91SAM9260, which enables transparent access between ZigBee and industrial Ethernet. Users can directly access or modify instrument data through the WebServer embedded in the ZigBee Ethernet gateway, realizing remote monitoring and remote diagnostics of field instruments. When the gateway is connected to GPRS or the Internet, users can access industrial field instrument data anytime, anywhere, enabling remote configuration, remote diagnostics, and remote operation of field instruments, allowing information sharing among different sensor monitoring networks worldwide.
4. Design of a bag filter control system based on industrial Ethernet
Ethernet, as an open network, has been widely developed and applied in the field of industrial control, especially in monitoring systems. It makes the monitoring system more convenient and faster to transmit information and enables remote monitoring, achieving high-quality communication with less networking cost. A good human-machine interface not only enriches human-machine interaction but also provides strong self-diagnostic functions, effectively improving the system's safe operation level. The design scheme of the PLC matrix circuit simplifies the PLC output nodes, making it cost-effective.
5. Analysis of Real-time Performance Evaluation of Industrial Ethernet
Industrial Ethernet used in discrete control, especially motion control and precision manufacturing, has stringent real-time requirements. Besides latency control, jitter control is a major challenge. Currently, components based on Commercial Available-of-Stake (COTS) technology cannot meet the stringent jitter accuracy requirements of motion control. However, industrial Ethernet used for process control does not require jitter control, and its real-time requirements are not as demanding as those for discrete control. Furthermore, with the continuous development of commercial network hardware and software technologies, the application research using new COTS technologies can be considered.
