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RESEARCH 22 

Nothing but Growth for Ethernet 

IS E 

CONTENTS 

Managed Switches Replace Hubs, and Plain Vanilla Ethernet Remains a 

Favorite Flavor 

7 FIRST BIT 

Common Ground 

or Battleground? 

8 PACKETS 

Moxa’s Parking Lot, 

Roof Go Solar 

11 BUS STOP 

The Spam of Things 

17 

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 

20 PARITY CHECK 

Mesh Networks Hit 

the Mark 

21 BANDWIDTH 

Connectors Bulk Up, 

Smarten Up 

COVER STORY 

EVALUATE 12 

Break It Up! 

Turf Battles and Finger-Pointing 

Have Caused Many Confl icts 

Between Control Engineers 

and IT Staff . New Strategies and 

Tools Can Foster Cooperation 

That Helps Keep Their Network 

Neighborhoods Cool 

BY JIM MONTAGUE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

25 PRODUCTS 

26 TERMINATOR 

Are We Ready for 

Digital Safety? 

INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING is published four times annually to select subscribers of CONTROL and CONTROL DESIGN 

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NETWORKING assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Single copies $15. 

2012 � Q 3 � INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 

5

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Common Ground or Battleground? 

THIS ISSUE’S COVER STORY ABOUT CONFLICT 

resolution between control system engineers and 

the IT staff should resonate with many of you. 

For industrial data networks, it all began to 

change when Ethernet hit the factory floor, where 

controls people want deterministic behavior, while 

the now-involved IT staff needs fat pipes and—to 

get that bandwidth—adherence to network 

updates, patches and other unintentionally 

mischief-making code. 

For many of the participants, the gap between 

the needs and wants of the groups was a call to 

battle of competing objectives. 

Executive Editor Jim Montague presents some 

evidence in this article that things can be and 

should be better. There are more new tools, 

network design partitioning and subnet options 

that have a broader ability to help satisfy seemingly 

contradictory needs. 

Montague writes that Nagesh Nidamaluri, 

senior general manager at Mahindra Vehicle 

Manufacturers in Mumbai, India, said that 

traditional IT vs. control engineering conflicts 

were resolved at his company mostly because he 

oversees both departments, and he encourages 

them to work together. 

It would be nice to think that’s all there is to 

it. If we’re around plant sites and factory floors 

long enough, many, if not all, of us will have 

experienced entrenched silo-based management 

that creates divisional or departmental objectives 

and expectations without a thought about the 

effect on other parts of the organization. The 

disconnect between what the boss says and what 

the individual performance objectives of the staff 

members tell them can be scarily dysfunctional. I’m 

a believer that quite frequently, maybe always, the 

company’s costing methods are the root cause and 

never get included in the discussion—right along 

with the technology. 

I’ve written before about the purchasing manager 

whose job performance rating depends almost 

entirely on his ability to buy components at or 

below the cost built into the bill of materials. His 

office sits next to a facility engineer, who recognizes 

that a change to a more robust, but more expensive 

component would save the company many times 

that added cost by greatly reducing maintenance 

and repair expenses. Stalemate. 

I’ll be more encouraged that we’ve really turned 

the corner on conflicting network needs when the 

solutions we hear about stress how a company 

first modernizes its cost accounting enough to 

assign and identify costs in a meaningful way. That 

means those KPIs not only will make more sense, 

they’ll be meaningful across all functional groups 

and departments. Common objectives, particularly 

those on which compensation and performance 

evaluation are based, do absolute wonders 

for cooperation. Add in those new tools that 

Montague writes about, and you have the makings 

of a high-performance organization. 

Speaking of high performers, we’re losing Ian 

Verhappen as a long-time, regular contributor to 

Industrial Networking. He’s recently been appointed 

managing director for Yokogawa Canada, and we 

all wish him nothing but the best. 

This is our 10th anniversary year, so we’ve been 

reprinting articles from prior-year issues that are 

an interesting look back at the state of particular 

topics and technologies at the time. Because 

of that, we thought it fitting to rerun one of 

Verhappen’s articles from 2004. In fact, he’s also the 

author of this month’s feature on intrinsic safety, 

which he wrote before he took his new job. So, this 

clearly is the “Ian Farewell Issue.” 

We’ll miss his expertise. In particular, we’ve relied 

on him to keep us updated on emerging technology 

issues such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), which is 

on our editorial calendar for this issue. 

Perhaps the best thing we can do this 

time around is refer you to the most recent 

articles Verhappen wrote in 2011 and 2010 

on the subject. “PoE–The Missing Link” (www. 

industrialnetworking.net/poelink) discusses the 

increased interest in wireless networks. The need 

for associated distributed wireless access points 

seems to Verhappen to be the logical application 

that will drive the adoption of industrial PoE. 

He followed that with “PoE–The Evolution 

Continues” (www.industrialnetworking.net/ 

poeevolution), noting that IEEE PoE standards 

continue to evolve. He examines the impact of these 

“new” IEEE standards on industrial applications. 

In addition, www.ControlDesign.com/poe 

will bring you to a landing page with links to 

a comprehensive look at all of the PoE-related 

content on our websites. 

FIRST BIT 

COMMON OBJECTIVES, 

PARTICULARLY 

THOSE ON WHICH 

COMPENSATION 

AND PERFORMANCE 

EVALUATION ARE 

BASED, DO ABSOLUTE 

WONDERS FOR 

COOPERATION. 

JOE FEELEY 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

jfeeley@putman.net 

2012 � Q3 � INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 

7

Bits & Bytes 

B&B Electronics (www.bb-elec. 

com), a developer of wired 

and wireless connectivity 

technology, acquired IMC 

Networks (www.imcnetworks. 

com), which provides optical 

access and media conversion 

solutions for LAN, MAN and 

FTTx applications. This is the 

latest of B&B’s three major 

acquisitions in nine months, 

expanding its fiberoptic 

offerings. 

Mechatrolink Members Assn. 

(MMA, www.mechatrolink.org) 

reached its 1,000th member 

since its establishment in 

October 2005. The association 

was created to promote the 

use of Mechatrolink, an open 

protocol used for industrial 

automation, with 124 original 

member companies. 

Sercos International (www. 

sercos.com) developed a 

Safe Motion Profile for CIP 

Safety on Sercos. Sercos 

relies on CIP Safety as the 

functional safety protocol for 

its Sercos networks. To ensure 

the interoperability and 

compatibility of safety-related 

peripheral devices Sercos 

International and ODVA 

(www.odva.org) agreed to 

jointly develop a Safe Motion 

Profile based on CIP Safety. 

Endress+Hauser (www.endress. 

com) became a principal 

member of ODVA (www.odva. 

org), increasing its support of 

open industrial networking 

technologies, with a vision to 

leverage EtherNet/IP to simplify 

network architecture. 

8 INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING � Q3 � 2012 

Moxa’s Parking Lot, Roof Go Solar 

EVERYONE KNOWS HOW HOT PARKING LOTS GET IN THE SUMMER. ALL OF OUR SWELTERING 

cars and burnt feet on the way to the beach are proof of it. However, as people rush from their cars 

to air-conditioned buildings, many of them might not think about how the sun also produces a great 

deal of energy that could be captured and put to use. 

One exception is Moxa (www.moxa.com), which recently installed 1,133 solar panels in a 35,000 ft 2 

installation over the company’s parking lot and roof of its testing lab, training center and warehouse 

in sunny Brea, Calif. The company bought and renovated the 1980s-era building for its new 

headquarters, and the solar project was part of the reconstruction. 

The banks of 4x2 ft panels from Suntech (www.suntech-power.com) produce more than 

311 kW. Once converted from dc to ac, this solar power is expected to cover all of the electrical 

needs for Moxa’s facility, and save about $6,000 per month. And, besides providing some muchneeded 

shade for cars in the lot, the panels are also powering four car-charging stations for 

several electric vehicles. 

The electrical inverter performing the panels’ dc-to-ac conversion process is monitored by 

Moxa’s MGate 3170 Modbus serial-to-Modbus Ethernet data inverter that converts serial data 

to Ethernet, and displays and aggregates it to help improve performance. Moxa’s EDS-405A 

managed Ethernet switches also acquire data from the car chargers and video cameras that 

provide surveillance for the panels. 

About half of the $1 million bill for the panels was paid by California’s Solar Initiative rebate 

program and by federal tax credits. The project is expected to pay for itself in less than five years. 

“On cloudy days and at night, we’ll still buy some power from the grid. However, overall, these 

panels will generate revenue for us,” said Jim Toepper, Moxa’s marketing manager for industrial 

networking and video solutions. “A lot of people still believe that solar isn’t real, but there’s no 

excuse not to use it in California.” 

In addition to the solar power system, Moxa has implemented other resource conservation 

efforts, such as low-flow aerators, rain sensors for irrigation, and motion sensors for lighting. The 

company is also considering retrofitting parking lights to LEDs, and other conservation solutions.

PACKETS 

WirelessHART 

Adoption Tripled 

Since 2010 

ALTHOUGH DATA RELIABILITY HAS BEEN 

an inhibitor to the adoption of wireless 

sensor networking (WSN), that is much less 

the concern now, according to a report from 

technology research company ON World 

(www.onworld.com). Less than half (46%) 

of end users surveyed indicated that data 

reliability inhibits their adoption, compared 

with 71% in ON World’s Q1 2010 survey. 

The migration to standards-based WSN is 

one of the biggest technology developments 

for industrial automation, researchers said. 

“Users of industrial wireless sensing and 

control have been demanding standards, 

but the hope of convergence between 

WirelessHART and ISA100.11a is in doubt,” 

said Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research 

director. “Despite this standards confusion 

and a brutal economy, the industrial WSN 

market has doubled over the last two years.” 

In collaboration with the International 

Society of Automation (ISA), HART 

Communication Foundation (HCF) and 

the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance 

(WINA), ON World completed one of its 

largest studies on WSN with 216 industrial 

automation vendors, end users and 

professionals from five geographic regions. 

Examples include BP, Chevron, DuPont, 

Endress+Hauser, Emerson, Hitachi, Halliburton, 

Honeywell, Petrobras, Rio Tinto Alcan, 

Schneider Electric, Toshiba and Yokogawa. 

More than half (57%) of the end user 

respondents are using or pilot testing WSN 

systems. One-fifth of the end users have 

deployed more than 100 wireless field 

devices, and 75% of current WSN adopters 

are using a wireless mesh protocol for at 

least some of their wireless field devices. 

WirelessHART is used by 39% of the 

surveyed end users—up from 13% in 

Q1 2010. Preferences for wireless mesh 

standards continue to diverge, with end 

users equally preferring either WirelessHART 

or a hybrid strategy that includes both 

WirelessHART and ISA100.11a. 

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PACKETS 

Fieldbus Foundation Updates Remote Operations Specs 

THE FIELDBUS FOUNDATION (WWW. 

fieldbus.org) updated its Foundation 

technical specifications to address key 

elements of Foundation for Remote 

Operations Management (ROM) technology. 

Specifications have been added for 

Where Automation Connects 

transducer blocks for both HART and 

WirelessHART devices. 

“The purpose of Foundation for Remote 

Operations Management is to address the 

rapidly growing world of remote applications, 

whether that’s a pipeline SCADA, for 

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example, or offshore platform automation— 

all the way through to other industries such 

as mining, and even OEM skid-mounted 

equipment in the pharmaceutical industries,” 

said Larry O’Brien, global marketing manager 

for the Fieldbus Foundation, earlier this year. 

The technology enables fieldbus connectivity 

to remote I/O and the leading industrial 

wireless protocols, including WirelessHART 

and ISA100.11a. It provides an interface to 

these wireless technologies and uses Electronic 

Device Description Language (EDDL) and 

function blocks to ensure interoperability with 

Foundation for ROM devices. 

According to the Fieldbus Foundation, 

Foundation for ROM is the first example of the 

ability to integrate ISA 100.11a, WirelessHART, 

wired HART, and wired H1 protocols into 

a single standard environment, without 

sacrificing the diagnostic capabilities of the 

existing wireless devices. With the technology, 

industrial operations can implement a true 

predictive and proactive maintenance strategy 

for remote assets that could not previously 

support one, the foundation said. 

“End users are increasingly spending money 

on remote applications. We’re looking for 

resources in increasingly hard-to-get-to areas. 

And basically, we’re trying to get people out 

of harm’s way,” O’Brien said. “Foundation for 

ROM is specifically designed to meet these 

application requirements.” 

Data from devices on multiple networks are 

tightly integrated into the Foundation fieldbus 

infrastructure, providing a single environment 

for management of diagnostic data, alarms 

and alerts, data quality, control in the field 

capability, and object-oriented block structure. 

Within the Foundation automation 

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distributed function block capability. The 

Foundation for ROM solution expands 

these capabilities by establishing open, nonproprietary 

specifications for an interface 

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integrating various wireless sensor networks 

such as Wi-Fi, satellite, cellular, etc.

The Spam of Things 

YOU’VE HEARD OF THE “INTERNET OF 

Things,” right? That’s where your dishwasher 

and your dog’s collar, your Volkswagen and your 

sprinkler system all have microchips in them, 

and they all have apps on your smartphone. 

Maybe the dog’s collar even integrates with the 

sprinkler so it shoos him off the flower beds. 

Wow, that’s really handy. 

But along with all that network capability, 

engineers and code writers have also provided a 

“wealth” of diagnostics—some of which might not 

be all that useful. 

The grandma of questionable diagnostics is 

possibly the ubiquitous “Check Engine” lamp, like 

the one on my car’s instrument cluster. I think it 

has to do with some emissions accoutrements— 

an EGR valve, perhaps. But even if you dutifully 

changed it at 70,000 miles, you still have to take 

three-fourths of the car apart to turn the lamp off. 

So there it glows. 

If you define spam as useless messages that 

you didn’t ask for, you might begin viewing the 

increasing quantity of useless, redundant and 

“stuck” diagnostic messages in the same light. 

These messages and indications are spam that you 

can’t turn off or run through a filter. In many cases, 

they can mask other problems that you wish you 

knew about. 

My plant’s distributed control system (DCS) 

has a wealth of in-depth diagnostics, but they 

all roll up to a single “controller bad” indication. 

You can drill down to find out what the specific 

issue is—that’s good. But if it’s something you 

can’t immediately fix, the thousands of other 

potential problems might fail to invoke a “reannunciation” 

of the “bad” status. Supposedly, 

there’s a mechanism to table a stuck diagnostic, 

but I haven’t found the right-click context menu 

that reveals how one might do this. So I stare at 

the spam for weeks or months or more, and any 

additional indications—including the ones I might 

care about—could go unnoticed. 

The DCS is just the beginning. I have a certain 

flowmeter that reads near zero most of the time. 

On a regular basis, though, it somehow detects 

and indicates reverse flow. We don’t know any 

reason why it should have reverse flow, but should 

we suppress it? 

There are hundreds and hundreds more 

instruments and valve positioners, all of which 

have some variety of preconfigured diagnostics. 

We get spammed by them as well. Every now and 

then, there’s a message that is genuinely actionable, 

so your thoughts of possibly suppressing the 

alerts—where possible—are squelched. 

How do you get rid of all the noise? Should 

I suppress “EEPROM Read Failure?” How does 

one decide which diagnostics are useful and 

actionable, and which can be suppressed and 

forgotten forever? 

For the past decade or more, we’ve had futurists 

among us who envision a brave new world where 

“intelligent” devices determine their ailments and 

take actions like sending emails or writing work 

orders. Why not? Why make a human read the 

messages and hunt-and-peck their way through 

the manufacturing execution system (MES)? Just 

generate the work order automatically, mate. 

That’s right, we can automatically fill up Maximo 

or SAP with spam. 

In reality, the need for the application of a 

thinking human brain couldn’t be greater than it 

is now. The immensely powerful machine on your 

desk, which is far more powerful than the Ferrari 

of smart devices, has had armies of hardware and 

software geniuses craft ever-more sophisticated 

diagnostics for it. Does yours ever “phone home”? 

My email client crashes and sends diagnostics back 

to the mother ship about five times a day. Thank 

goodness this monster isn’t writing job orders 

every time it has a hiccup. 

The standards set forth by ISA and other 

organizations for alarm rationalization need to be 

applied in the universe of device diagnostics as 

well. Diagnostics should be specific, actionable and 

not redundant. And if it’s spam, noise or chatter, 

we need a consistent method to filter, suppress 

or table it. No one should have to disassemble 

their dashboard, or click through seven layers of 

slow-loading dialog boxes to tell an alarm to take a 

break for a fortnight, or forever. 

Just as the DCS is the compendium for all 

process alarms, and is armed with the right 

tools for managing them, so should our asset 

management systems be the clearing house for 

diagnostics, and provide us the tools to make them 

meaningful. 

No more spam, please. 

BUS STOP 

HOW DOES ONE DECIDE 

WHICH DIAGNOSTICS 

ARE USEFUL AND 

ACTIONABLE, AND 

WHICH CAN BE 

SUPPRESSED AND 

FORGOTTEN FOREVER? 

JOHN REZABEK 

jrezabek@ashland.com 


11

Turf Battles and Finger-Pointing Have Caused Many Confl icts Between Control 

Engineers and IT Staff . New Strategies and Tools Can Foster Cooperation That 

Helps Keep Their Network Neighborhoods Cool 

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? Th at plea, fi rst from the late 

Rodney King and later from the U.S. president played by Jack Nicholson 

in “Mars Attacks,” is a long-sought and much-desired goal for control 

and automation engineers, their IT counterparts and their companies. 

It’s been quite a while since fi eldbuses, Ethernet, Internet, wireless 

and other digital technologies began to encroach on 

the plant fl oor’s traditional point-to-point networks for 

operations and control, but engineers and IT still get on 

each other’s nerves. Perhaps not as much at each other’s 

throats as they once were, many remain highly resentful 

and don’t work together well. As usual, culture takes far longer to 

evolve than technology. 

“We used to sit in project meetings with only the controls 

guys, but in the past few years IT people started attending, 

and it’s gotten better,” says Keith Jones, PE, president of Prism 

Systems (www.prismsystems.com), a system integrator in Mobile, 

Ala. “However, we were just in a meeting with a Fortune 500 

manufacturer, and its engineers told us ahead of time to listen to 

what IT was going say, but warned us not to agree right away to 

do anything. They told us to wait, and the engineers would decide 

if what IT wanted could be done. They had concerns, and wanted 

to make sure they could override any IT requests, if needed. 

Apparently, IT had previously pushed some Windows patches 

onto the plant network without notifying the controls side, and it 

had shut down some production lines. So the controls engineers 

demanded that patches couldn’t be forced.” 


BY JIM MONTAGUE, 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

So, why didn’t these controls engineers and their IT counterparts 

talk out these issues in the fi rst place? Why weren’t they straight with 

each other in their meetings? And why didn’t they settle on mutually 

understood patching policies and project requirements before 

operational problems happened? Whatever the history and reasons 

for these continuing squabbles, many managers are sick 

of them, and are demanding that they stop. Fortunately, 

there are a bunch of new strategies and tools for dividing 

and coordinating network responsibilities to prevent 

fi nger-pointing and settle these old confl icts. 

START WITH LEADERSHIP 

Th e primary initial element in getting controls engineers and IT 

to cooperate is their managers. While these confl icts often were 

ignored in the past, many leaders not only are requiring both sides to 

cooperate, but are reorganizing them under common managers, and 

developing hybrid engineers with both controls and IT skills. 

Nagesh Nidamaluri, senior general manager at Mahindra Vehicle 

Manufacturers (MVML, www.mahindra.com) in Mumbai, India, 

reports that his company’s 14 greenfi eld auto plants and shops in 280 

acres in Chakan, India, work with their IT departments to connect the 

manufacturing execution system (MES) on its huge and expanding 

plant fl oors to its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. 

“We’re connecting all of our many varied components and 

production equipment with IP addresses, which gives us the fl exibility 

to be lean and expand as needed,” he explains. “Th is method

also gives us visualization for our plant managers, so they handle 

production in real time, and shift or expand production lines more 

quickly in response to supply-chain issues and other situations.” 

Traditional IT vs. control engineering confl icts were resolved mostly 

because he now oversees both departments, and he’s encouraged 

them to work together, Nidamaluri adds. 

To serve present production and future plans, the campus local 

area network (LAN) for Mahindra’s Chakan project was designed and 

implemented to support applications such as Voice over Internet 

Protocol (VoIP), plant data, IT data, business systems, security and alarms. 

Each plant has its own network hub room, and uses a backbone of singlemode 

10 Gbps fi beroptic cable between shops and multi-mode 1 Gbps 

fi beroptic cable within each shop, which enables dual-path redundancy, 

rerouting and self-healing during recovery. Th e body shops also use Cat. 

6 UTP cable with IP67 bayonet jacks to withstand vibration and protect 

against dust, water and oil (Figure 1). So far, system integrator Wipro 

Technologies (www.wipro.com) and Molex report they’ve helped install 

165 km of UTP/FTP cables and 124 km of OFC cables at the shops, 

and have reserved space and capacity for planned wireless devices 

in the future. Th is backbone also assists Chakan’s green initiative and 

sustainability systems, such as heat recovery, solar panels, water treatment 

and several manufacturing processes. 

DIVIDE AND ORGANIZE 

As important as leadership is to motivate cooperation, there are 

practical and technical obstacles. Th ese can be overcome with logic, 

organization and prioritization. It begins with the best way to divvy up 

an industrial network, which is to partition it into logical, functional 

subnetworks, and then separate and isolate these subnets with 

managed Ethernet switches and/or fi rewalls. “Good fences make good 

neighbors,” says the neighbor in Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall,” 

and this is especially true for today’s industrial networks. 

Of course, sorting out all the process applications and network 

systems they need is probably a little easier if much of their equipment 

isn’t out in the middle of the sea. Th is was the challenge faced by system 

integrator Cimation (www.cimation.com) of Metairie, La. In 2010, its 

team was asked to implement an extensive Ethernet-based network, 

including automation, supervisory control and data acquisition 

(SCADA), cybersecurity and business functions for a fi xed oil and gas 

processing platform in 2,000 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Th e 

platform was previously operating in a limited capacity, but the owner 

embarked on a capital improvements program to greatly increase its 

capacity. Because the enhanced platform design would process a high 

volume of about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day, the owner 

wanted the platform network to have maximum reliability and uptime. 

Also, the owner asked Cimation to model and pre-prove the network 

and wireless communications on shore, and then install them without 

disrupting the platform’s existing operations. 

Th e platform serves multiple wells that feed the facility via pipelines 

that run along the seabed, and has processes that separate oil from 

natural gas. Th e oil is pumped and the gas is compressed into pipelines 

that deliver these products to facilities onshore. Th e network requires 


13

COOPERATING ON CARS 

Figure 1: Workers assembling vehicles at Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers’ 14 plants and shops in India rely on a campus fiberoptic 

and Ethernet-based LAN that jointly supports VoIP, plant and IT data, business systems, security and alarms. 

10 servers that poll data from PLCs and other automation devices, 

provide security services such as closed-circuit TV, and manage domain 

controllers for credentialing and login. This system also includes terminal 

servers that provide HMIs; historian servers for archiving time-stamped 

production and alarm data; and reporting services that connect to 

a large enterprise network via a microwave link to offices on shore. 

Another stack of servers talks to subsea systems via the OPC protocol. 

They perform proprietary flow calculations on the composition and 

volumetric flow rate of oil and gas, a custody transfer function. Finally, 

some of the platform’s controllers use UDP multicast messages, which 

creates traffic that has to be filtered to protect certain control devices. 

“Older or smaller platforms have PLCs and HMIs locally 

networked, but they may not have any business subnet, security 

services, or communication with subsea systems. Those types of 

facilities sometimes only report periodically via a modem, so their 

capabilities are limited, and the smaller quantity of data provided 

to the enterprise is just a periodic summary,” says J.D. Bamford, PE, 

CRM/SCADA security engineer at Cimation. “To provide continuous 

remote monitoring, a full business subnet, management and security 

functions, the new network needed firewalls and demilitarized zones 

(DMZs) to segregate these portions of the network. It also needed the 

capability to continuously broadcast operations to a backup control 

room located at the offices on shore.” This backup capability could be 

used if the platform crew is forced to evacuate during a hurricane. 

Any network that spans business and automation areas requires 

a service-level agreement between operations and IT based on what 

applications are in the field, and what the enterprise network needs from 


those applications. Cimation interfaced with enterprise data users as well 

as operations personnel to define a data exchange strategy that dictates 

the type and direction of data flow between the platform and shore. 

Bamford explains that this data exchange strategy was part of 

a broader effort by Cimation to architect the platform’s network 

using a defense-in-depth cybersecurity strategy. The design followed 

the IEC/ISA-62443 security standard (formerly known as the ANSI/ 

ISA-99 standard), along with guidelines from the U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security and US-CERT (www.us-cert.gov/control_systems/ 

practices/Recommended_Practices.html). These guidelines provided 

a framework for Cimation’s effort in partitioning the network and 

isolating the process control and business layers using firewalls, DMZs, 

antivirus services, and related measures. Cimation installed a dozen 

Tofino Security Appliances (TSAs) to act as firewalls. These DIN-railmounted 

appliances weed out unauthorized communications, manage 

traffic between automation PLCs, and protect vulnerable platform 

controllers from excessive traffic and unwanted intrusion (Figure 3). 

The TSAs with Loadable Security Module (LSM) software were installed 

in front of Rockwell Automation’s ControlLogix PLCs, for example, and 

are managed by the Tofino Central Management Platform (CMP) from 

Tofino Security (www.tofinosecurity.com). 

“The biggest challenge was that while we could bench test some of 

the network, its communications and the main automation PLCs, there 

were scores more devices, which contractors and third parties would be 

installing on the platform concurrently,” Bamford explains. On such a 

large project with so many parties contributing equipment, it is inevitable 

that some won’t provide their data exchange guidelines in time to be 

Molex and Mahindra

Cimation and Belden 

designed into the system. “So when some vendors were told where to 

plug in, they found that they couldn’t communicate through the firewall. 

We met with each of them (along with the end user), validated their 

devices and functions, approved a firewall reconfiguration, and then 

tested to make sure the appropriate messages got through. This was 

after we’d already done as much preplanning and pre-configuration as 

we could, and surveyed the vendors on what protocols they were using 

and what ports they needed open. The primary and backup process and 

safety PLCs were all bench tested, but the switchgear, subsea cabinets and 

other process packages had to be integrated in the field.” 

NEW ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Naturally, all these new methods of managing networks are going to 

change a few job descriptions. Prism helped implement a greenfield MES 

and plant control network last year on CNC and assembly machines at 

a valve manufacturer in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the IT staff installed 

CCTV Screen VoIP Phones 

Compressor 

HMI HMI Clients 

HMI 

CCTV 

Cameras 

SCADA 

Printer 

Compressor PLC Dehydrator PLC 

Process I/O Rack Safety I/O Rack Generator #1 

Switchgear 

Typical Junction Box 

Generator Switchgear 

IT 

Firewall 

the whole network and all the components down to the PLCs. “They 

were fully involved, configured the switches, and put in the runs to all 

the equipment,” says John Elias, Prism’s network manager. “The machines 

run on a private EtherNet/IP subnet, so they’re in their own broadcast 

domain and set their own IP addresses, and then route data up to the 

main network by creating a bridge with managed Ethernet switches, 

setting up a virtual local area network (VLAN), or using network interface 

cards (NICs). It’s easy to put multiple NICs in a PLC rack, such as one for 

local I/O and the other to communicate with higher-level networks.” 

As formerly separate network lines merged, it became harder to say 

where the IT staff’s responsibilities end and where the control engineers’ 

jurisdiction begins, agrees Jeff Payne, product manager for PLCs, I/O and 

PCs at AutomationDirect (www.automationdirect.com). “It’s everyone’s 

responsibility,” he says. “We can’t say industrial networking is just the 

job of one person or another. And this joint responsibility also must be 

considered when networks are being designed.” 

I/O 

Server 

(DMZ) 

Redundant Control Network 

Generator #2 

Switchgear 

Business Network 

CCTV 

Manager Domain 

Controller/ 

File Server 

MCS 

RTU 

PDU 

Industrial 

PCs Pump PLC 

Modern 

Racks 

Pump Motors 

I/O 

Servers Terminal 

Servers Historian 

Server 

Server Rack 

Platform 

MCC 

Wireless Access Point 

Primary/Backup 

Process PLCs 

Data 

Analysis 

Servers 

Subsea Cabinet PLC Cabinet 


Primary/Backup 

Safety PLCs 

Process I/O Rack Safety I/O Rack 

SUBSECTIONS SOLVE SCHISMS 

Figure 2: This simplified diagram of the network that Cimation designed and helped implement on the oil and gas platform in 

the Gulf of Mexico isolates process control and business layers of the network using routers and firewalls, and permits only the 

minimum traffic necessary between these layers. 

15

TOOLS AID TOLERANCE 

Though it’s crucial for controls and IT professionals to talk and take on 

new tasks, many technical aids have popped up that simplify network 

design, implementation and maintenance—and smooth out former 

network jurisdiction snags. 

For instance, subnets teach some users to explore the added flexibility 

that IP addressing gives their Layer 3 and multilayer managed Ethernet 

switches and VLANs. Where Layer 2 switches use one IP address on a flat 

network, newer Layer 3 switches and their routers enable communication 

between IP addresses, and this lets them serve as firewalls, sort out 

authorized messages and data, and enforce patching policies. 

“Plant guys don’t want anything other than their industrial 

communications to come through their firewall, and Layer 3 switches 

let them do it more easily,” says Jim Toepper, marketing manager for 

industrial networking and video solutions at Moxa (www.moxa.com). 

“Layer 3 switches have been in our industry just three or four years, 

but they’re growing at about 180% per year.” 

Likewise, Prism reports that the Common 

Industrial Protocol (CIP)-based EtherNet/IP 

standard didn’t previously support other types of 

generic Ethernet’s TCP/IP, but this year’s Version 20 

and 21 firmware releases will talk to regular TCP/IP. 

Other protocols, notably Modbus TCP and Profinet, 

already communicate with standard Ethernet. 

“Over time, the initial barriers to Ethernet’s use in 

plants came down as managed switches threw more 

pure speed at them,” says Mike Miclot, marking vice 

president for Belden Americas. “But this still isn’t as simple as adding 

a particular cable. Developers must use some forethought when 

designing these networks.” 

SECURITY COAXES COOPERATION 

Though it’s sort of a chicken-and-egg situation, one of the main forces 

driving controls engineers and IT to settle network arguments is a 

frantic need to secure all the multiplying networks and endless links 

they established, even as more are created. Unauthorized probes, 

intrusions, hacks and malicious software scare everyone, and are a 

wakeup call for many of them. Nothing inspires cooperation like a 

common enemy. 

Luckily, many engineers and senior managers realize the 

importance of cybersecurity in automation, and support using ITbased 

security tools such as patch management policies, antivirus 

software, event management, network segmentation and firewalls. 

However, differences in perspective persist between controls 

and IT. The highest network-security priority for process control 

engineers is preserving availability, while the highest networksecurity 

priority for IT technicians is protecting confidentiality. 

Implementing patches and antivirus software is relatively easy for 

IT systems, but it’s difficult for plant-floor networks that can’t shut 

down as easily. Seeing beyond personal differences in outlook on 

the way to cooperation is even trickier. 


UNAUTHORIZED PROBES, 

INTRUSIONS, HACKS AND 

MALICIOUS SOFTWARE 

SCARE EVERYONE, AND ARE 

AWAKEUPCALLFORMANY 

OF THEM. NOTHING INSPIRES 

COOPERATION LIKE 

ACOMMONENEMY. 

“We’re pulling more data from the plants to our OSI PI systems, 

and there are more remote connections, too. More connections 

means more vulnerabilities,” explains Gregory Rogers, PE, senior 

manager for control engineering at Enterprise Products (www. 

enterpriseproducts.com) in Houston, which provides mid-stream 

processing, storage and distribution services for U.S. oil and gas 

producers in 38 states. To shut its backdoors, plug holes and fix 

vulnerabilities, Enterprise white-lists its systems and facilities, 

performs regular patch management and antivirus software updates, 

follows the ISA 99 standard’s recommendations for minimizing and 

managing pathways on its networks, and creates segmented zones for 

different functional areas. 

Besides all its technical fixes, Enterprise also secured management’s 

support and involved its entire staff on network security. However, 

challenges remained, even after everyone was on the same page. 

“When we did cybersecurity at Enterprise, we held a WebEx meeting 

that was attended by several hundred people,” 

Rogers says. “Even so, our fractionalization plant 

in Mount Belvieu has 50–70 PLCs, and 16 of them 

were connected to the corporate network and 

had added Ethernet cards to provide access for 

troubleshooting. One day, a guy was conducting a 

training class in a conference room, and so he took 

a hub and the class plugged into the network. Later, 

someone plugged that hub back into itself, which 

created a broadcast storm that shut down three of 

the plant’s PLCs, and brought the facility to its knees. 

It was fixed the next day, but it was still pretty embarrassing.” 

Personnel-based security must seek to create a culture among the 

control engineers of cybersecure thinking. It also helps to rope in 

corporate IT professionals, who can pass along critical thinking about 

control systems—once they know what’s critical to the controls side. 

“Training and increasing staff expertise on cybersecurity will minimize 

events within the ICS domain,” Rogers explains. “We used to move USB 

sticks between stations, but we don’t anymore. We don’t just put hubs 

on the network anymore. Now, we can use FTP sites or relay servers, 

and transfer data through a DMZ, so the antivirus software can catch 

any problems. We have a cybersecurity committee, too. So, when the 

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security puts out cybersecurity threat notices 

about eight or 10 times per week, we have a group that can advise on 

whether this is a real threat to us.” 

Prism’s Jones adds, “The good news is that controls engineers have 

been working more at the Ethernet level, so they understand and 

appreciate more of what the IT guys do, and they’re also meeting with 

them and showing them how Profinet and EtherNet/IP are different 

than TCP/IP. As a system integrator, we frequently cooperate with IT to 

get static IP addresses for passing data to the enterprise. Now it’s rare 

that we don’t talk to both controls and IT. They’re both understaffed, 

and so they’re realizing it’s easier to work together. With all the 

downsizing and fewer resources these days, cooperation is the only way 

to get jobs done.”

DESIGN 

OF ALL THE REASONS TO CONSIDER INTRINSIC SAFETY (IS) FOR YOUR OPERATIONS, 

THE FIRST ONE IS THAT THESE INSTALLATIONS REDUCE THE OVERALL RISK 

INTRINSIC SAFETY (IS) MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO PERFORM LIVE 

maintenance at any point in the control loop because, by its nature, 

IS always keeps the amount of available energy on the wire pair below 

the ignition point for the gases/environment in which it’s installed. 

There are two aspects to determining the hazardous area requirements 

for an installation: area classification (the type of gas present and 

the likelihood of it being present) and the temperature classification 

(maximum surface temperature of the device or apparatus). 

Figure 1 shows how area classifications are determined for North 

America using the class-and-division principle. The division is based 

on the likelihood of a specific type of gas being present at any point 

in time. As a rule of thumb, Division 2 assumes the potentially 

explosive gas is present one hour/year, and Division 0 assumes the 

gas is always present. 

The second aspect of hazardous area control is the temperature 

rating. Figure 2 shows how the type of gas present determines the 

required “T-rating.” 

Fortunately, the majority of the hydrocarbon industry needs to 

meet only the T1 or T2 temperature limitations for the majority of 

its facilities, and this is often why the T-rating is overlooked when 

specifying and purchasing instruments. When we think about 

temperatures, we tend to be more concerned with the ambient 

temperature range in which the device can continue to operate. 

Intrinsic safety is entity-based, meaning all the components need 

to be considered as a single entity. The devices in the loop also 

need to be treated as “simple apparatus” as defined in ISA–60079- 

11 (12.02.01)–2009 “Explosive Atmospheres—Part 11: Equipment 

Protection by Intrinsic Safety,” which is summarized below: 

Simple apparatus are defined as those devices in the following 

three categories: 

1. Passive components, including items such as switches, junction 

boxes, resistors and simple semiconductor devices that neither 

store nor generate energy. Sensors that use catalytic reaction 

or other electrochemical mechanisms are not normally simple 

apparatus. 

2. Stored energy sources consisting of single components in simple 

circuits with well-defined parameters; for example, capacitors or 

The IS Alternative 

OF EXPLOSION THROUGH HUMAN ERROR 

BY IAN VERHAPPEN 

inductors, whose energy storing values should be considered when 

determining the overall safety of the system. 

3. Generated energy sources; that is, thermocouples and photocells 

that do not generate more than 1.5 V, 100 mA and 25 mW. 

In addition to the above, the following (taken from the ISA 

standard) also applies to simple apparatus installations: 

�� 

and/or current-limiting and/or suppression devices. 

�� 

available voltage or current, for example dc-dc converters. 

�� 

temperature-classified. 

�� 

other electrical circuits, the whole shall be assessed according to the 

requirements of ISA–60079-11 (12.02.01)–2009. 

Surface of 

tank contents 

10ft 

Below grade trench 

Derived from API Recommended Practice 500A 

5ft radius 

around vent 

HOW AREA CLASSIFICATIONS ARE DETERMINED 

Figure 1: The division is based on the likelihood of a specific 

type of gas being present at any point in time. 


Division 1 

Division 2 

17

Hazardous 

area 

connection 

Hazardous area 

CLR: Current 

limiting resistor 

(restricts current) 

TX 

Zener diode 

(restricts voltage) 

Safe area 

Energy-limiting 

300R 

28V 

Barriers Isolators 

Simple and reliable More complex, statistically 

lower MTBF than barrier 

Extremely accurate in many Active devices: power and heat 

applications 

High-integrity bond required Flexibility in bonding practice 

Predictable response to earth 

faults 

Flexible response to earth faults 

Inexpensive Generally more expensive 

Applications are defined in 

terms of voltage and resistance 

Encapsulated design necessary 

Tight power supply limits 

(except ‘protected’/fused 

barriers 

Easier to fault find (earth 

reference) 

Barrier Schematic 

Fuse 

(restricts 

power) 

Isolator Schematic 

Hazardous 

area circuit 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

� 

Protect 

regulate 

Floating 

supply 

Safe area 

circuit 

4-20mA 

IS Earth 

Certified 

component 

Safe area 

connection 

Certified 

transformer 

Application-specific. Each 

barrier is defined in terms of the 

function that it is designed to 

perform. 

Replaceable supply fuse 

common 

Unregulated 

supply 

Power 

250R 

load 

COMPARISON OF BARRIER AND ISOLATOR SCHEMATICS 


Wide power supply tolerance 

0V 

Gas/Equipment Temperature Compatibility 

Gas ignition temperature °C 

Ammonia 630 

Methane 595 

Hydrogen 560 

Propane 470 

Ethylene 425 

Butane 365 

Cyclohexane 259 

Diethyl Ether 170 

Carbon Disulphide 100 

700 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

Apparatus 

temperature 

classification 

DETERMINING T-RATINGS 

Figure 2. The type of gas present determines the T-rating. 

Because with entity systems you need to understand 

interaction between each component on a loop, I/O card, 

barrier or field device, the entity concept works well for loops 

with one I/O card and one field device. However, if you have 

multiple devices on a wire pair, as with fieldbus systems, the 

number of combinations that need to be verified quickly grows 

exponentially. This is one of the reasons most process fieldbus 

systems use FISCO as described in the June 2010 issue of Control 

(www.controlglobal.com/FISCO). 

Furthermore, intrinsically safe circuits need to be kept 

separate from non-intrinsically safe circuits with the following 

minimum requirements: 

�� 

from terminals for non-intrinsically safe circuits where intrinsic 

safety can be impaired by external wiring that, if disconnected 

from the terminal, can come into contact with conductors or 

components by distance or terminal location. 

�� 

between bare conducting parts of terminals shall be at least 50 

mm, including ensuring that contact between circuits is unlikely 

if a wire becomes dislodged. 

�� 

intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe circuits in separate 

enclosures, or by use of either an insulating partition or an 

T1 

T2 

T3 

T4 

T6 

T5

earthed metal partition between terminals 

with a common cover, the following applies: 

�� 

�� 

�� 

distance of 50 mm between the bare 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

transformer feeding the control system and, 

�� 

�� 

�� 

therefore, has to be of low impedance to be 

�� 

�� 

WHY USE IS? 

�� 

�� 

the associated restrictions regarding its 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Field mounted 

instrument Interface cubicle 

Armor 

if used 

X 

Plant bond (through structural earthing routes) 

Isolated 

internal 

circuits 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

opened or closed. 

�� 

electrically, not mechanically, protected, 

�� 

�� 

resistance. 

�� 

�� 

cables and fallible components. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

in the event of contact with bare wires. 

�� 

INTRINSIC SAFETY IS THE ONLY TECHNIQUE THAT PERMITS 

LIVE WORKING WITHOUT GAS CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES 

FOR ALL AREA CLASSIFICATIONS. 

Instrument Earthing (Grounding) Scheme 

X1 

Instrument system 

DESIGN 

TYPICAL CONTROL ROOM GROUNDING PLAN 

Figure 3. The function of the IS ground is to provide a secure, high-integrity, lowimpedance 

path through which fault currents will fl ow while minimizing voltages seen 

in the hazardous area. 

L 

N 

E 

Neutral 

Mains 

Instrument panel 

Barrier cubicle 

Ex i 

Plant bond 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

are separately powered, they do not present as 

large a load to the loop. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

diff erences between these two alternatives. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Ian Verhappen P.Eng., is an ISA Fellow, 

ISA Certifi ed Automation Professional and 

recognized authority on Foundation fi eldbus 

and industrial communications technologies. 

When this article was fi rst published in 

Control in June 2011, Verhappen led global 

consultancy Industrial Automation Networks. 


19

INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 

Continuing our 

look back at 

content we’ve 

created since 

2002, here’s a mesh networks 

piece as it appeared in Q3 

2004. Since Ian is departing 

Industrial Networking as a regular 

contributor, we chose one of 

his. Note the companies in the 

table that are gone or have been 

swallowed up since then. 

IF A PATH FROM POINT 

A TO POINT B IS OUT OF 

SERVICE, AT LEAST 

ONE ALTERNATE PATH 

REMAINS AVAILABLE. 

In 2004, IAN VERHAPPEN 

…was director at ICE-Pros, an 

independent instrument and 

control engineering consulting 

firm specializing in fieldbus 

automation projects. Ian recently 

was appointed managing director 

of Yokogawa Canada. 

WIRELESS NETWORKING AND ASSOCIATED 

technology certainly has changed the way 

people work and interact with each other. 

Wi-Fi networks, cellular phones and national 

personal radio networks are examples of this 

explosion during the past five years. Wireless 

technology is moving into the industrial 

environment as well, getting significant buzz in 

industry and trade journals. 

PARITY CHECK 

Mesh Networks Hit the Mark 

Of course, wireless is not entirely new to 

industry, since licensed-band radios have been 

in use for years in SCADA systems and for plant 

operator radios. What is new is the increasing 

adoption of industrial, scientific and medical 

(ISM) or unlicensed bands in an industrial setting. 

These installations can range from simple 

single-point readings to multiple-transmitter 

installations to complete networks. Similarly, the 

type of network or connection can be pointto-point 

(master/slave) or mesh (peer-to-peer) 

communications. 

Traditional installation practices are pointto-point 

or point-to-multipoint (i.e., master/ 

slave) transmissions that are restricted to a rigid 

structure with a maximum of two “hops,” deviceaccess 

point-device, and are also more susceptible 

to signal loss in the event a large object such as 

a crane moves into a signal path. The point-tomultipoint 

case also has the risk of data flow 

MESH TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS 

Elpro Technologies www.elpro.com 

Ember Technologies www.ember.com 

Kiyon www.kiyon.com 

MeshNetworks www.meshnetworks.com 

Moteran Networks www.moteran.com 

Nortel Networks www.nortel.com 

restrictions through the access point, since this 

point also is the network master. 

All access points should be OSI Layer 3 switchcapable 

so they can detect and handle priority 

messages in the switch buffer. 

One option to remedy the point-to-point 

system’s problems is to use a mesh network. 

These networks differ in that each device is 

“aware” of the other devices within its broadcast 

range. Therefore, much like the Internet, if one 

path from point A to point B is out of service, 

at least one alternate path remains available. In 

effect, the network is self-healing. Similarly, if the 

signal between devices is too weak, installation of 

another device along the path of the low signal 

strength can remedy the situation. 

Additional considerations for wireless networks 

in industrial settings that require consideration: 

Security—Because ISM wireless signals are 

typically broadcast omni-directionally, and 

also are used by other commercial-off-the-shelf 

technologies, it is possible they can be captured 

and potentially altered by outside agents. 

Bandwidth—Protocols such as TCP are 

optimized for networks that drop 0.1% of all 

packets, while radio networks can drop as much 

as 5–10% of packets sent. 

Distance—Outdoors, line-of-site transmission 

signals drop off in proportion to the square of 

the path distance. Because of factors such as 

polarization and destructive interference, indoor 

signals can decrease following a cube law (or 

higher) function, thus restricting signal distance 

to as little as 15–30 m. 

Data Rate—To ensure timely receipt of 

messages and minimize collisions, the effective data 

throughput in a wireless network should be kept to 

30% of the maximum attainable radio data rate. 

Mesh technology overcomes many of the 

limitations of traditional master/slave networks 

while its peer-to-peer communications ability will 

enable new innovative sensing technologies such 

as “motes” and “swarms.” 

Mesh technology is not the magic arrow of 

network or system design, but it certainly is 

another important addition to our quiver of 

possible solutions. 

The Instrumentation Systems and Automation 

Society’s (ISA) Standards & Practices department is 

having a meeting on the use of wireless technology 

in automation and control environments during 

this month’s ISA 2004 conference and exhibition. 

This session is open to all parties interested in 

identifying and working on standards to ensure 

reliable wireless communications in industrial 

settings. There are a number of prominent mesh 

technology providers. For a partial list, see the 

accompanying table.

Connectors Bulk Up, Smarten Up 

THE ALWAYS DATA-HEAVY WORLD OF CONTROL 

and automation is getting more intense—cloud 

computing alone is going to need an awfully big 

drainpipe. So there will be lots of fiberoptic lines, 

high-gain antennas, Ethernet and other copper 

cabling, but all these networks will still begin and 

end with connectors. Talk about a big job. 

“The primary push in connectors is for higher 

density, such as M8 and M12 connectors, which 

have more pins and can handle more signals,” says 

Aaron Henry, North American marketing manager 

for Murrelektronik (www.murrelektronik.com). 

“We also see expanded use of Gigabit Ethernet 

connectors, such as special RJ45 components, 

which provide more data density. A regular RJ45 

has four pins and runs at the usual 10/100 Mbps 

or 100BaseT, but a Gigabit RJ45 has eight pins and 

runs at 10/100/1000 Mbps or 1000BaseT, which is 

up to 1 Gbps. Ours is called the RJ45 Pro.” 

Mike Miclot, marketing vice president for 

Belden Americas (www.belden.com), confirms 

that. “Device manufacturers are finding that 

traditional RJ45 connectors are susceptible to 

intrusion from water or corrosives, and so they 

need a better seal. That’s why we introduced 

shrouded RJ45s for better protection, and four- 

and eight-pin versions to handle Gigabit and 

coming 40 Gb speeds. Our Lumberg division has 

M8 and M12 connectors that are lockable, IP67rated, 

and offer even more protection.” 

Not only are connectors getting faster and better 

able to handle huge volumes of data, but they’re 

also getting smarter, with several types of basic 

data processing that’s on board or very close to the 

connector. This is helpful because useful intelligence 

added by a microprocessor in or near its application 

means it can secure data, analyze it and initiate 

needed changes faster and with less interference. 

Rich Carlson, senior product manager for Han 

industrial connectors at Harting North America 

(www.harting-usa.com), reports that most 

smart connectors consist of microprocessors or 

printed circuit boards (PCBs) inside modules with 

connection or termination points. For instance, 

Han’s modular connectors have collected and 

processed data for many years, but counterparts 

like Han-Elisa connectors have consolidated 

into smaller, Lego-like form factors even as they 

gained intelligence. “Now we have 34x53x15 mm 

connectors, and we can condense six or seven of 

these modules onto a cable or mount it on a frame 

to save real estate,” Carlson says. 

Some connectors are adapted for harsher 

settings, and even have more connections. For 

example, Han-Yellock connectors are IP67-rated 

and can handle up to 20 A, but they also have a 

potential multiplier to other component parts. 

“Basically, where most connectors are pointto-point, 

Yellock has one wire going into the 

connector and four or five coming out,” Carlson 

explains. “Adding an adapter allows us to take 

terminal block functions into our connectors, 

which can save a lot of wire and labor costs.” 

The two worlds of power for connectivity 

and communications are merging, and they’ll 

soon add power for motors to the club, says Rick 

Griffin, global business development manager 

for controls at Molex (www.molex.com). “We’ve 

already developed and launched a Circular Hybrid 

Technology (CHT) in M12 connectors with 10-A, 

24-V power and shielded 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet, 

and this saves wire and labor by running 24-V 

and communications through one connection,” 

explains Griffin. “Soon, we’ll take a ‘spinal cord’ 

approach to connectivity by adding three-phase 

motor power up to 600-V with high bandwidth, 

noise-immune fiber optics using Molex Fiber 

expertise.” 

Jason Moore, product line manager for 

automation and control at Eaton (www.eaton.com), 

concurs. “The whole framework of connectivity 

is growing and evolving,” he says. “Traditional 

wire, solder and ferrules are giving way to clip-on 

connectors to smart I/O systems and devices.” 

In fact, Eaton recently refined its SmartWire-DT 

connection and cable system to simplify panel 

building and modular machine construction. 

Its connectors are simple to adjust, crimp and 

tie into SmartWire-DT’s single, flat, green, eightpole 

cable. A microprocessor and ASIC in its 

pilot module enable other devices to run on 

SmartWire-DT’s network. “Traditional PLC systems 

consist of a controller and I/O cards that plug 

into the back of the PLC,” Moore says. “However, 

SmartWire-DT doesn’t need an I/O card because 

its cable connects directly to the controller, its 

chip recognizes components as I/O points, and so 

they’re already I/O-capable.” 

BANDWIDTH 

USEFUL INTELLIGENCE 

ADDED BY A 

MICROPROCESSOR IN 

OR NEAR ITS 

APPLICATION MEANS 

IT CAN SECURE DATA, 

ANALYZE IT AND 

INITIATE NEEDED 

CHANGES FASTER 

AND WITH LESS 

INTERFERENCE. 

JIM MONTAGUE 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

jmontague@putman.net 


21

Nothing but Growth for Ethernet 

MANAGED SWITCHES REPLACE HUBS, AND PLAIN VANILLA ETHERNET 

ABOUT 23% OF THE 31.3 MILLION INDUSTRIAL NETWORKED 

nodes in 2011 were based on Ethernet or an Ethernet variant, reports 

John Morse, senior analyst at IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com). 

IMS’s 2012 World Market for Industrial Ethernet report says the 

remaining nodes use longstanding fieldbus technologies. 

By 2015, the report projects, 26% of 45 million nodes will be 

Ethernet-based. Morse noted the installed strength of Ethernet 

TCP/IP, the “standard” form of Ethernet. For many users, the nondeterministic 

nature of this technology is not a problem. IMS 

estimated that Ethernet TCP/IP accounted for 43% of new nodes 

STRIDE TO REDUNDANCY 

Stride industrial-grade, managed Ethernet 

switches with redundant power inputs 

with surge and spike protection and autocrossover 

have real-time ring technology for 

recovery of all redundancy options on the 

switch. Most models have multiple 10/100BaseT, RJ45 Ethernet ports; 

others include ST- or SC-type fiberoptic connections. 

AutomationDirect; 770/889-2858; www.automationdirect.com 

BYPASS AVAILABLE 

EN50155-certified EKI-6528TPI industrial switch with 

IP40 protection and M12 connectors provides four 

PoE ports that support IEEE 802.3af and provide up 

to 15.4 W per port. Under no-power condition, an 

auto bypass function ensures the Ethernet signal 

connection through internal circuitry. 

Advantech; 800/205-7940; www.advantech.com/ea 

I SEE LC 

Elinx ESW100 unmanaged industrial Ethernet 

switches have LC small-form-factor fiber 

connectors and are panel-mountable. Fiveport 

ESW105 and eight-port ESW108 have 

either all copper ports, or users can replace 

one copper port with an LC multi- or singlemode 

fiber port. Communication range is 2 km for multi-mode fiber 

and 20 km for single-mode. 

B&B Electronics; 815/433-5100; www.bb-elec.com 


REMAINS A FAVORITE FLAVOR 

connected in 2010, and would decrease slightly to 40% in 2015. 

IMS projects that Gigabit Ethernet will increase its share of the 

market by only about 0.3% over the next five years. IMS Research 

believes that, although many devices now have Gigabit Ethernet 

available at the port, it is only occasionally used. It is employed where 

a backbone is installed, but at the machine-level, 10/100Base-T over 

copper is more common. 

At the component level, the adoption of managed switches will 

grow at a faster rate, superseding the market for hubs, which has all 

but disappeared. 

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE 

Stratix 8300 Layer 3 managed switch 

provides VLAN and subnet routing 

capability using Cisco Catalyst operating 

system, feature set and user interface, 

offering IT the same programming and configuration tools they already 

use. The switches integrate into Integrated Architecture system, making 

plant-floor engineers feel at home. Inter-VLAN routing and advanced 

routing protocols allow users to integrate multiple cell zones and 

connect with manufacturing and enterprise-level networks. 

Rockwell Automation; 800/223-5354; www.ab.com/networks 

MANAGES A LOT 

EISK8M-100T managed 10/100 Mbps Ethernet 

switch with eight copper ports provides SNMP 

managed applications, supports authentication, 

IP address assignment, trunking, port mirroring, 

VLAN, port forwarding, QoS, programmable 

fault relay, cable redundancy, rate limiting, 

port security and Internet group management 

protocol (IGMP) snooping. 

Contemporary Controls; 630/963-7070; www.ccontrols.com 

IN THE COUPLER 

Integrated Ethernet switch in machine-mount 

Speedway 767-2301 programmable fieldbus 

coupler ties IP67 components to Ethernet. 

It supports EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP, 

and the Ethernet switch synchronizes harsh-

environment machinery and higher-level control systems without 

additional components. 

Wago; 800/346-7245; www.wago.us 

SERIAL TO ETHERNET 

Converters integrate serial port devices into 

industrial Ethernet networks, with two ports 

compatible with RS-232, RS-422 and RS-485. 

Two built-in Ethernet switch ports eliminate 

need for an additional switch to daisy chain 

ports or extend the network via the Ethernet 

line. Ethernet interface supports TCP Server, TCP Client, UDP, Real 

COM, RFC2217, Reverse Telnet, Pair Connection and Ethernet-Modem. 

Weidmüller; 800/849-9343; www.weidmuller.com 

IN-DEPTH DEFENSES 

mGuard RS2000 and RS4000 provide defensein-depth 

cybersecurity with all-in-one firewall, 

VPN and routing capability. With new metal 

housing, they operate in -20 to 60 °C range. 

Users can save a configuration on an SD card 

in one mGuard and insert that card into 

a new mGuard to duplicate settings. Configured with an SD card, the 

settings will remain, even if the SD card is removed. 

Phoenix Contact; 800/322-3225; www.phoenixcontact.com 

HANDLE LOTS OF DATA 

Magnum 10KG managed switches 

have up to eight Gigabit ports 

and 16 100 Mb ports, and dual 

hot-swappable power supplies in a 1U or 1.5U rack-mount switch. 

Port combinations of fiber and copper can be configured to the needs 

of each installation. They have a hardened enclosure that allows the 

switches to run cooler and more efficiently, and include Magnum 

MNS 6K software with built-in security features. 

GarrettCom; 510/438-9071; www.garrettcom.com 

FAST RECOVERY 

10/100BaseTX to 100BaseFX managed, 

redundant industrial switch uses redundant 

copper or fiber links with switching recovery 

times below 300 ms. The eight-port switches 

can be SNMP-managed via web browser to 

configure IGMP snooping, VLANs, QoS, port 

mirroring and trunking. 

Transition Networks; 800/526-9267; www.transition.com 

UP TO 24 PORTS 

SEL-2730M managed 24-port 

Ethernet switch meets or exceeds 

IEEE 1613 (Class 2) and IEC 61850- 

3 communications standards. The design minimizes printed circuit 

RESEARCH 

boards and interface points. With no moving parts, the base-model 

SEL-2730M has 16 10/100 Mbps ports, and four for Gigabit Ethernet. 

Upgrade the 10/100 Mbps drop ports to fiberoptic interfaces and 

add four additional small-form-factor pluggable (SFP) fiberoptic 

Gigabit Ethernet ports. Dual hot-swappable power supplies support 

simultaneous ac and dc voltage sources. 

SEL; 509/332-1890; www.selinc.com/p143 

FULLY MANAGED 

N-Tron 7900 fully managed, four-slot, 

modular industrial Ethernet switch supports 

up to 24 10/100 plus two Gigabit Ethernet 

ports with a variety of fiber/copper port 

options. Configuration and monitoring 

tools include a Command Line Interface, web browser or N-View OPC 

software. It includes VLAN, QoS, trunking (link aggregation), port 

mirroring and automatic IGMP configuration to optimize network 

performance, and UL approval for Class I, Div. 2 hazardous locations. 

Red Lion Controls; 717/767-6511; www.redlion.net 

WORKS IN THE HEAT 

Industrial-grade four-port USB hub has 

an operating range of -40 to 85 °C, highretention 

USB connectors, an industrial 

steel enclosure, and can be bus- or selfpowered. 

Power input options are dc power 

input jack, screw terminals, or 3.5 in. drive 

power connector (Berg). It supports high-speed USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and 

1.1, with data transfer rates to 480 Mbps. 

Acces I/O Products; 858/550-9559; www.accesio.com 

STANDS ALONE 

Standalone Ethernet hub for X20 slice I/O can be 

used as a 4x or 6x hub or even 2x hub for extending 

Ethernet sections up to 200 m. In addition to 

standard Ethernet, the modular hub can be 

expanded with an X20 bus controller module with 

an integrated 2x hub for Ethernet Powerlink. 

B&R Industrial Automation; 770/772-0400; 

www.br-automation.com 

GATEWAY SWITCH 

BL20 Economy gateways for EtherNet/IP and 

Modbus TCP for distributed I/O have an 

integrated Ethernet switch that allows a line 

topology between multiple gateways without 

using an external switch, eliminating the need for 

additional cable runs to the PLC. BL20 gateways 

accommodate up to 32 I/O modules and are 

available with an integrated power supply, 

eliminating the need for an additional power module to feed the I/O bus. 

Turck; 800/544-7769; www.turck.us 


23

RESEARCH 

DETERMINISTIC SWITCHING 

Fast Track Switch technology prioritizes and 

accelerates the Ethernet messages needed 

for specific applications. The identification 

characteristics of the messages are easy to 

configure within the switch, so important messages 

can be accelerated by the cut-through method to 

overtake other messages blocking their path. 

Harting; 847/717-9222; www.harting.com 

ONE FOR MANY 

cifX network controllers support 

EtherNet/IP, Profinet, EtherCAT, 

DeviceNet and Profibus. Available in PCI, 

Mini PCI, CompactPCI, PCI/104 and PCI 

Express formats, the cards use the same 

software host interface for all protocols, 

allowing quick and easy change of 

protocols by loadable firmware. 

Hilscher North America; 630/505-5301; www.hilscher.com 

TWO’S BETTER 

PPM-GIGE-2 two-channel Gigabit 

Ethernet LAN module has self-stacking I/O 

expansion and standard RJ45 connectors 

to plug into 10/100/1000 Mbps networks 

using standard Cat. 5 unshielded, twistedpair 

copper. Two Gigabit Ethernet 

controllers combine a triple-speed, IEEE 

802.3-compliant media access controller with a triple-speed Ethernet 

transceiver, 32-bit PCI bus controller, and embedded memory. It has 

crossover detection and auto-correction, polarity correction, adaptive 

equalization, cross-talk cancellation, echo cancellation, timing 

recovery, and error correction. 

WinSystems; 817/274-7553; www.winsystems.com 

INTEGRATED SWITCH 

Anybus X-gateway CANopen functions 

as a slave on the EtherNet/IP network 

and as a master on the CANopen 

side. The gateway is equipped with 

an integrated two-port switch on the 

EtherNet/IP side, enabling EtherNet/ 

IP installations in bus or line topology 

without external switches. 

HMS Industrial Networks; 312/829-0601; www.anybus.com 

SWITCH QUICKLY 

QuickSwitch 6259R RoHS-compliant, 

manually operated, 16-channel ST 

simplex fiberoptic A/B/Offline network 

switch has MEMS-based mirror/prism 


24 

switch technology that supports Gigabit data rates. It allows devices 

connected to the Common port of each channel access to the A or B 

port on each channel. The front-panel LED display indicates all of the 

switch positions and unit power status. 

Electrostandards; 401/943-1164; www.electrostandards.com 

SECURE GIGABIT 

EDR-G903 Firewall/VPN secure router 

supports three combo Gigabit ports 

with built-in RJ45 ports and SFP slots 

for connecting to a WAN, a LAN, and a 

WAN or DMZ. Dual WAN feature helps 

establish a reliable Internet connection 

backup and provides a secondary option 

for load sharing two ISPs. It supports intelligent firewall functions, and 

Quick Automation Profile supports 25 common fieldbus protocols. 

Moxa; 888/moxa-usa; www.moxa.com 

WIRELESS SMARTS 

Smart Switch industrial frequency-hopping 

Ethernet radios for 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz 

intelligently route packets, managing the 

wireless network like a standard Ethernet 

switch, creating peer-to-peer wireless 

Ethernet communication. The radios 

provide long-range wireless connectivity 

and support 1.1 Mbps data rates. A serial port can be used to pull 

data and send to a client via wireless Ethernet. 

ProSoft Technology; 661/716-5100; 

www.prosoft-technology.com/wireless 

STACK ‘EM 

EL326 Layer 3 rack-mount, 

managed industrial Ethernet 

switch provides 24 ports of Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet 

uplinks. Advanced port security supports several authentication 

and encryption protocols, rate limiting and ACL features. Dedicated 

stacking ports enable the stacking of up to four switches, providing 

redundancy and added capacity as required. 

Sixnet; 518/877-5173; www.sixnet.com 

HEAL THYSELF 

G408M fully managed industrial Gigabit 

Ethernet switch has a self-healing ring 

capability. When a fiber or cable break 

is detected on any of the ring ports, 

the switch reroutes network traffic in 

milliseconds. An alarm output on the 

terminal block can signal error conditions 

to a PLC or other supervisory devices. Ports 

1–4 are copper only; ports 5–8 can be copper or fiber. 

Ultra Electronics, NSPI; 512/434-2830; www.ultra-nspi.com

API FOR APPS 

With CANopen Master API for development of PC-based 

CANopen control, applications on Windows can operate 

up to 12 CAN interfaces in parallel, and up to four CAN 

channels per interface board. The API programming library 

is offered for 32- and 64-bit Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 

Windows 7 systems. 

Ixxat; +49 751 561 46 0; www.ixxat.de 

RATED FOR SPEED 

Industrial Ethernet M12 connector system for data rates to 

10 Gbps supports cabling from Cat. 5e through Cat. 6a using 

shielded and unshielded twisted-pair varieties. Features include 

IP67 sealed and screw locking connection, custom, orthogonal 

circuit pattern, and corrosion-resistant hardware. 

TE Connectivity; 800/522-6752; www.te.com 

SERIAL CONNECTOR 

iServer3G connects any serial device (RS-232, RS-485) to an 

Ethernet network or the Internet to send notifications by email, 

and includes SNMP for remote management. There are three 

versions available: a wall-mount or bench-top model; DIN-railmount 

for industrial applications; and PCB-level product for 

embedded OEM applications. 

Newport Electronics; 714/540-4914; www.newportus.com 

CALL THE AUXILIARY 

EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary helps DeviceNet-based components communicate 

to an EtherNet/IP network. Users can access the status of any DeviceNet device within the 

network from any PC or PLC. It supports up to six components while passing EtherNet/IP 

explicit and I/O messages, and has an embedded web interface. 

Rockwell Automation; 440/646-3434; www.rockwellautomation.com 

END-TO-END M2M 

Aleos Application Framework includes an integrated 

development environment, feature-rich libraries, and a set 

of tools to develop custom machine-to-machine (M2M) 

applications on top of the Aleos embedded intelligence platform 

using AirLink GX400 and GX440 gateways. Integrating these applications with the Sierra 

Wireless AirVantage M2M Cloud Platform lets developers create end-to-end M2M 

implementations. 

Sierra Wireless; 604/232-1488; www.sierrawireless.com 

HOT ETHERNET 

Xtra-Guard Industrial Ethernet cables are available in 

unshielded, foil shield or Supra-Shield foil/braid—a 

combination aluminum/polyester/aluminum foil and 

tinned copper braid for added EMI resistance. Cable has an 

operating range of -50 to 125 °C on FEP-insulated conductors 

and -50 to 105 °C on polyethylene-insulated conductors. TPE jacket is available in black with 

standard lengths of 500 and 1,000 ft. 

Alpha Wire; 800/52-alpha; www.alphawire.com/xgie 


PRODUCTS 25 

25 

CONTACT US 

555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143 

630/467-1300 � Fax: 630/467-1124 

industrialnetworking@putman.net 

EDITORIAL TEAM 

Editor In Chief Joe Feeley 

Executive Editor Jim Montague 

Managing Editor Aaron Hand 

Digital Managing Editor Katherine Bonfante 

Senior Technical Editor Walt Boyes 

Senior Technical Editor Dan Hebert 

Editorial Assistant Lori Goldberg 

DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM 

Senior Production Manager Anetta Gauthier 

Art Director Derek Chamberlain 

PUBLISHING TEAM 

Group Publisher/VP, Content Keith Larson 

Director of Circulation Jack Jones 

VP, Creative Services Steve Herner 

EXECUTIVE STAFF 

President & CEO John Cappelletti 

VP, Circulation Jerry Clark 

CFO Jane B. Volland 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

888/644-1803 

SALES TEAM 

Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager 

Dave Fisher � dfisher@putman.net 

24 Cannon Forge Dr., Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035 

508/543-5172 � Fax: 508/543-3061 

Midwestern and Southern Regional Manager 

Greg Zamin � gzamin@putman.net 

555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143 

630/467-1300 � Fax: 630/467-1124 

Western Regional Manager 

Laura Martinez � lmartinez@putman.net 

218 Virginia, Suite 4, El Segundo, California 90245 

310/607-0125 � Fax: 310/607-0168 

Inside Sales Manager 

Polly Dickson � pdickson@putman.net 

630/467-1300 � Fax: 630/467-1124 

REPRINTS 

Foster Reprints 

�� 

�� 

AD INDEX 

Advantech Automation................................. 28 

AutomationDirect ..............................................2 

Hilscher North America....................................6 

Molex ......................................................................3 

Moxa Americas....................................................4 

ProSoft Technology......................................... 10 

Sealevel Systems.................................................9 

Siemens Industry............................................. 27

26 

INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING 

Q3 • 2012 

Enjoy this 10th 

anniversary look 

back at the content 

published 

since we started 

in 2002. Here's a column as it 

originally appeared in the 

Winter 2003 issue that outlines 

the benefits of a digital safety 

network, and foresees an inevitable 

and large acceptance of 

the fast emerging technology. 

SAFETY APPLICATIONS 

IN CONJUNCTION 

WITH NETWORKS WILL 

BE THE FUTURE IN THE 

AUTOMATION WORLD 

In 2003, ANDREW EBERHARD 

was division manager of industrial 

services at TÜV Rheinland of 

North America. We understand 

he's now a vice president at 

P\S\L Group in the San 

Francisco Bay Area. 

PROGRAMMABLE SAFETY APPLICATIONS ARE ENTERING 

automation fields that had been reserved for 

conventional electromechanical technology. 

Are all industries ready to accept safety systems 

that rely on bits and bytes? The answer: Not yet. 

But that time should not be far off. 

For many products and systems, a failure to 

function can expose people and the surrounding 

environment to hazards or contribute to 

TERMINATOR 

Standards Are We Ready Simplify for Digital Vision Safety? Systems 

production losses. A standard safety assessment 

evaluates how much “safety” has to be incorporated 

into a device or system to achieve the 

appropriate safety level. Products such as safety 

PLCs, fire-detection systems, light curtains, or 

safety bus systems are considered safety- 

relevant devices. 

Although standard fieldbus applications grew 

dramatically in the past few years, safety functions 

had to be realized in a second layer. A 

second layer usually contains safety relays or is 

implemented within a special safety network. 

Additional wiring costs for the diagnosis of safety 

functions often is necessary, and flexibility is 

limited due to heterogeneous engineering. 

The status of safety-oriented parts or layers 

can be made available to the control system by 

coupling with the operative fieldbus. Safety applications 

in conjunction with networks, regardless 

of their structure, will be the future in the automation 

world. Openness and interoperability are 

key factors to expedite the safety automation 

process. It won’t be too far in the future that 

Bluetooth or Wi-Fi-enabled control pendants will 

be a part of an overall safety network. 

The current experience gathered in safety 

networking in the operative area of plant and 

machine controlling paves the road in the right 

direction. Benefits include reduced wiring, comprehensive 

diagnostic possibilities, increased 

flexibility, and a higher level of safety. 

When engineering a safety system, its safety 

integrity must be built in. In other words, the 

safety integrity of the intended system architecture 

has to be predicted and evaluated. IEC 

61508 is the major functional safety standard 

that introduces the concept of the safety 

integrity level (SIL). The SIL represents the 

probability that a safety system will not satisfactorily 

perform the required safety functions 

under all the stated conditions, within a stated 

period of time. IEC 61508 also is the basis for 

the certification of programmable electronic 

safety systems. 

IEC 61508, Functional Safety of Electrical/ 

Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety- 

Related Systems, is a seven-part international 

standard. It is generic, and applies to safetyrelated 

control systems, PLCs, devices and 

components (including sensors, actuators and 

operator interface). The four main areas covered 

by the standard: 

● Measures and techniques for avoiding or controlling 

faults (hardware and operating system 

software) during design and development. 

● Hardware fault tolerance of systems/sub- 

systems (structure) in combination with “safe 

failure fraction” and diagnostic coverage. 

● Probability of “failure to danger” of the subsystem 

by reliability modeling techniques. 

● Measures and techniques for avoiding or controlling 

faults during the design and development 

of application software. 

The concept of SIL introduced in IEC 61508 is 

a concept of classes of safety requirements for 

components, modules, subsystems or functions. 

The SIL indicates target failure measures for the 

safety function of an E/E/PES system. This 

method obtains Markov models for probabilistic 

calculations that make it possible to determine 

the accurate SIL level. 

IEC 61508 is a powerful blueprint for the 

future. TÜV Rheinland, which has offices in the 

U.S. and other countries, currently is the only 

organization authorized to provide an assessment 

of safety networks around the globe. 

In North America, the U.S. Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has 

endorsed ANSI/ISA-S84.01-1996, Application of 

Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process 

Industries, as a “national consensus standard” 

for the application of safety instrumented systems 

(SIS) for the process industries. S84.01 covers 

electrical, electronic and programmable 

electronic technology, and follows the safety 

lifecycle, similar to IEC 61508. 

Acceptance is growing all over the world. It’s 

only a matter of time before this concept of 

programmable safety is embraced universally. ●

Totally Integrated Automation 

SIMATIC NET provides seamless communication 

between all automation components. 

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www.usa.siemens.com/tia 

©2012 Siemens Industry, Inc.

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