Technical Paper Abstract
Since the turn of the century, Industrial Automation has seen an ever increasing adoption of Ethernet-based networking and the associated IP stack. One vision is that of a single network paradigm from the Cloud to the field devices – yielding many lifecycle benefits. Industrial Ethernet can bridge IT and OT, being appropriate for MES, most controllers and user interfaces, and many field applications. However, a number of practical concerns limit the utilization of Ethernet at the field edge. In particular, the 100 m distance limitation and the high implementation cost relative to the smallest components have held back complete Ethernet adoption. In addition, special environment requirements such as intrinsic safety have held back some markets, in particular Process Automation. Currently, a variety of non-Ethernet solutions, typically buses or point to point links, augment Ethernet for a complete solution. Issues with such a mixed system include the additional complexity of application gateways and proxies, obtaining specialized skill in many networking technologies, and the lack of IP-related protocol convergence for IIoT and related usage. Demand and feasibility are shown for long distance by Process Automation industry fair demonstrations, and for low cost by continued Automotive push for innovative cost reduction techniques beyond the established single pair architecture. In July 2016, the IEEE 802.3 authorized the “10 Mb/s Single Twisted Pair Ethernet Study Group” (informally known as “10SPE”), kicking off the development of a set of Ethernet enhancements aimed at closing these gaps. This paper discusses this IEEE activity and the potential benefits to the Industrial Automation markets.
Paper and presentation from the 2017 Industry Conference & 18th Annual Meeting of Members
David Brandt, Rockwell Automation
Dayin Xu, Rockwell Automation
Jörg Hähniche, Endress+Hauser
Keywords
Ethernet, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3cg, 10SPE, Single-pair, Industrial Automation, Process Automation, In-cabinet, Fieldbus, IEC 60079, Intrinsic Safety, NAMUR, ODVA, EtherNet/IP