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Industrial Ethernet Guide - Ethernet and TCP/IP Basics
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.Note: This chapter can only provide a rudimentary overview of the underlying Ethernet technology. There are already a significant number of works on TCP/IP available (see also the “References” appendix) that explain the topic in great detail.Nevertheless, the information in this chapter is [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - TCP/IP Protocol Positions Within OSI Reference Model
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.The TCP/IP layer model follows the OSI 7-Layer Reference Model to a certain degree as demonstrated in the image documenting the Ethernet TCP/IP protocol layers. The similarities to the OSI model are apparent.However, they do have their subtle differences. After all, OSI is [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - Standard Ethernet TCP/IP
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.As the term Ethernet TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) indicates, Ethernet TCP/IP is not a single protocol. It comprises of a full suite of protocols based on the two original protocols TCP and IP. In other words, Ethernet TCP/IP is a layered protocol, where each layer [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - Client/Server Vs. Master/Slave
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.Note: There is an ongoing discussion regarding the political correctness of the term "Master/Slave", specifically in the United States, due to its history. While the author would welcome a revised, standardized term, the industry and the various standardization organizations have been slow to [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - Real-Time Works Only In A Box
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.Ages-old technology wisdom says that real-time works only in a box. This statement has, however, been obsoleted by Industrial Ethernet. Industrial Ethernet allows the design of a real-time network rather than an isolated real-time system.Note: The reference to real-time capabilities of Industrial Ethernet [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - The Dependence On Intelligent Nodes
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.In review, any Fieldbus system (a.k.a. Distributed Control), utilizing a certain level of network management, is based on communication between one central system (Master, Server) and several nodes (Slave, Client). These nodes are nothing else but processor systems, and old technology wisdom states [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - The Special Role Of Industrial Ethernet
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.While distributed control delivers a significant number of advantages, the most prominent being the vastly reduced amount of wiring, it still has to deal with the restrictions of traditional serial communication technologies, specifically their bandwidth limitations. The result is that traditional technologies, especially when [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - Network Topologies
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.Distributed Control, and the advantages that come with it, is best demonstrated through the classic, lean Bus network structure. There are, however, several different network topologies that serve virtually the same purpose but, at the same time, have their individual characteristics that are [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - The Benefits of Distributed Control
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.The advantages of distributed over central control, reduced wiring and distributed intelligence, as briefly mentioned in the previous chapter, amount not only to significant cost savings through the reduction of efforts during design and operation but also opens the door to supporting application [...]
Industrial Ethernet Guide - Central Vs. Distributed Control
The following is part of A Comprehensible Guide to Industrial Ethernet by Wilfried Voss.Central Control is based on a single CPU burdened with the entire automation task. Consequently, the data traffic between the CPU and the hardware interfaces is very high. Central Control requires the use of a high-performance (i.e., fast) CPU, especially when it comes to real-time control.As the blow [...]