Industrial Ethernet-based Networking for the Process Industry

ODVA. 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.