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2017 State of Technology: Industrial Networks 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

www.controlglobal.com

The world wide wait revisited 5

Open the borders 7

Open up the options 13

How to manage the Ethernet spectrum 18

Redefining determinism 20

Ethernet comes in many colors 22

Wireless when? 30

The final control element frontier 32

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Remember the world-wide-wait? You may recall a time “before Google,” when a frequency-

shift-keying (FSK) device called a “modem” connected to a broader network, be it Com-

puServe or AOL. Modems let users employ their twisted-pair phone lines as a “segment”

to communicate with other computers. Speeds of 300 baud (bits per second) were possible

with FSK, and later technologies stepped up to 1,200 and 2,400 baud and beyond.

At the same time we heard our modems sing a tune over the phone lines, the HART protocol

was created to interact with smart transmitters. HART also employs FSK, using twisted-pair

cable employed for 4-20 mA analog signals, and superimposing a low-amplitude, 1,200-baud

signal consistent with contemporary technologies. Not coincidently, HART was derived from

a Bell protocol (for “after-Google” folks, that’s the phone company). Aside from compatibility

with 4-20 mA signals, HART’s other important property was hazardous-area capability.

The idea of using existing infrastructure was not lost on the ISA SP50 committee, tasked

with creating a specification for fieldbus to become the digital equivalent of 4-20 mA.

Speeds of 31.25 kHz preserved some of the same priorities as HART’s FSK, enabling it to

use existing cables and limit voltages for hazardous-area classifications. Speeds that were

25 times faster than 1,200 baud FSK seemed adequate, especially when the nerdier among

us were using a 56K dial-up modem. Today’s Profibus PA and Foundation fieldbus physical

layer communicate over twisted-pair cable, using a pure digital protocol and trapezoidal,

The world wide wait revisitedby John Rezabek



nominally one-volt peak-to-peak “square”

wave that increases its robustness and

noise immunity.

After first being deployed on “fat” and “thin”

coaxial cables, Ethernet began its rise to

ubiquity when it moved to cheaper, more

readily available, twisted-pair copper cables.

Named for the “luminiferous ether” that

18th century scientists postulated to explain

transmission of light waves, Ethernet was

created as a network for office computers.

It didn’t take control manufacturers long

to develop Ethernet networks for industry.

Beginning with the operator interface (HMI)

and later extended to controllers and I/O

subsystems, Ethernet is employed in almost

every modern control system. Nearly all have

their own “customizations,” and limit the

choice of topologies to ensure time-critical,

deterministic communications.

If you haven’t noticed yet, there’s been a

little arms race going on to offer Ethernet-

connected field devices. The latest incar-

nation of leading Coriolis flowmeters are

all touted for their easy interconnection to

control systems that support “industrial

Ethernet” protocols like Profinet and Ether-

Net/IP. These products have found a mar-

ket among end users and system integra-

tors in food and pharmaceuticals, and some

in upstream oil and gas. They’re finding it

easy to integrate Coriolis flowmeters using

a familiar Ethernet connection.

But for many, deciding to deploy field devices

with Ethernet connectivity means a potential-

ly substantial investment in infrastructure and

power supplies. But what if analog, twisted-

pair cabling could be repurposed for indus-

trial Ethernet? Consumer products that use

phone or power lines have been available for

years, and the most recent generations are

achieving reasonable transmission rates.

The obstacle to using this technology in

process plants has been hazardous area ca-

pability—keeping energy levels low enough

to prevent it from becoming an ignition

source. Today, innovations to allow 4-20

mA or fieldbus infrastructure for high-speed

Ethernet in hazardous areas are being pro-

totyped and demonstrated.

Pioneering end users aiming to employ

device intelligence have been reliving the

“world-wide-wait” when gathering and

viewing device information. The network

isn’t always to blame, but any improvement

in bandwidth for accessing field devices

would be welcome.

Innovations to allow 4-20 mA or fieldbus infrastructure

for high-speed Ethernet in hazardous areas are being

prototyped and demonstrated.



Open the bordersFieldComm Group technologies let information flow throughout the Indus-trial Internet of Things.

In essence, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a network, which means it needs in-

put from plant-floor devices and systems, so users can make more profitable decisions.

Data is what fills IIoT’s tanks and gets it on the road, and much of that data has long

been available from FieldComm Group technologies including Foundation Fieldbus, HART

and WirelessHART.

“Foundation Fieldbus, HART and WirelessHART are the granddaddies of IIoT because

they’re the backbone that gets data to places that need to know what’s going on with re-

mote operations,” says Dave Lancaster, PE, certified Foundation Fieldbus instructor at Trine

University (www.trine.edu/fieldbus). “In the past, much of this data wasn’t available, so we

might not be able to tell what was happening. For example, a failing resistance temperature

detector (RTD) on a gas dryer wouldn’t be detected until after it shut down. Now, that RTD

is one of five or six Foundation Fieldbus devices on one pair of wires with diagnostic data

tied to graphics in the control room. When we see its temperature isn’t as low as required,

we click on the temperature sensor, pull up its diagnostics, and it reports there’s a sen-

sor failure. So we send out the maintenance guy, and he tightens the loose wire in the RTD

without a costly shutdown. This whole problem is analyzed and fixed in 20 minutes, which

isn’t possible without Foundation Fieldbus.”

It’s good that FieldComm Group protocols are so proficient at delivering information, be-



cause IIoT is going to want a lot of it. “Oil

prices have been down for 18 months, so

there’s pressure to eke out the last bits of

profitability, but most want to do it with

existing applications,” says Arnold Offner,

strategic marketing manager for Phoe-

nix Contact (www.phoenixcontact.com).

“This is why IIoT and its users want digital

data. We can remind them that Foundation

Fieldbus and HART have been providing

behavioral information from flowmeters,

pressure transmitters and valve positioners.

However, it’s going to take a lot of educa-

tion, so we produced a video, “Introduction

to HART Technology” (www.youtube.com/

watch?v=JL9ev5yElK4HART). We also in-

troduced a combined-function HART Multi-

plex Master last year, which can interrogate

up to 40 devices, each with its own HART

master (modem); get process data from

anywhere; and scale it onto any device. This

is what IIoT is.”

FROM EDGE TO ENTERPRISE To streamline the trip from field or opera-

tions levels to business and management

levels, FieldComm Group has also developed

its HART-IP (Internet Protocol) specification.

“HART-IP simplifies and provides complete

access to data in devices via local automa-

tion networks and the Internet to enable

tasks like predictive maintenance. It extends

HART communication to the IP protocol,

and that means worldwide access,” says

Kurt Polzer, senior consultant for device

integration systems at Siemens Industry

(www.siemens.com/us). “This lets operators

talk to a HART device just by using Wire-

lessHART adapters like Sitrans AW210. At

the front-end, they can use our Simatic PDM

software and the HART server provided by

the FieldCom Group. Another big benefit

is that data can be sent from the field to

cloud applications like Siemens’ MindSphere

Value

Datacollection

Data analysis

Data Visualizationv

Datasharing

Intelligentdecisions

Cloud-basednetwork

Data visualization

XXX XXX X XXX X X XX XXXXX



service that allows deeper insight into pro-

cesses, and if needed, enables direct access

to HART devices.”

Jianwei Wei, industrial communications

manager at Microcyber Corp. (www.microcy-

ber.cn/en) in Shenyang, China, says the two

main options for delivering field data to the

enterprise are via gateways from fieldbuses

to Ethernet or though a programmable logic

controller (PLC) or distributed control system

(DCS) that can communicate with a fieldbus,

which can be done with components like Mi-

crocyber’s Fieldbus Interface Module.

“These newer solutions are easier because

they don’t require as many communica-

tion details. You just connect and integrate,

which is helpful because China’s market for

fieldbus and IoT is growing fast,” says Wei.

“Traditional field devices with analog inter-

faces and 4-20 mA networking only provide

process values and only let users receive

limited information, but don’t have informa-

tion about the device itself and whether those

values are good or bad. The reason digital

data from Foundation Fieldbus, HART and

WirelessHART are so valuable to the IIoT is

because they provide much more process

and device information, so users can know

much more about what’s going on in the field,

which means better operations and main-

tenance. By using an intelligent transmitter

with a gateway interface module and these

protocols, users can gather information about

whether pipes are blocked, for example, get

operating data as it happens, or configure

field devices from the control room.”

Some devices have built-in Ethernet capa-

bilities, such as ST100 flowmeters from Fluid

Components International (FCI, www.fluid-

SCADA

Ethernet – TCP/IP

CMMS DCS ERPAsset

managementsystem

Da

ta

Remote I/Osystems

MultiplexersWirelessgateway

Wirelessdevices

Devices

Wirelessmesh

network

components.com), which use Ethernet utilities as a remote

configuration tool and bus communication protocols that

can communicate with Ethernet networks via gateways.

“We’re sending data to PLCs and DCSs via HART and

Foundation Fieldbus, and merging multiple signals, devices

and platforms. This lets users do real-time diagnostics, per-

form tasks like predictive maintenance, and send informa-

tion to where it’s needed,” says Darrius Nowell, U.S. field

service manager for FCI. “Our flowmeters have manufac-

turer-specific commands, which communicate a device’s

bus address, slot and index number, and ask about issues

like deterioration, process flow, temperature and pressure.

Together, HART and Foundation Fieldbus are tremen-

dously capable of accessing process data, such as device

status, loop checks, simulation, signal integrity, etc., and

these are vital to the future of IIoT.”

STANDARDS SIMPLIFY DEVICE INTEGRATION One of the major forces straightening and shortening the

path between field devices and the enterprise is increas-

ingly uniform and standardized programming and data

presentation methods, culminating recently in the Field-

Comm Group Field Device Integration (FDI) program and

standards effort. Once process data is gathered and stan-

dardized, Ethernet gateways can move it to upper levels

via Foundation Fieldbus’ established High-Speed Ether-

net (HSE) protocol, or send HART data using HART-IP.

“Once data reaches Ethernet, it can go anywhere,” says

Chuck Carter, consultant, teacher and former director of

the Fieldbus Center at Lee College (www.fieldcommgroup.

org/schools/fieldbus-center-lee-college). “This means

temperature data can help determine if a thermocouple

is degrading; alert local operators to be ready to fix it via

Ethernet; share the overall failure rate of this thermocouple

type with the purchasing department; and help users de-

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cide if it’s time to change to another type. This is the true

gist of what IIoT can do. However, it’s FieldComm Group

protocols that bring disparate parties and devices togeth-

er, and let them coordinate their efforts.”

Thad Frost, fieldbus and I/O connectivity director at

Schneider Electric (www.schneider-electric.us), adds that,

“Using smart instruments for configuration is really just

the tip of the iceberg when you can also automate diag-

nostics, predictive maintenance and ordering. Knowing

the number of times a valves has opened and closed, or

that it will fail in three months, can increase purchasing

lead times and maintenance flexibility. However, many us-

ers aren’t prepared for all that instrument and asset data

coming in, so we recently established our Maintenance

Response Center to help analyze and use fieldbus data,

and troubleshoot more effectively by identifying what

equipment needs to be fixed. It includes a software inter-

face to smart devices and dashboard to help identify and

solve problems.” (A video about the center is at www.

youtube.com/watch?v=DP9Xy_ExJcQ.)

IIOT GOES WIRELESSBecause wireless sensing prices have dropped in recent

years, users can add “eyes and ears” more easily and inex-

pensively, and collect many more measurements. “This is

where WirelessHART comes in and enables IIoT because

it’s a cost-effective way to add more sensors,” adds Bob

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Karshnia, vice president and general manager of the wire-

less division at Emerson Process Management (www.em-

ersonprocess.com). “It’s simple because users don’t have

to learn a lot. Its security is built-in at a lower level. And,

its robust, self-organizing, mesh technology is tolerant of

things in a plant that often can’t be controlled. This lays

the groundwork for implementing analytics-based soft-

ware, which can ‘decide’ which better equipment perfor-

mance will improve financial value. IIoT is even changing

the whole supplier business model because many are re-

taining equipment ownership, and instead selling answers

and performance to their customers.”

CONTROLS HELP HART ADD VALUETo remove even more old hurdles between operations

and business levels, some control systems are adjust-

ing how they interact with HART to make it easier to pull

in data, according to Mike Cushing, product marketing

manager, Experion and I/O group at Honeywell Process

Solutions (www.honeywellprocess.com).

“For instance, our Field Device Manager (FDM) software did

maintenance by extracting process data via a multiplexer,

but now that information can go directly to the control-

ler without a multiplexer and the time, labor and hardware

it requires,” says Cushing. “One of the biggest traditional

maintenance costs is for valves. If one is offline, then its data

is usually pulled from its positioner. Now, with data coming

in from a whole group of 25 valves and their positioners, for

example, we can look at all of their open/close curves over

time, and see which curves are changing due to loosening

packing or seal loss. We can also check their stiction, travel

and behavior, and know ahead of time which five need to be

pulled and repaired, instead of pulling all of them as we used

to do. We can also see which parts will be needed, which

means faster turnarounds.”

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Open up the optionsFDI eases integration, supports full functionality, and opens the floor for IIoT

HART and FOUNDATION Fieldbus are highly effective, but sometimes it takes more to

integrate sophisticated field devices with the multitude of networks, operating systems and

control systems used in the process industries. The Field Device Integration (FDI) specifica-

tion helps bring previously inaccessible data into commonly reported and displayed infor-

mation, so it can be used to add value for applications and businesses.

Now administered by FieldComm Group, FDI technology was developed and is supported

by leading foundations and suppliers. FDI combines the advantages of an FDT Device Type

Manager (DTM) and Electronic Device Description (EDD) in a single, scalable solution to

handle the entire lifecycles of both simple and complex devices, including configuration,

commissioning, diagnosis and calibration. EDD continues to be supported, ensuring back-

ward compatibility.

“The value of FDI is especially realized by end users, in that devices across the spectrum

of industrial standards—HART, foundation Fieldbus and PROFIBUS—can be engineered

and maintained with a common, system- and device-independent set of tools,” says Paul

McLaughlin, director of architecture, Honeywell. “Equally important, FDI marries the simplic-

ity and platform independence of EDD with the powerful functionality of FDT in a secure

manner, providing end users with an open, future-proof standard for integration and supe-

rior user experience.”



Published as the IEC 62769 standard, the

FDI Specification is available from four

owner organizations: FieldComm Group,

PROFIBUS & PROFINET INTERNATIONAL

(PI), FDT Group and the OPC Foundation. It

supports FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART and

WirelessHART, and PROFIBUS and PROFI-

NET. ISA100.11a is under preparation, and

FDI also specifies gateway packages that

allow data mapping between different com-

munication protocols.

“FDI brings field devices to the Industrial

Internet of Things (IIoT),” says Frank Fen-

gler, head of device integration manage-

ment, ABB. “FDI architecture foresees that

each device type is represented by a device

package. FDI specifies a Device Information

Model, and uses OPC-UA communication to

enable other applications to access it. This

model is the single access point for external

application, and can ensure security and

protect the automation system against un-

wanted access.”

PUT IT TO WORKIn practice, device vendors provide a pack-

age that virtually represents the device, and

presents all the information needed by a

host system. Running the FDI package pro-

vides all the device functionality, such as pa-

rameterization, diagnosis and maintenance.

For example, text-based EDD might be

used to set up a device to measure physical

properties like flow, pressure and tempera-

ture, but to calculate mass flow requires pa-

rameters from a database. FDI can combine

text-based functions from the device and

the database, then display parameters like

mass flow. It can also support other func-

tions such as valve diagnostics.

“EDD is text-based and independent of the

Hosts and Operating Systems. However, in

some cases it lacks the programmatic capa-

bility that may be needed for complex de-

vices or diagnostics,” says Scott Hokeness,

Device with comprehensive functions

Device description: device data, functions and user interface

Certificates, data sheets, protocol-specific files

(GSD, CFF, ...)Programmed functions and user interface

FDI Device Package

Authenticity integrity

EDD (mandatory)

UIP (optional)

Attachments (optional)

POWERFUL PACKAGE

The core of the FDI Specification is the FDI Device Package, which is equivalent to a field device’s organizational structure at its software level. It contains all the files a host system needs to talk to the device, such as electronic device descriptions (EDDs), user interface plug-ins (UIPs), attachments and se-curity certificates. Source: FieldComm Group



business development manager, Emerson.

“DTMs provide the programmatic applica-

tions for advanced and complex operations,

but come with potential compatibility and

cybersecurity issues. FDI adds this pro-

grammatic capability to EDD, but only when

it’s needed. FDI also addresses cybersecuri-

ty with manufacturer-signed packages that

hosts validate to ensure they’re genuine and

haven’t been altered. This reduces the main-

tenance costs and market confusion.”

FDI wraps all this functionality in a single file.

“No more search for the ‘right’ integration

software product or the ‘right’ device that

comes with the required integration software

(FDT/DTM, EDD) that’s supported by the

control/asset management system,” says Al-

exander Kaiser, head of product management

and marketing, CodeWrights GmbH. “No

more search on websites for manuals, certifi-

cates, GSD files (PROFIBUS) or CFF (founda-

tion Fieldbus), etc. Everything you need to

work with a device can be contained in the

FDI Device Package—a single *fdix file.”

Combining the benefits of EDD and FDT/

DTM in one file means simple devices that

can be presented with EDD technology

can be represented with FDI User Interface

Descriptor (UID), while complex devices

that need DTMs to present the functional-

ity completely can be presented with FDI

UID+FDI User Interface Plugins (UIP).

“Process industries thus need to deal with

one technology instead of two,” says Chris

Schneider, senior product marketing man-

ager, Honeywell Process Solutions. “More-

over, the FDI package the device vendor

delivers can include attachments like cali-

Global Adoption Accelerating

FieldComm Group recently completed contracts between it and PROFIBUS & PROFINET INTER-

NATIONAL (PI) to manage the IP rights, roadmap and distribution of FDI technology, tools and

host components; and between it and FDI technology partners PI, the OPC Foundation and the

FDT Group to govern the process of FDI specification enhancement and leverage its Integration

Working Group as the venue of collaboration.

FieldComm Group also completed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ISA100 Wireless

Compliance Institute (WCI) to engage in technology discussions to incorporate ISA100 Wireless

support into FDI Technology. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the

FDI Technology standard in Plenary SC65E, “Device and Integration in enterprise systems,” and

NAMUR endorsed FDI Technology in its WG 2.6 Fieldbus Position Paper, “Requirements on an

Ethernet Communication System for the Process Industry.”



bration certificate, user manuals, images,

etc., which can be opened in the FDI host

without additional applications.”

Device vendors use the same development

software to create HART, FOUNDATION

Fieldbus, PROFIBUS and PROFINET FDI

packages. This simplifies their work effort,

reduces engineering hours, and speeds

time-to-market, allowing for a more agile

supplier better able to support users’ evolv-

ing requirements. Similarly, process control

engineers can use the same Host for devices

supporting these protocols with transpar-

ency of the protocol underneath. And offline

configuration brings in the benefits of both

EDD and DTM.

READY FOR IIOTFDI will play a critical role in the realization

of IIoT and Industrie 4.0. “Multiple commu-

nication protocols exist and that’s not going

to change. However, FDI has the potential

to be the single integration technology that

can translate the binary data delivered by

any communication protocol into tangible

information that can be displayed and used

by the end user on systems at varying levels

throughout the enterprise,” says Hokeness.

“The major process automation host system

suppliers are already behind FDI; we’ve all

helped to develop it. We believe NAMUR

has a similar vision for FDI.”

Wilhelm Otten, chairman of the board,

NAMUR, agrees that standardized, intel-

ligent interfaces are the key success factor

to achieve the benefits of Industrie 4.0 in

the process industries. “They’re the basis to

make our core processes, supply chain and

asset lifecycle, as well as vertical integra-

tion, more transparent and efficient,” Otten

says. “FDI is a big step to integrate field de-

vices into automation systems automatical-

ly with standardized, vendor-independent

tools and procedures.

“To achieve a long-term benefit, certifications

of host systems and device packages and

implementation of an open, vendor-neutral

interface (OPC UA) are the important steps.

NAMUR as a user association of automation

technology has driven this activity to merge

existing standards and tools and will conse-

quently promote and implement FDI.”

If the control system or asset management

tool supports the OPC UA interfaces, “De-

“No more search on websites for manuals, certificates,

GSD files (PROFIBUS) or CFF (foundation Fieldbus),

etc. Everything you need to work with a device can be

contained in the FDI Device Package—a single *fdix file.”



vice health and topology data can be ac-

cessed via OPC UA mechanisms for further

use in higher-level systems,” says Kaiser.

“We believe that FDI is the future standard

for device integration and management

for the process industry, but also beyond

because the flexibility and scalability of the

technology and FDI-based solutions will al-

low us to describe almost every device type

available, in any automation context. We

also see a big potential for IIoT and Indus-

trie 4.0 applications because of the open

and very well specified data model.”

Thoralf Schulz, global technology manager,

process automation, ABB, says, “FDI is the

key technology to overcome the ever-re-

peating efforts for integrating field devices

into control systems and asset optimization

tools. In addition, FDI is the migration path

for traditional field instruments into the In-

ternet of Things, Services and People.”

NEXT STEPSLeading vendors are pressing on with ad-

ditional FDI-enabled field devices, control-

lers and hosts. “The Process Device Manager

Simatic PDM was the first Siemens prototype

utilizing FDI functionality,” says Axel Lorenz,

vice president, process automation, Siemens.

“This universal parametrize and service tool

could already import FDI packages in No-

vember 2013. Siemens will release the first

host system with FDI, as well as correspond-

ing FDI packages to the field devices in 2017.

We consider FDI as a decisive step towards

less complexity and optimized customer

service, and we’ll continue to strengthen the

joint activities accordingly.”

Hokeness adds that Emerson’s Instrument

Inspector application configuration tool is

the first HART and FOUNDATION Fieldbus

host based on the FDI standard. “We’ll also

support FDI with our premier intelligent

device management package, AMS De-

vice Manager. This will deliver support for

any connected host system. Emerson field

devices will also support FDI in the near

future.”

According to McLaughlin, Honeywell ac-

tively plans uniform adoption of FDI tech-

nologies in its SmartLine instruments, its

Experion DCS, and its Field Device Manager

asset management suite.

At Endress+Hauser, “Seamless interoperabili-

ty and data transparency on all levels are key

factors in customer acceptance of upcoming

technologies,” says Rolf Birkhofer, managing

director, process solutions. “Through its sim-

plicity and ease of use, FDI enables custom-

ers to exceed their needs and requirements.”

Also, a second version of ABB Field Infor-

mation Manager FDI-based host software

adds functions for easy device management

and supporting use on handhelds. Generic

Device Packages for ABB devices are now

available for HART 5 and HART 7, as well as

for pressure, level, temperature, flow and



How to manage the Ethernet spectrumby Ian Verhappen

It seems every controls-related publication contains at least one article on the Industrial

Internet of Things (IIoT). However, almost all are vaporware or exist in PowerPoint only,

with few implementations that couldn’t have been done with existing, typically SCADA

technology applied in new ways. One thing they all have in common, however, is they rely

on Ethernet as their backbone.

As we know, there are different local area networks (LAN)/metropolitan area networks

(MAN) defined by the IEEE 802 standards (www.ieee802.org) covering the data link (Layer

2) and physical (Layer 1) layers of the OSI Networking reference model. The most common

ways of referring to these standards are by their physical media—fiber, copper and wireless—

each with different bandwidths and design constraints. However, because a typical industrial

network, especially one with a wireless sensor network, combines all three physical layers, the

differences between each type of network needs to be managed from the design stage.

Fortunately, in most networks, the media we use tend to increase in capacity as we move

from the wireless sensor in the field to the access point and then to the interface room.

The wireless sensor network (WSN) is likely to be based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

And then, from the access point in, the protocol will be IEEE 802.11 (wireless)—if not from

the WSN access point, then soon after from the Wi-Fi hub to IEEE 802.3 copper or fiber to

the interface room. Once connected to a “physical” layer, the slowest speed is likely 100



MB/s in the copper CAT 5e or CAT 6 cable.

Fiber is frequently used in the facility for

its noise immunity, as well as its ability to

handle long distances. Copper Ethernet

is typically constrained to approximately

100 meters (300 feet or one football field).

Fiber selection itself requires design choices

from diameter (50 and 62.5 µm are the

most common options) to materials (glass

or plastic). Next, users choose step or grad-

ed index, and single- or multi-mode, with

their selection typically based on corporate

specifications and, often, on an agreement

between the IT team and other users.

These teams often want to use the same

media, not only fiber, but more impor-

tantly wireless, where the signals can’t be

contained, so it’s critical that each facility

have some mechanism to manage the site

Ethernet spectrum. One simple way of do-

ing this is to allocate different portions of

the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM)

license-free bands to specific uses. Because

recent versions of the IEEE 802.11 series can

use both 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz, if you have

the option, “reserving” the 2.4 GHz band for

other uses is one easy option, then all you

have to do is manage the channels within

2.4 GHz for the various users in that band.

Managing traffic is critical because the chance

of a self-inflicted network failure increases

with too many packets and not enough band-

width. Think of this as a traffic jam, where a

multi-lane road is designed for “n” cars per

hour. After an accident (collisions), one or

more lanes are out of service but the number

of cars does not change. Unfortunately, just

like a traffic jam, once a network exceeds a

traffic threshold, collisions start to collide with

themselves (gawkers causing more acci-

dents), and the problem gets worse—quickly.

The good news is that most network traffic

management tools, such as switches, have

intelligence to warn of this condition before it

gets out of control.

Everyone expects their Ethernet to always

work. However, without careful planning,

keeping your end-to-end connections work-

ing and secure isn’t as easy as it appears.

Compounding the problem will be increased

demand for not only more information, but

also for improved integration throughout an

organization and potentially with clients. All

of them using Ethernet as their base reaf-

firms, at least in my mind, the importance of

getting the foundations right, or everything

will come tumbling down.

One way to manage a site Ethernet spectrum is

allocating different portions of the Industrial, Scientific

and Medical (ISM) license-free bands to specific uses.



Redefining determinismby Ian Verhappen

As automation professionals, one issue we have about control loops is ensuring we’re

able to support real-time control. Back when Ethernet was 10 MB/s with multiple drops

on one port, collisions were a concern and impediment to its adoption because we

couldn’t guarantee delivery of every message, every time, at a repeatable frequency. Ether-

net wasn’t “real time” enough, and hence not deterministic, or so we believed. So we waited

until we got faster switched networks that almost eliminate the chance of a message not

getting where it should be when it should. We still lose packets, but we can recover fast

enough to satisfy our definitions of determinism and real time.

In fact, what we’re really doing is confirming that the definition of determinism depends on

the application. In factory automation or robotics, response times often need to be in mil-

liseconds, while continuous processes, being essentially analog, are scanned at high enough

frequency to allow us to model the system, with “high enough” generally accepted as six

times (6x) the process frequency/response time (process time constant plus process de-

lay). Many use a “rule of thumb” of 10x, though I suspect it’s to provide a margin of error,

and it’s easier to move the decimal point than divide by 6.

Another underlying assumption in conventional PID is that control is executed on a periodic

basis, which implies a regular scan and update rate. Fortunately, the scan rate for continu-

ous processes, where flow is likely the fastest changing loop, is normally seconds long.



Control systems and their networks are com-

plicated enough to design and build without

having to calculate the definition of deter-

minism for every loop, and then design hard-

ware to match. So instead, we configure our

systems to scan the I/O at one or perhaps a

few different scan rates, based on the appli-

cations in the facility. This is one reason why

the scan rates for PLCs are in milliseconds

(as required by factory applications from

which they evolved), while a DCS, which

scans many more points per cycle, can have

scan rates of seconds. A continuous process

doesn’t change that much that quickly, and

if it does, a different system such as an SIS,

provides the necessary extra protection.

Wireless sensor networks (WSN), on the other

hand, have update rates of 15 seconds or

longer (updating only when the process has

changed outside the prescribed “window,”

resulting in a non-periodic basis to preserve

battery life). And since they’re mesh systems,

the signal itself is retransmitted multiple times,

increasing the risk that an update can be lost,

so the control system and algorithm must also

be able to handle a loss of communications.

If this sounds similar to some of the chal-

lenges associated with legacy 10 MB/s

Ethernet, where updates can be affected by

a collision or a node malfunction, perhaps

our systems aren’t, nor need to be, as de-

terministic as we think. As long as we have

reliable communications with the WSN ac-

cess point, the control system can easily be

made to believe that updates are as regular

as necessary to be viewed as deterministic.

Terry Blevins, Mark Nixon and Marty Zielinski

published an interesting paper, “Using Wire-

less Measurement in Control Applications,”

(www.controlglobal.com/articles/2012/ad-

dressing-control-applications-using-wireless-

device/) describing one approach to modi-

fying the PID algorithm, and in particular

the reset (integral) component, for irregular

signal updates. Other manufacturers are tak-

ing different approaches, and if your system

does not have a specific solution, with the

processing ability of today’s control systems,

they’re able to create simple process models

to fill in the gaps between the updates, much

like we’ve done with manually analyzed

samples for many years.

In the end, as demonstrated above, ev-

eryone’s definition of real time and hence

determinism depends on the application.

Or perhaps we can argue that determinism

no longer has the same clout as it did when

things were slower.

The control system can easily be made to believe

that updates are as regular as necessary to be viewed

as deterministic.



Ethernet comes in many colorsDo they all taste the same? Protocol organizations report their progress toward process control proficiency.

by Bob Sperber

Many industrial networks solutions built on IEEE 802.x Ethernet standards are

available to vendors and end users. Even as vanilla Ethernet evolves with the

support of organizations such as the Ethernet Alliance (www.ethernetalliance.

org), many Ethernet-based standards—or more accurately, Ethernet-based industrial net-

working protocols—have emerged. They help developers use commercial IT economies of

scale, and future-proof networks as Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

redefine smart manufacturing across industry lines.

Industrial Ethernet solutions serve diverse needs, and speeds, which typically range from

10 Mbit/s (megabits per second) to 1 gigabit per second (a.k.a. Gigabit Ethernet), while

100 Mbit/s is the most common speed for communicating control data from field to host

devices.

Some solutions are tailored to process applications, while others are best known in the

discrete world. Generally, it’s not the technology, but market factors that give each solution

its momentum. The key is vendor support, says Harry Forbes, research director with ARC

Advisory Group (www.arcweb.com). “If the solution is widely used in the end user’s vertical

industry, and it’s also an important part of their vendors’ offering, then they’re much more

likely to adopt it,” explains Forbes. “They don’t want to be the only plant in their industry or

region that’s running their process with a particular platform.”



As a result, process industry profession-

als would do well to become familiar with

developments from several industrial Eth-

ernet consortia, including those that cross

industry lines.

HART-IP, Foundation Fieldbus HSE

As the digital transformation of IIoT and

Industrie 4.0 emerges, “End users are in-

creasingly interested in gathering diagnostic

data from their HART instruments,” says

Paul Sereiko, marketing director, FieldComm

Group (www.fieldcommgroup.org), which ad-

ministers the HART and Foundation Fieldbus

protocols. “HART-IP multiplexers, RTUs and

WirelessHART gateways provide a simple,

easy way to capture this information.”

The most recent Ethernet-enabled develop-

ments at FieldComm Group include HART-

Internet protocol (IP). Similar to the hybrid

analog-digital HART communication proto-

col, HART-IP communicates between intel-

ligent field instruments and host systems,

such as DCSs, asset management, safety

and SCADA systems, and mobile devices

from laptops to handheld configurators. The

application layer for HART-IP is the same

for all HART protocol-enabled field devices,

but employs Ethernet physical media and a

standard TCP/IP protocol in a solution with

speeds from 10 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s. There-

fore, it eliminates the time and errors of data

mapping, for example with Modbus RTU,

and simplifies setup and using a backhaul

network for WirelessHART gateways, wired

HART multiplexers and remote I/O. Security

continues to evolve for HART-IP (Figure 1).

Meanwhile, for Foundation Fieldbus users,

Foundation Fieldbus High-Speed Ethernet

(HSE) specification has been available since

the early 2000s, is standardized as IEC

61158, and uses Ethernet to connect plant

communications from fieldbus to higher-

level devices such as controllers and remote

I/O using a 100 Mbit/s solution tailored for

process plants.

In addition, FieldComm serves as clearing-

house for Field Device Integration (FDI),

which allows integrating competing elec-

tronic device description language (EDDL)

SCADA

Ethernet – TCP/IP

CMMS DCS ERPAsset

managementsystem

Data

Remote I/Osystems

Multiplexers Wirelessgateway

Wirelessdevices

Devices

Wirelessmeshnetwork

Profibus PA

Operator

Controller

EngineeringIndustrial Ethernet

Plant asset management

ProfinetPlant access

point

Remote I/O Proxy Switch ?

Traditional I/O MCC Profibus PAField device

ProfinetField device

"Two-wire" Profinet field device for hazardous area

QUICKER, SIMPLER HART

Figure 1: The HART-IP application layer uses Ethernet physical media and standard TCP/IP with speeds from 10 Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s, which eliminates the time and errors of data map-ping, and simplifies set-up and use of a back-haul network for WirelessHART gateways and wired HART multiplexers and remote I/O. Source: FieldComm Group



and field device tool (FDT)

device data standards into

one platform for greater in-

teroperability, adding value

to higher-level Ethernet

solutions.

PROFINET PROVES PERVASIVEMike Bowne, executive di-

rector of PI North America

(www.us.profinet.com), says

more than 3 million Profinet

devices went to market in

2015—a 30% increase over

the previous year. “And

2016 is on pace to beat that

again,” he adds. The latest

news is that a new, intrinsi-

cally safe (IS) version of PI’s

Profinet industrial Ethernet

protocol is being devel-

oped that will be based on

Advanced Physical Layer

(APL) technology. It will

employ a two-wire connec-

tion with limited current/

voltage to be IS, while still

providing power and seg-

ments longer than Ether-

net’s present, 100-meter

wired limit (Figure 2).

In related news, work on

Profinet includes Process

Application (PA) Profile

3.02, which eases replace-

ment of aging instruments

by eliminating reconfigura-

tion of the DCS or device by

automatically assuming the

parameters of the (older)

device they’re replacing.

A pending PA Profile 4.0

will be released in the near

future, Bowne adds, “with

further developments for

process control users.”

Profinet can connect to

devices, controllers, I/O

and field devices, the latter

through the use of prox-

ies to access data from IS

fieldbuses such as Profibus

PA. “In these hazardous

environments, Profibus PA

cables can land directly on

an instrument; Ethernet

cables can’t—yet,” explains

Bowne. This is partly due to

PI North America’s support

of FDI technology.

While work continues to

bring Ethernet-based solu-

tions to the field, Bowne

says inexpensive sensors

and actuators without

a Profinet interface can

employ the point-to-point

communication IO-Link

standard (IEC 61131-9),

which uses the same, com-

SAFER PROFINET

Figure 2: An intrinsically safe (IS) version of Profinet is being developed based on Advanced Physical Layer (APL) technol-ogy. It will employ a two-wire connection with limited cur-rent/voltage to be IS, while still providing power and seg-ments longer than Ethernet’s present 100-meter wired limit. Source: PI North America

SCADA

Ethernet – TCP/IP

CMMS DCS ERPAsset

managementsystem

Data

Remote I/Osystems

Multiplexers Wirelessgateway

Wirelessdevices

Devices

Wirelessmeshnetwork

Profibus PA

Operator

Controller

EngineeringIndustrial Ethernet

Plant asset management

ProfinetPlant access

point

Remote I/O Proxy Switch ?

Traditional I/O MCC Profibus PAField device

ProfinetField device

"Two-wire" Profinet field device for hazardous area



mon, three-wire cable that many sensors

already use.

ETHERNET/IP EVOLVESODVA (www.odva.org), formerly the Open

DeviceNet Vendors Association, was found-

ed in 1995, and evolved to support Ether-

Net/IP. It adapts the Ethernet standards

for TCP/UDP/IP to its own Common Indus-

trial Protocol (CIP), which includes device

profiles, objects and services for real-time

control of production applications for

process and discrete/factory automation.

ODVA publishes new editions of its specifi-

cation twice yearly. The latest news was the

December publication of its cybersecurity

services, CIP Security, which provide secu-

rity between two EtherNet/IP devices with

encryption and authentication capabilities.

“When combined with best practices for

defense-in-depth mechanisms to enhance

cybersecurity, CIP Security allows users to

reduce their risk from cybersecurity threats

to their production processes,” says Kath-

erine Voss, president and executive direc-

tor, ODVA.

Voss cites a 2016 report from analyst firm

IHS Markit (https://ihsmarkit.com) showing

EtherNet/IP led industrial Ethernet solu-

tions with a nearly 25% share of new nodes

shipped in 2015. This news may chip away

at process plant users’ traditional reluc-

tance to change, and help them consider

Ethernet to “accelerate the time clock for

achieving 100% digitization, and work to-

gether to refine requirements for an Ether-

net communication system for the process

industry.”

This possibility is demonstrated by a new

partnership between ODVA and NAMUR

(www.namur.net), the international process

industries automation association, develop-

ing an EtherNet/IP installation at the pro-

cess automation lab at Industriepark Höch-

stin Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to include

field devices, controls and infrastructure

from Cisco Systems, Endress+Hauser, Rock-

well Automation, Schneider Electric and

other ODVA members.

MODBUS/TCP OPEN AND FREE The Modbus Organization (www.modbus.

org), like its Modbus/TCP protocol, is unlike

other standards organizations “because

Modbus is an open protocol and free to

use,” says Lenore Tracey, executive direc-

tor. Introduced in 1979 by Modicon (now

“In these hazardous environments, Profibus PA

cables can land directly on an instrument; Ethernet

cables can't—yet.”



Schneider Electric), Modbus is available

free of licensing fees for users to adopt

and adapt. While there’s no requirement

for testing and conformance, firms taking

advantage of the optional Modbus Confor-

mance Testing Program can provide inde-

pendent verification of compliance with

Modbus specifications.

The organization’s main role is educational,

with support for members at its web-

site, which offers newsletters highlighting

member activities (and product releases),

discussion forums and a new Technical

Resource Page for developers and users. It

hosts links to specifications, a TCP toolkit,

conformance testing details, and an offsite

resources list.

The Modbus Organization’s latest activities

include work on security issues and a pend-

ing announcement of a guideline for de-

veloping Foundation Fieldbus and Modbus

gateways to WirelessHART.

OPC UA: Friend to all industrial Ethernet solutions

The OPC Foundation (www.opcfoundation.org) OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) isn’t an

Ethernet-based technology, but it’s a key, complementary technology that provides a vendor-

and platform-independent industrial automation protocol for any and all industrial Ethernet-based

solutions. This is because it opens communication from sensors and fieldbuses up through plant

and enterprise systems. This allows, for instance, historical data to be stored in cloud-based ap-

plications for better decision-making.

The OPC Foundation collaborates with fieldbus organizations as well as “all the industrial Ether-

net-based organizations,” says Thomas Burke, president and executive director, OPC Foundation.

These include FieldComm Group, PI North America, Ethernet Powerlink Standardization Group,

EtherCAT Technology Group and the CC-Link Partner Association.

“Our latest news is all about adoption and the embedded world,” Burke says. Ongoing work

continues with OPC UA being embedded into field devices employing industrial Ethernet-based

communications. Also, the organization recently added a publish/subscribe architecture to sup-

port Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) efforts to enhance real-time processing.

This, and the OPC Foundation’s work on time-sensitive networking (TSN) standards from the IEEE

802.1 working group—and collaboration with industrial Ethernet organizations to create com-

panion data-mapping standards—promise breakthroughs for bringing determinism to industrial

Ethernet-based networks.



ETHERNET POWERLINK AND SAFETYEthernet Powerlink was developed by B&R

Industrial Automation (www.br-automation.

com), and launched with the 2003 forma-

tion of the Ethernet Powerlink Standardiza-

tion Group (EPSG, www.ethernet-powerlink.

org). Based on Ethernet and CANopen

standards, it offers speeds up to 1 Gbit/s, or

Gigabit Ethernet.

It supports determinism with an isochro-

nous phase, and adds openSafety integrat-

ed safety that eliminates added cabling and

hardware safety functions. This provides

functional safety conformance with IEC

61508 and SIL 3 functional safety standards.

Efficient safety communication minimizes

shutdowns, offering the potential to en-

hance plant and communication efficiency.

Among the latest news from EPSG is “In-

dustrial Ethernet Facts” (www.ethernet-

powerlink.org/en/downloads/industrial-

TSN and APL: tomorrow’s deterministic Ethernet fieldbus?

For decades, automation systems have adapted Ethernet network configurations and device be-

haviors, so Ethernet behaved like a deterministic network by limiting the number of nodes and the

types of traffic allowed on their networks. However, a new set of time-sensitive networking (TSN)

standards under development by IEEE’s 802.1 working group is a very important development

because the technology could “enable future networks to support all kinds of traffic while still

providing deterministic performance for critical types of traffic,” explains Harry Forbes, research

director with ARC Advisory Group (www.arcweb.com).

In addition to the OPC Foundation’s work to extend OPC UA for TSN, Forbes adds that, “End us-

ers should expect that existing protocols like ODVA CIP, Profinet [and other solutions] will persist

in the new TSN world, but without the need for special network configuration rules or special net-

work hardware.” A second major development is an effort to develop a standard, referred to as

Advanced Physical Layer (APL), which would represent a breakthrough because it uses two-wire

Ethernet with limited current and voltage.

“The vision of APL is to get Ethernet to process field devices,” says Forbes. “Why? Because the

process fieldbus solutions available today are not true multi-protocol, multi-service networks

the way IP-based networks are.” While Ethernet interfaces are available for some devices in

non-hazardous locations, it’s difficult to develop them for network-powered field devices for

Continued on next page



ethernet-facts), a 40-page PDF comparing

Profinet, Ethernet Powerlink, EtherNet/IP,

EtherCAT and Sercos III (primarily for servo

applications). It also covers Profisafe and

openSafety, and offers insight on OPC UA in

relation to industrial Ethernet.

EPSG members lean toward discrete auto-

mation, including B&R along with ABB Ro-

botics, Yaskawa and Festo, but participants

familiar to process users include Schnei-

der Electric, Phoenix Contact, Baldor and

Pepperl+Fuchs.

Also, EPSG has been an active partner

with the OPC Foundation (https://op-

cfoundation.org), demonstrating at in-

dustry expos how “interface-free” OPC

UA-based solutions provide platform-

independent communication for Ethernet

Powerlink networks.

CC-LINK IE EMERGESLike other industrial Ethernet developers,

the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA,

www.cc-link.org) offers varieties of its

protocol: CC-Link, CC-Link IE and a new

specification, CC-Link IE Field, which John

Wozniak, P.E. and manager of CLPA in the

Americas, calls “the world’s first and only

Continued from previous page

use in hazardous locations. Specifically, Forbes says IEEE 802.3 standards define the more-

than-50 Ethernet physical layer standards, but none address the requirements of hazardous

locations “and won’t anytime soon. So APL has to extend IEEE standards, and in these types of

initiatives interoperability can’t be assured just by compliance to IEEE 802.3.”

This effort could take years, but the challenge could be met. For instance, at the Achema 2015

event, Pepperl+Fuchs (www.pepperl-fuchs.com) demonstrated its version of APL using Eth-

ernet over twisted-pair wiring for process field devices to connect instruments from Emerson,

Endress+Hauser and other vendors. It met intrinsic safety (IS) requirements in a network, albeit

with a distance limit of 200 meters. At the time, the demo was hailed as a potential game changer

that could extend the reach of IIoT and Industrie 4.0.

Progress is planned in two phases, according to IEEE 802.3 Advanced Physical Layer Study

Group members from Endress+Hauser. In the first phase, still underway, the emerging standard

targets solutions based on currently available technology (including IS concepts) supporting 2

Mbit/s and 10 Mbit/s communication. A second phase will seek to develop APL solutions for 100

Mbit/s communications.



open gigabit Ethernet Industrial Automation

field network.” This 1 Gbit/s network has

separate bands for cyclic communication

for real-time data and transient messaging

for diagnostics and other data.

The latest CC-Link news comes in the

form of partnerships. Woszniak says CLPA

prefers cooperation, and welcomes col-

laboration with all organizations including

the FieldComm Group. In November, CLPA

completed a yearlong collaboration with

Profinet on a specification that enables

transparent, bidirectional communication

between CC-Link IE and Profinet. OPC is

beginning similar cooperative work within

its OPC Foundation to create an open

specification for OPC UA as “the path that

will allow communications from devices

to plant information management systems

such as MES and up to office type TCP-IP

networks,” says Wozniak.

Progress also continues on security to allow

“anyone with a TCP-IP or UDP-IP network,

including those with legacy RS networks,

to access that token network of CC-Link,”

adds Woszniak.

ETHERCAT CROSSES INDUSTRY LINESThe EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG,

www.ethercat.org), with more than 4,000

members, “is the world’s largest fieldbus or-

ganization,” says Joey Stubbs, North Ameri-

can representative of ETG.

EtherCAT wasn’t developed for any par-

ticular industry, but for ease of use, low

cost and openness, which led to its use in

many fields, Stubbs says. “Though Ether-

CAT systems found their way into many

process applications, several ETG members

and vendors introduced added devices that

meet the environmental certifications of

some process industries.”

EtherCAT has been used for digital I/O,

analog I/O, temperature, pressure, servo

drives, stepper drives, condition monitor-

ing, data acquisition, robotics, HMI and

other applications. When used with OPC

UA, EtherCAT provides a real-time net-

work for machine and plant control, and

OPC UA provides a platform for data

transfer up to MES/ERP systems and into

the cloud.

“Though EtherCAT systems found their way into many

process applications, several ETG members and vendors

introduced added devices that meet the environmental

certifications of some process industries.”



Wireless when?by Ian Verhappen

The process-based wireless sensor networks (WSN) WirelessHART and ISA-100.11.a have

been on the market for more than seven years, yet true to form, most facilities have not

yet fully adopted them. I suspect many are still from Missouri, the “Show-Me” state, as

in, “Show me in someone else’s facility the exact application I’m considering running.”

Being engineers, we’re averse to risk, and because we rely on sensors to keep our facili-

ties within safe operating conditions, we need to know wireless works before installing it

in more than monitoring applications. Even then, we need to be careful which applications

because if we start measuring, we’ll also have to report it if asked. However, it’s somewhat

ironic that the majority of users are still in this mindset because ISA-dTR84.00.08, “Guid-

ance for Application of Wireless Sensor Technology to Non-SIS Independent Protection

Layers” is presently with ISA-84 for ballot until July 11.

The HART 7 specification defining WirelessHART was released in 2007, with the first product

from Emerson in September 2008, while Yokogawa released the first ISA100.11a products

in September 2009. So we can safely say products have been available for more than five

years. Looking back at Fieldbus days, WSNs are at about the same level of acceptance, and it

took about 10 years for folks to get to the “this stuff works” mindset. I say this based to some

extent on what I observe in the market. When I approached the consortia supporting these

technologies, they were unable to provide information on installed base, though they did con-



firm that each technology is dominated by

one supplier. During the fieldbus wars, they

were trumpeting their market shares, so the

good news is that the wireless wars, if they

exist, are being fought differently this time.

One place where I was able to get some

information on wireless adoption was from

On World’s “Enterprise IoT Survey,” inac-

curately named because it was all about

wireless, though the majority of pundits

agree wireless will be a critical part of IoT

in whatever shape it evolves. Some of the

interesting statistics from the survey were:

• WSN protocol usage had 802.11 at 38% (I

don’t know of many process WSN devices

using Wi-Fi), but WirelessHART was at

18% and ISA100.11a at 14%, so they were

pretty close to each other. (This question

asked if you used the technology, but not

how many devices were installed);

• One in three use mostly mesh networks,

but one in four have no mesh nodes;

• 30% of wireless sensors have some form

of energy harvesting; and

• The most commonly named future appli-

cations for WSN technology were environ-

mental monitoring (49%), asset monitor-

ing (45%), process monitoring (41%) and

then, much lower in the rankings, process

control (19%).

Remember that process market is but one

small fraction of the total wireless market.

This appears to be reflected in the survey

numbers.

The survey also asked what is the largest

impediment to greater adoption (lowest

satisfaction), and respondents indicated

battery life, cost and integration caused the

most grief, while the most highly ranked

important features were reliability, security

and cost. The next set of data showed that

some folks are getting their sensor nodes

for less than $50 (obviously not the process

market), while approximately 20% of the

respondents are paying more than $1,000

(probably the process market).

You coud likely see a $50 node if you looked

at the light poles on your block, and noticed

that one of them has what appears to be a

Wi-Fi access point for the local utility meter

reading system (no power problems there).

All these statistics have me wondering just

where we are today on the acceptance

curve. I certainly know it’s not the plateau

of productivity—unless, of course, you know

otherwise and are willing to “take me to

Missouri.”

Some folks are getting their sensor nodes for less

than $50 (obviously not the process market).



The final control element frontierby Ian Verhappen

Wireless final control elements, which by their nature require some form of power

to actuate, may not be considered a natural fit for wireless communications. How-

ever, just as wireless adoption is growing, so too are options to incorporate end

actuation devices into the control mix.

As discussed in a previous column (“Refining determinism,” www.controlglobal.com/ar-

ticles/2016/defining-ethernet-determinism-depends-on-the-application), wireless sensor

networks (WSN) can be used for closed-loop control with appropriate compensation in the

control algorithms to compensate for the inherent lag times associated with signal collection

(AI), output publication (AO) and the inherent response time characteristics of the field devices

themselves.

A less arduous application for WSN and final control element is for on/off valves where a

discrete (digital) output (DO) opens or closes the valve. WSNs have the advantage over plain

old relay outputs of being intelligent, so they can report back if the device actually opened or

closed without additional hardware such as limit switches, cables and discrete input (DI) inter-

faces. They accomplish this with only tag assignment and some configuration of the wireless

actuator and host system.

Though they use their own proprietary networks, some manufacturers have been selling similar

systems since at least 2009 and continue to offer them for niche applications. However, if you

already have an installed WSN such as WirelessHART or ISA100.12a, the infrastructure is in place



to connect your devices to an access point

able to confirm the status of on/off valves

that are only controlled by local switches.

Installing an actuator indicator with WSN

support on the valve provides local indica-

tion of open or closed, and can also connect

to the abovementioned infrastructure to

convey status. An alternative, if necessary to

confirm the physical position, would be to link

a WirelessHART or ISA100.12a field adapter

with one or two limit switches and associated

contact(s) to provide positive identification of

the actual valve stem position.

Being able to confirm status of isolation

valves would be beneficial to verify proce-

dures during normal operations and plant

outages, especially for those valves that

should always be open or closed, then change

during the shutdown or startup. Of course,

these valves normally have locks to confirm

their status, but this could be a backup sys-

tem for relatively low cost.

This can be done using the WSN access point

as an open-protocol-based signal multiplexer.

The same concept can and has been used

to combine signals from isolated pieces of

equipment, then transmit them farther than

the conventional mesh network distance to

additional repeater points. For example, col-

lected signals can go from barges in tailings

ponds or settling basins to the nearest on-

shore pump station connected to the control

system as either a remote node or extension

of the network via conventional means such

as copper or fiber.

Building systems such as this requires using

design tools to confirm the network will be

able to effectively update the number of sig-

nals at the required rate and, equally impor-

tant, that the signal will be strong enough to

be transmitted between the points. The nec-

essary inputs to the program for signal cal-

culations are obviously the distance between

each point as well as the terrain, as at typical

power levels, WSN remains a line-of-sight

application. Program outputs will include the

number and location of the repeater points as

well as information on antenna requirements

to increase signal gain.

Wireless sensor networks are approaching

the final frontier with more applications

pushing the envelope beyond being used

as a replacement for wires. Though not yet

the “killer app,” they’re enabling unique ap-

plications that can’t be done with conven-

tional systems at close to the same cost/

benefit ratio.

If you already have a wireless sensor network, the

infrastructure is in place to confirm the status of on/off

valves that are only controlled by local switches.

2017 State of Technology: Industrial Networks · EKI-5526/I-PN EKI-5528/I-PN 16/8 port entry-level...

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