Industrial Ethernet standards proliferate

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Network World, 04/15/02

Several industrial Ethernet standards are under development:

Foundation Fieldbus High Speed Ethernet, developed by the Fieldbus Foundation, provides a high-speed information and control network for process industries such as electricity, oil and pharmaceuticals. This protocol works with the Fieldbus Foundation's older H1 protocol for device-level communications. H1 has more than 100 registered devices on the market and 4,500 systems deployed. The Fieldbus Foundation is developing standards for hybrid process/discrete manufacturing environments, too.

Ethernet Industrial Protocol, led by the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA), provides a high-speed Ethernet information and control network for discrete manufacturing plants in industries such as automotive, aerospace and electronics. Dubbed EtherNet/IP, this protocol works with Rockwell Automation's existing DeviceNet protocol, which handles device-level communications. EtherNet/IP has the backing of three industrial network associations in addition to ODVA: ControlNet International, the Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance and the Industrial Ethernet Association.

Profinet, driven by Profibus International, is an Ethernet-based protocol that works with the older Profibus device-level protocol backed by Siemens. Designed for process industries, Profibus and Profinet compete against the Fieldbus Foundation's protocols. Profibus has more than 2,000 available products and 5 million devices installed. Profibus International is hosting a multivendor demonstration of Profinet in April.

OPC Data Exchange Standard for Ethernet, developed by the OPC Foundation, provides a single data exchange standard for industrial Ethernet and older industrial automation protocols. Among the groups that have agreed to support this standard are the Fieldbus Foundation, the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association, ControlNet International and Profibus International. The standard will provide interoperable data exchange and server-to-server communications across different industrial Ethernet networks. A draft specification is expected in April.

Back to main story: Ethernet takes control of the factory floor

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