Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022 - 30

Communications
Easing Industrial-Grade Ethernet Implementation
Equipment and test system designers need Ethernet devices that outperform
consumer-grade components, while remaining easy to use.
IDEC Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
E
thernet is widely used among consumer
and commercial systems throughout
the world, and it is well understood by all
levels of end-users. Due to economies of
scale, coupled with availability of industrial-grade
devices, Ethernet has also become
suitable, and often dominant, for many
types of more rigorous applications. Unfortunately,
industrial-grade Ethernet devices
are often associated with high costs
and complex network management and
configuration requirements.
Because industrial equipment and test
systems call for equally high-performance
networking, designers are looking for ways
to apply the technology, but in a cost-effective
and practical manner. Industrialized
unmanaged Ethernet switches are now
available to meet this need by providing
the key features of managed switches in an
economical and easy-to-use format.
Throughout a wide variety of industries,
including manufacturing, processing, municipal,
and test system applications, devices
of all types are becoming more intelligent,
and they naturally include communication
capabilities. This networking is often based
on Ethernet, using one or more industrial
or IT-centric protocols (Figure 1).
Common supervisory and control devices
include PLCs, HMIs, and PCs, using operations
technology (OT) protocols like
EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and
others. Field devices may be input/output
components, smart sensors, motion controllers,
advanced devices like process analyzers
and RFID readers, and others. Transporting
field data to other enterprise IT
resources falls under the description of industrial
internet of things (IIoT) projects
and relies on protocols like MQTT.
Standard wired Ethernet can only support
cable lengths of 100 m, and each target
device requires a unique physical connection.
Therefore, multi-port switches
are typically installed relatively close to the
field devices.
Most basic Ethernet switches are unmanaged
plug-and-play devices, and they
auto-configure to match each connected
device, and they build a MAC address table
30
Ethernet
VFD
PLC with
Radio Modem
HMI
Touchscreen
PLC
PLC
HMI
Touchscreen
Temperature
Controller
PLC with
Radio Modem
Figure 1: For most types of equipment and applications, establishing connectivity among OT-based
controllers and sensors, and transporting data to IT systems, requires industrial-grade networking
hardware. (Image: IDEC Corporation)
Figure 2: IDEC's SX5E-HU085B is an example of a new type of networking device, combining the
most important managed switch features, like QoS and IGMP snooping, into an industrial yet easily
and cost-effectively implemented package. (Image: IDEC Corporation)
to forward traffic with some level of efficiency.
They are economical, and suitable
for simple applications, economically providing
adequate performance, but without
much flexibility or cybersecurity.
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Robust networking performance for
24/7 applications typically requires
managed switches for increased speed,
efficient traffic handling, and improved
cybersecurity. However, as their name
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