Industrial Networking

If the reliability of the process rides under a veil of question and uncertainty, there is big trouble.

With industrial communications networks playing a critical role in today’s control systems, it is vitally important these networks have the highest level of reliability possible.

The increasing use of fieldbus protocols for communication to field devices and the expansion of the control network to the final field elements (i.e. the transmitters and control valves) means if networks do not achieve the expected degrees of reliability, the whole reliability of the process is questionable. That is big trouble indeed.

Reliability, regardless of where it is necessary, requires both high availability and integrity of the system—a system that fails regularly can be as bad for production as a system that sends the wrong data.

To meet this objective, it is necessary to have the right people with the right knowledge and tools to design and maintain a system. Look at where some of these resources reside.