Administering Ethernet automation networks

In the 1990s office automation standardized on Ethernet (for volume reasons) and TCP/IP (due to the Internet explosion) while factory automation fragmented into a number of incompatible fieldbuses. One decade later, the consequences materialize-networks based on Ethernet and TCP/IP are steadily getting faster and less expensive, while the fieldbus market is more or less stuck at the low speed/high price level. In order to be part of the continuing trend towards higher performance and lower prices, several fieldbus organizations have ported their system software to run on top of Ethernet and TCP/IP. TCP/IP is, however, not one protocol but a large set of useful protocols and services. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on these and show how they could be used to pave the way for "plug and play" automation networks.