PROFINET and OPC UA – Better Together
One of the big announcements at the SPS Fair last week was the increased cooperation between PI and the OPC Foundation. This is benefitting users moving to Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things. And the increased cooperation will improve that even more. Remember the FDI Cooperation? PI, OPC, HART, Fieldbus Foundation, and FDT cooperated…
Read MoreAn Industrial Internet of Things Checklist
What do you need to have an Industrial Internet of Things? Data Collection Analysis Feedback Data. It all starts with the data. It has to be read from networked industrial devices like I/O, drives, and vision systems. It has to be integrated from non-Ethernet networks and devices. It has to be accurate, timely, and complete…
Read MoreThe Real Edge of IIoT
Some IoT definers think of edge devices as things like routers and switches. Others think it’s the closest device to the bottom with an IP address. Still others think it’s the gateway device connecting the whatever to the Internet. Those devices may be on the edge of an IT concept of the world, but they’re…
Read MorePROFINET – There’s a Lot to Know
As frequent PROFIblog aficionados probably know, I’m a big fan of the Course Evaluations from our free PROFINET one-day training classes. In Louisville last week the results were typical: the course length was right, the training manual was good, and the instructors were great, so said the filled in circles on the machine-scored form. But…
Read MoreBack to the PROFINET, Part 2
When Marty McFly time travels to October 21, 2015, he finds all kinds of futuristic stuff that wasn’t around for him in 1985: bovver boards, self-lacing shoes, automatic clothes fitting, and more. Alas, we don’t really have that futuristic stuff on the real October 21, 2015. But at least the first two of those are…
Read MoreGAM2015.4: Security
Security is always a requested topic for the General Assembly Meeting. This year we had two excellent security sessions: Network Security and PROFINET – Marty Jansons, Siemens Marty reminded us that security is not just about the technology used to secure a network; it’s also about people, processes, and procedures. After a look at defense…
Read MoreGAM 2015.3: The PROFINET of Things Continues
On Day 2 of the annual meeting we discussed the PROFINET of Things topic in depth in a panel discussion. Our diverse panel included: Mike Bastian, Ford Motor Company Karsten Schneider, PI Mark Hoske, Control Engineering Drew Baryenbruch, Real Time Automation They provided different perspectives on the PROFINET of Things (and IIoT and Industrie 4.0),…
Read MoreGAM 2015.2: The PROFINET of Things
The PROFINET of Things is a foundation of the Industrial Internet of Things which lies at the overlap of the Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0. It is foundational in that it provides the data that is needed. And it does it better than other protocols (see Data Access, Uptime, and Openness). Our theme at…
Read MoreGAM 2015.1: The Times They Are A-Changin’
As I have said about past PI North America General Assembly Meetings, this one was simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. Not to mention that there was a lot of news to share from the two-day event – news about PROFINET, PROFIBUS, IO-Link, Industrial Internet of Things, and Industrie 4.0. And even in Arizona the Fall season…
Read MorePROFINET of Things: Openness
A major driving force of the Industrial Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0 is the reliance on open standards. PROFINET devices are manufactured according to the PROFINET specification (IEC 61158). PROFINET is Ethernet, IEEE 802.3. Many other standards also come into play – standards from IEC, IEEE, NAMUR, and IETF (Internet Engineering task Force): IEC…
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