PROFINET, the Solute in the Automation Solution
I cannot believe that I could not find his quotation on the Internet: “If you’re not part of the solution you must be part of the solute.” I have seen it written down… on the men’s room wall in the Chemical Engineering building at university. And this does relate to PROFINET, as all things seem…
Read MorePROFINET, THE Open Standard for IIoT Data
Discussions about the Industrial Internet of Things focus on Big Data, the Cloud, and Analytics. They ignore the fact that all of it starts with data. Discussions about the Industrial Internet of Things cite the need for open standards, often highlighting OPC UA as the standard for bringing information to Big Data, the Cloud, and…
Read MoreIIoT is not IoT
I don’t like the Internet of Things!* In our world, the things are different – very different. In the Internet of Things, “things” are toasters, coffee pots, and refrigerators. In the Industrial Internet of Things, “things” are machines, IO, and controllers that make toasters, coffee pots, and refrigerators. So I will always say the Industrial…
Read MorePROFINET vs EtherNet/IP
First, a disclaimer, and no surprise: I may be slightly biased in favor of PROFINET. That said, I believe the following facts to be actual facts. While this post could expand to thousands of words, this will be the Readers Digest version: Organization. PI ODVA Regional Associations 27 4 Members 1,487 300 Training centers 28…
Read MoreFor Industrial Internet of Things Success – Standardize
Organizations create standards; users pick the winners. There are indeed many standards that can claim to support the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Let’s consider standards in two areas: devices to controllers and controllers to computing systems. Now computing systems could be HMIs, historians, or analytics packages, but in reality probably all of the above. …
Read MoreFeed Me… PROFINET Data
Audrey II in The Little Shop of Horrors demanded “Feed me!” Analytics systems today also need fed, but they need to be fed data. Enter PROFINET. As part of the Industrial Internet, PROFINET feeds data into controllers which in turn feed information (perhaps through the cloud) to historians and analytics systems. But it all starts…
Read MoreA Beginner’s Guide to PROFINET
What is PROFINET? PROFINET is an industrial communication network designed for robust, deterministic data transmission in the harsh conditions of factory and process environments. It is built on Industrial Ethernet which is built on Ethernet. Ethernet is a network – an open standard defined by IEEE802.3. The standard defines what the signal looks like on…
Read MoreTop Ten PROFIblog Posts from 2014
It’s January which means it’s a time to look back at 2014 and the popular posts from last year. Here are the PROFIblog Top Ten: 10. Managed or Unmanaged Switch for PROFINET Should I use a managed switch or an unmanaged switch with PROFINET? Spoiler answer: Yes. Read the whole thing for the long answer…
Read MoreWhat is the Industrial Internet of Things Continues
Last week I provided a short quiz with potential answers to the question: What is the Industrial Internet of Things? The correct answer was all of the above, but the fourth choice deserves a more detailed explanation. Here it is: Where industrial automation has been headed all along In the beginning there were manual adjustments…
Read MoreWhat is the Industrial Internet of Things
What is the Industrial Internet of Things? A. Things that talk to each other B. Just another buzzword C. Ethernet-connected things D. Where industrial automation has been headed all along I think the answer is “All of the Above.” Let’s look at each answer individually. But first, what’s a “thing” anyway? In the consumer version…
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