IIoT is not IoT
loading… 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…
PROFINET vs EtherNet/IP
loading… 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…
For Industrial Internet of Things Success – Standardize
loading… 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…
Feed Me… PROFINET Data
loading… 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…
A Beginner’s Guide to PROFINET
loading… 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…
PROFINET and PROFIBUS Are Social
loading… PI North America uses social media, including The PROFIblog Twitter: @AllThingsPROFI LinkedIn groups: PROFINET, PROFIBUS & PROFINET, PROFIbusters Facebook Profibus Profinet North America YouTube: MinutePROFINET, The PROFIblogger, and PROFI-TV You are probably using some of these also, and we hope to connect with you in one or more of these places. But we also…
Top Ten PROFIblog Posts from 2014
loading… 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…
What is the Industrial Internet of Things Continues
loading… 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…
What is the Industrial Internet of Things
loading… 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…
How to Spend Your Christmas Vacation
loading… Whenever I think of spending some downtime without the daily pressures of work, I think of Star Trek, especially “The Trouble with Tribbles.” You remember the scene – Chief Engineer Scotty is confined to quarters after starting a bar room brawl with some Klingons. He thanks the captain because now he can catch up…