In the News

Network Management Opens Up
You don’t want to ask your control engineers to double as IT experts, but forward-looking companies are asking them to take a greater role in network management.
By Greg Farnum

Success Is In The Subsystems
From Ethernet switches to vision systems, wireless modems to automated conveyors, the automotive industry uses a range of specialized subsystems to gather, transport and use plant-floor data.
By Renee Robbins, Executive Editor, A-B Journal

Realtime Industrial Ethernet Requires Realtime Local Support
Companies running out Industrial Ethernet-based networks tend to come up against challenges that, if not well understood, can both delay deployment and run up big money in unnecessary costs.
By Mark Fondl, President & Founder, Network Vision

Bandwidth Blowout Begets Breakdowns
Besides ensuring that networks are correctly constructed, end-users must understand traffic usage on them. "You have to be very careful. To avoid a situation similar to blowing a fuse on an electrical network, you need to start looking at where you plug into the network," cautions Mark Fondl, president and chief executive officer of Network Vision Inc., Newburyport, Mass.

Ethernet-Based Software Helps Control Technicians See Clearly
As Ethernet becomes a common information carrier and a core element in Foundation Fieldbus HSE, EtherNet/IP, ModbusTCP, and Profinet, there will be an explosion of devices with TCP/IP addresses. Software to help control technicians support these devices will become very important ...
By Mark Fondl, President & Founder, Network Vision

Software Tools Raise Visibility With Industrial Ethernet
Network maintenance strategies effective for office automation no longer suffice at the plant floor level. An effective solution demands network monitoring software designed for the job.
By Mark Fondl, President & Founder, Network Vision

Automate IP Addressing
Automating the process of finding and configuring IP addresses in input/output devices can potentially reduce downtime for manufacturers...  Network Vision, a Newburyport, Mass., company specializing in Ethernet solutions, has developed a solution, called Auto-IP, which works with the company's IntraVUE™ networking software.
Gary Mintchell, Editor

Auto-IP Employs BOOTP and SNMP
An interesting new entry to the market is a software product of Network Vision called IntraVUE™, which has recently added a feature dubbed “Auto-IP”. This product is installed as a software service that can be made redundant through installation on multiple servers. It supports BOOTP for normal address assignment and distribution. However, Auto-IP also uses SNMP in order to determine the physical network topology and to maintain information about the current status of network edge devices. The additional real-time information provided by SNMP is a critical part of the Auto-IP operation.

To get the full ARC Report, Maximize Uptime through Management of Indutrial Ethernet Devices, go to www.ARCweb.com.

IntraVUE™ is Winner!
Service, Impact, Advancement--Control Engineering's seven editors used three primary criteria -- Service to the industry, technological advancement, and market impact—to select the 35 winners of the 17th annual Editor's Choice Awards.

Taking Advantage of Industrial Ethernet—Are You Ready?
Advancements in communications have yielded some of the most dramatic improvements in decades, but many companies are unprepared to take advantage of these benefits.
Mark Fondl, President,
Industrial Communications Technology

Does Ethernet equal uptime?
The push to get Ethernet onto the plant floor produces mixed results where uptime is concerned.
Carol Wilson, Contributing Editor

Ethernet
Integrating Ethernet with industrial automation has challenged both users and suppliers... Specialized network software and hardware can ease the task considerably.
Mark Fondl, Founder, Network Vision

Machine Vision Maddness
Graphical tool for plant floor technicians
Ethernet on the plant floor has created challanges
Wes Iversen, Managing Editor

Visualisation & Diagnostics
Expert interview with Dr. Wolfgang Ebert
Production Manager
Control Technology KUKA robots

Extending Ethernet Everywhere
Manufacturing's embrace of the compelling advantages of Ethernet is rapidly extending the corporate network solution onto the factory floor. Watch it get better.
John Teresko

Exclusive:
Industrial Ethernet software aims for "revolution"
Gary A. Mintchell, Senior Editor