Industrial Automation

Software developed for Process & Control Engineers

As Industrial Ethernet applications replace traditional plant floor communication at every level, it will be important to have a tool to identify and resolve communication problems. Ethernet communications is different than previous Industrial communications in which all devices were connected to a common wire. Ethernet for real time applications uses switches to isolate traffic and switch communication paths depending on who is the server and/or client. This complexity require the ability to visualize the topology and changes in real time. This is a unique feature of IntraVUE.

Maintaining Real-Time plant floor communications means the need to provide predictive maintenance, instant notification, and the ability to quickly identify the fault location. IntraVUE has been continuously improved to focus on the most common faults occurring in Industrial applications, and provide the necessary details to simplify support by individuals who may not be Network experts.

Why are more diagnostics needed for Industrial Ethernet ?

Communication over traditional Industrial networks is usually serial bus or connected in a Daisy chain.

Communication over Ethernet may pass through several active devices “Switches” in which communication disturbances may not be easily identified without an understanding of the topology. Other network traffic may cause congestion on uplink ports creating momentary packet loss or throttling of communications. Point based solutions or individual device health monitoring may not indicate the true problem. Using SNMP communication to the switches may not easily identify newly connected or momentarily connected devices such as a contractor’s laptop downloading a program and generating excessive traffic. Without a true and dynamic topology view, there is no way to easily understand the relationship of devices and networks.

Industrial Networks are extending down into configurations in which several Ethernet ports on a PLC are used to connect to different applications or groups of equipment. From I/O and Drives to SCADA and Engineering stations, Ethernet is becoming a common carrier of information. Multiple isolated networks or VLANs will further complicate troubleshooting and IntraVUE will provide a powerful method for individuals troubleshooting these applications.

This is a typical example of Ethernet used in several separate isolated networks in which the Ethernet switches are configured to separate traffic using VLANs. IntraVUE provides a view of each VLAN to simplify support and troubleshooting.