3.6. Industrial-Grade Networking

As with other computerized applications, industrial control and automation rely increasingly on computerized networks. General-purpose networking or connectivity solutions such as regular Ethernet are, however, ill-adapted to the harsh and demanding environment (both electrically and otherwise) of industrial applications. Common Ethernet, for instance, is too vulnerable to EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio frequency interference) to be used in many industrial environments with high reliability. This doesn’t mean that Ethernet isn’t being used in the form of “Industrial Ethernet,” but because it was never designed for such uses, many manufacturers still choose to use one of the other available industrial networks instead.

Therefore, quite a few specialized, industrial-grade networking solutions have been developed over the years. In addition to being more adapted to industrial environments, these industrial networks, commonly known as fieldbuses, help reduce wiring, increase modularity, provide diagnostics capabilities, enable self-configuration, and facilitate the setup of enterprise-wide information systems.