The networking implications of Industry 4.0

John Browett, general manager of the CLPA, addresses what sort of impact the concept of Industry 4.0, and importantly the technologies that underpin it, will have on open industrial networks such as CC-Link.

One of the biggest implications of Industry 4.0 is that the demands placed on industrial networks will increase significantly.

We are facing a potentially exponential increase in the amount of data manufacturing systems will handle as vision systems, batch control, regulatory compliance, quality management and more will mean that the amount of data those networking have to handle is going to rocket.

As a result, we require sufficient bandwidth to allow for this increased use. At present, CC-Link IE is the only industrial automation network technology that can provide a gigabit (1 Gbit/s) of bandwidth, which makes it exceptionally well placed to deal with the demands of Industry 4.0.

To find an example of how data intensive these applications can be one only has to look at the needs of the leading Korean flat panel display manufacturers. Their tolerance for so-called ‘dead pixels’ is almost zero. To put this into perspective, a modern HD screen has 1080 vertical pixels horizontally and 1920 vertically. That’s 2,073,600 pixels on each unit. The manufacturing processes have to check each of these pixels, hundreds of times a day to ensure quality and control yield. It’s easy to see how quickly applications like this will generate vast volumes of data.

As another example, the global automotive industry produces countless different combinations of each vehicle model at an incredible rate. It’s typical for an assembly plant to produce a complete vehicle at a rate of more than one per minute.

Producing these countless different versions at such a pace demands a huge amount of flexibility and a great deal of bandwidth to cope with both the production instructions and the quality control. Most models today have literally thousands of different model configurations depending on customer option choice. To complicate things further, it’s not uncommon for one assembly plant to produce a variety of models. Again, it’s easy to see how this puts huge demands on the networks that deliver this information to the assembly line systems that ensure the correct parts are fitted on the correct vehicle.

As well as the sheer quantity of data that the Internet of Things (IoT) element of Industry 4.0 demands, there is also an interoperability question raised by the M2M (Machine to Machine) issue.

If our factories are full of machines prompting other machines to take action, we had better hope that those machines can talk to each other effectively without any compatibility problems.

In order to make sure that machine X can talk to machine Y we need to ensure that a rigorous conformance testing process is in place. You have to be confident that anything designed for the networking, works with the network.

It’s for this reason that the CLPA devotes a great deal of effort to ensuring that our partners’ products have been tested to the necessary standards. We have created a global network of conformance testing centres that ensure no matter where a partner is located, they have access to convenient local conformance test labs that help speed their time to market.

The evidence is compelling - there is an installed base of over nine million CC-Link devices, but every year the CLPA only discovers a handful of instances of incompatibility.

refer to:http://www.connectingindustry.com/automation/the-networking-implications-of-industry-40.aspx

Embedded computer memory base detection

Standards for XR-DIMM and ECC SODIMM have also contributed to advancing a ready supply of rugged memory products. Furthermore, designers have access to underfill side retainer clips and conformal coating manufacturing options along with advanced testing methodologies to help ensure robust embedded computer designs. The challenges to maintain the highest reliability and availability in rugged embedded system designs will continue, but embedded computer memory module advancements are set to keep pace with these requirements, helping enable OEMs’ continued competitiveness and future innovation.

refer to : http://embedded-computing.com/articles/ruggedization-memory-module-design/

Rackmount 1U Networking Appliance System with 3rd generation Intel Core i processor

ANR-IB751N1/A/B networking appliances.


ANR-IB75N1/A/B is a rackmount platform (440x372x44mm) which can be installed in the 19” rack. It can carry a 3rd generation Intel Core i i3, i5, i7, or Pentium processors to deliver higher efficiency, increased processing throughput, and improved performance on applications. ANR-IB75N1/A/B also comes equipped with a maximum 16GB DDR3 memory and optional 2 or 4 x SFP and 8 x LAN ports. System Integrators can select different configurations for their network appliances. It offers the best P/P ratio in applications like the UTM, IDS/IPS, VPN, Firewall, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, RSA gateway, QoS, streaming.
ANR-IB75N1/A/B uses 80 Plus PSU which reduces energy consumption and helps protect the environment. The software and hardware configurable LAN bypass feature also prevents communication breaks due to power loss or system hang-ups. In addition to Intel long life support chipsets, ANR-IB75N1/A/B is designed with a long-term support of 5 years.




Key features:
1. Support 3rd generation Intel Core i LGA1155 i3/i5/i7/Pentium cores processor
2. Intel B75 Chipset
3. DDRIII DIMM x 2, up to 16GB memory.
4. Intel 82576EB x 2 Fiber ports
5. Intel 82574L 10/100/1000Mbps x 8 ports
6. Two pairs LAN ports support bypass feature (LAN 1/2 + LAN 3/4)
7. LAN bypass can be controlled by BIOS and Jumper
8. CF socket, 2.5” HDD x 2, SATA III x 1, SATA II X1
9. Console, VGA (pinhead), USB 3.0 x 2 (2 x external)
10. Support boot from LAN, console redirection
11. Equipped with 80 Plus Bronze PSU to decrease CO2 dissipation and protect our environment
12. LCM module to provide user-friendly interface
13. Standard 1U rackmount size


Product information：
http://www.acrosser.com/Products/Networking-Appliance/Rackmount/ANR-IB75N1／A／B/Networking-Appliance-ANR-IB75N1／A／B.html


Ordering information：
1.ANR-IB75N1: 1U Networking Rackmount Platform with PCH B75, 8 x RJ45 GbE LAN (2 pair bypass)

2.ANR-IB75N1A: 1U Networking Rackmount Platform with PCH B75, 8 x RJ45 GbE LAN (2 pair bypass), and 2 x Fiber ports

3.ANR-IB75N1B: 1U Networking Rackmount Platform with PCH B75, 8 x RJ45 GbE LAN (2 pair bypass), and 4 x Fiber ports
Contact：
http://www.acrosser.com/inquiry.html

About the custom-built approach becomes even less cost effective

In recent years, building, maintaining, and evolving proprietary network systems for telecom-grade applications that are highly available and "always on" have become increasingly prohibitive from the perspective of cost, risk management, time to revenue, and so on. The custom-built approach becomes even less cost effective as Communications Service Providers (CSPs) move toward offering cloud-based services, where they have to compete with non-traditional providers that offer such services on networks built using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) building blocks.

A change in market dynamics is causing a fundamental paradigm shift in industry's
thinking: Instead of continuing to invest precious Research and Development (R&D) resources and dollars to build expensive, special-purpose proprietary systems with the hope that they will never fail, industry leaders are now assuming that there will be hardware and software failures and thus designing systems and applications that continue to provide end-user service in the presence of such failures. State-of-the-art software and related standards have made significant advances in recent years to support sophisticated schemes and quick implementation of highly available applications and services that can run on relatively inexpensive COTS hardware systems.
1.State of the industry
2.Network Applications Platform
3.Unified Availability
4.Unified Management
5.Extensible architecture
6.Operating environments
7.Vertical Integration
8.Integration Development Kit
9.A final word

refer to : http://xtca-systems.com/articles/engineered-cots-network-systems/

Plug-and-play, it's gaming!

Today HomePlug devices gaming account for more than 90 percent of the world’s broadband-speed power line communications market. The HomePlug standards family includes HomePlug AV for broadband applications such as HD video streams, HomePlug GP for smart grid applications, and soon HomePlug AV2, the next-generation Gigabit-class broadband standard – all fully interoperable with each other and the IEEE 1901 power line standard.

Regarding HDTV support, HomePlug AV enables a broadband-strength network gaming connection via electrical wiring for high-demand applications such as gaming  movies or online gaming. Since the introduction of the HomePlug AV standard back in 2006, its purpose has been to provide high-quality, multistream, entertainment-oriented networking over existing AC wiring within the home. HomePlug AV employs advanced PHY and Medium Access Control (MAC) technologies that provide a 200 Mbps class power line network for video, audio, and data.

refer to:http://industrial-embedded.com/articles/plug-and-play-homeplug-homeplug-powerline-alliance/

Networking systems are under a similar form of stress..

IT managers are under increasing pressure to boost network capacity and performance to cope with the data deluge. Networking systems are under a similar form of stress with their performance degrading as new capabilities are added in software. The solution to both needs is next-generation System-on-Chip (SoC) communications processors that combine multiple cores with multiple hardware acceleration engines.

 

The data deluge, with its massive growth in both mobile and enterprise network traffic, is driving substantial changes in the architectures of base stations, routers, gateways, and other networking systems. To maintain high performance as traffic volume and velocity continue to grow, next-generation communications processors combine multicore processors with specialized hardware acceleration engines in SoC ICs.

1.Networks under increasing stress
2. Moore’s Law not keeping pace
3. Hardware acceleration necessary, but …
4.Next-generation multicore SoCs

refer:http://embedded-computing.com/articles/next-generation-architectures-tomorrows-communications-networks/

Innovation driven by electronics

 

High-end electronics provide drivers and passengers with in-car navigation and entertainment and information delivered over a wireless network. In fact, many car buyers today care more about the infotainment technologies embedded in the dashboard than what's under the hood. This phenomenon is requiring additional storage space for rich multimedia data and advanced software and applications and is driving an explosive growth of both volatile and nonvolatile memories. Embedded multimedia cards are helping meet this demand in today's memory-hungry automotives.

 

The automotive market is moderately but steadily growing. Global car sales rose 6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2012, despite the ongoing headwinds associated with the sovereign debt problems in Western Europe and some moderation in the pace of global economic activity. Global sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are expected to grow from 78 million units in 2011 to more than 100 million units in 2018. In a recent study, Gartner confirmed that electronics are playing a major role in the advancement of automotive technology. Electronic content in cars has been steadily increasing since the first digital engine control modules were introduced in the ’80s.
Today, microelectronics enable advanced safety features, new information and entertainment services, and greater energy efficiency. The electric/electronic share of value added to a state-of-the-art vehicle is already at 40 percent for traditional, internal combustion engine cars and jumps as high as 75 percent for electric or hybrid electric vehicles. This trend will accelerate as advances in semiconductor technology continue to drive down the cost of various electronic modules and subsystems.
Infotainment is one of the key megatrends fueling the pervasiveness of microelectronics in cars. Users want to be connected and conveniently access their personal content anywhere, anytime, on all of their devices. The vehicle becomes just another node in the network, an extension of the user’s digital and social lifestyle (see this article’s lead-in photo). A “connected” car is also more comfortable, safer, and energy efficient, having early access to important information such as weather reports, traffic jams, or road accidents. According to a recent study, 60 percent of new cars will be connected by 2017. Given this scenario, consumer electronic trends are dictating features in the car, and the innovation cycle time is becoming shorter and shorter. Meanwhile, a key to this automotive infotainment innovation is the system’s enabler: memory.

Refer:
http://embedded-computing.com/articles/automotive-industry-innovation-driven-electronics/