Software for Industrial Environments

Enterasys NetSight Policy Control Console
NetSight is designed to enable an organization to manage its network as a whole, rather than a disparate set of devices.
SOURCE: Enterasys

Web-based device management is supported via an integrated web browser that allows bidirectional communication with web servers embedded in the intelligent network devices.

Enterasys Networks (enterasys.com) offers NetSight management software suite, designed to enable heterogeneous networks to be managed as a whole, rather than as individual devices. It works with SNMP-enabled switches from Enterasys and other companies. Enterasys recently introduced a line of managed switches designed specifically for demanding industrial applications and has gained a good understanding of the industrial world through its partnership with several automation vendors.

While NetSight is designed for use by IT people, the NetSight Console user interface offers a simple, pushbutton web interface for plant personnel. The web interface allows plant personnel to make temporary policy changes, launch diagnostic routines, force failover to another path around the ring, and run manual recovery routines, as needed. It also allows real-time monitoring of traffic on the network.

“The advantage of the NetSight offering is that it masks the complexity to allow you to manage the network as a whole,” comments Trent Waterhouse, vice president of marketing at Enterasys.

NetworkVision IntraVUE
IntraVUE software automatically discovers all the devices on the network and then automatically maps their connections.
SOURCE: Network Vision

Unlike the other vendors mentioned here, Network Vision (intravue.net) is primarily a software company. Its IntraVue 2 product is designed for real-time visualization and monitoring of industrial networks. The software can be installed on the network itself or provide remote management via the Web. It automatically discovers, displays and documents the devices on the network using a configurable tool that highlights problematic devices.

A major automobile manufacturer is deploying Ethernet across all its new plants globally. “We’ve set up our industrial manufacturing networks to be a logical extension of our IT networks,” reports an engineer responsible for manufacturing networking strategies at this company. “Our IT people use HP OpenView to manage the overall network, and they’re very comfortable with this. However, there never was an effective interface from the plant floor into the IT management console and therefore no way to get information to the plant floor in a timely manner. We’re supplementing the IT group’s commercial network management system with IntraVue at the plant level.

Cisco Network Assistant
Network Assistant, Cisco’s management package for smaller networks, provides a centralized network view through a user-friendly GUI.
SOURCE: Cisco Systems

The engineer believes IT people tend to think in terms of IP addresses; plant people tend to think in terms of devices. “Since IntraVue provides an IP view, a device view and a location view all with a few clicks of the mouse, when something goes wrong, IntraVue helps the plant people to quickly identify the actual devices and their locations from the IP address,” he says. “Since IntraVue is based on technology that is familiar to our IT people but is also understandable to people on the plant floor, it is a tool we can use to help overcome some of the cultural barriers within our organization.”

A major North American forest products company has standardized on Cisco switches and software for its corporate networks. According to a process control engineer at the company’s central research and development center, these require more IT skill than is available at the plant level. “We’ve deployed IntraVue at a few of our manufacturing locations. It lets us easily map the process control networks and provide a status of the links so we can understand the traffic and performance of our networks.”

N-TRON N-View
N-View OPC variables are presented to the OPC client as string variables, which most HMI software packages can covert into the appropriate data type required for display alarming, and trending.
SOURCE: N-TRON

Paul Sperling, technical systems manager for the food products manufacturing division of Kroger (Kroger.com), Cincinnati, says: “IntraVue rapidly discovers all the devices on the network and then lets us easily export the details to a spreadsheet or database to assist with documentation. The biggest driver for us is maintaining the status quo of our production networks. The software has a network validation tool that color-codes the network to immediately flag any additions or changes. If there’s an issue, it’s very easy to find and bring forward the device you’re looking for.”

Cisco Systems (cisco.com) has a major presence in enterprise networks. As evidenced by the recent partnership announcement with Rockwell Automation, the company is paying increasing attention to networking issues on the factory or plant floor.

Cisco doesn’t offer an industrial network management package. However, the company’s CiscoWorks suite, which is somewhat a standard for managing enterprise-scale Cisco networks, can be used by those IT people charged with providing second-level support for larger industrial networks. This provides comprehensive configuration, administration, monitoring and troubleshooting for Cisco networks.

The company also offers Network Assistant, a simpler, no-cost, PC-based network-management application for smaller Cisco local area networks. This could provide a basic monitoring and management solution for networks in many small-to-medium size process plants or factories with some dedicated IT support staff. Both CiscoWorks and Network Assistant are complementary with many industrial network management packages.