Modern Plant Floor
Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) is the underlying architecture that provides standard network services to the applications, devices, and equipment found in modern Industrial Automation and Control System (IACS) applications. The CPwE architecture provides design and implementation guidance to achieve the real-time communication, reliability, and resiliency requirements of the IACS. CPwE Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) for plant floor machine Wi-Fi communications is brought to market through a joint partnership of Cisco Systems and Rockwell Automation, providing manufacturers the necessary guidance to meet the challenges of a fully integrated IACS. Two different Wi-Fi architectures are validated in CPwE WLAN, including Autonomous (stand-alone) Access WLAN and Unified (centralized) Access WLAN. With two differing architectures, CPwE WLAN allows users to make an informed architecture selection that meets both business and technical needs. CPwE WLAN provides the tools to realize the industrial networking business benefits.
The benefits of the CPwE Autonomous Access WLAN architecture include:
- Lower initial hardware cost, lesser technical expertise.
- Simplified setup.
- More granular control of Quality of Service (QoS) for critical IACS applications.
The benefits of the CPwE Unified Access WLAN architecture include:
- Reduced operational expenses.
- Dynamic and adaptive RF capabilities.
- Self-healing topology.
- Enhanced security.
- Support for plant-wide mobility.
Today, plant-wide architectures increasingly use Wi-Fi (802.11) networks for critical IACS applications that require reliable data transmission with low levels of latency and jitter. Wi-Fi WLANs differ significantly from traditional wired LANs in their use of shared radio frequencies, susceptibility to interference, and coverage impairments. Deploying a Wi-Fi network requires thoughtful planning and design as well as periodic monitoring to meet expectations for bandwidth, throughput, reliability, and security. CPwE WLAN details a joint architecture for successful Wi-Fi WLAN design and implementation that meet the performance requirements of IACS applications.
