ASPECTS CONCERNING THE OPTIMIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL CONTROL NETWORKS

Abstract

Commencing in the late 1960s and continuing through 1999 to the 2000s, industrial data and control networks will capture the ingenuity of control engineers, computer scientists, and, of course, communications specialists. The well-justified thirst for information from top management down the industrial hierarchy will continue undiminished. To date, communication system designs have survived past difficult periods in an effort to find the best network systems for given applications, always with an eye toward finding the “universal” answer, [1]. Open systems hold some promise along these lines. Millions of hours of effort have gone into defining optimal protocols, improved communication media, practical and cost-effective bus configurations, and the reconfiguration of controls, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), distributed control systems, and personal computers (PCs), in an effort to make them increasingly “network friendly.”