Author: Deane Horn

If you are a Rockwell customer, looking for a cost-effective way to connect new head-end processors to legacy remote I/O networks, reducing expenses and minimizing the downtime associated with a legacy network upgrade, there is a solution to this challenging scenario. As a Rockwell Technology Partner, Softing offers an industrial networking solution from Phoenix Digital that lets you install the new head-end control system and keep your legacy network and legacy I/O.

System integration using a PC and custom code can come with a lot of errors in project estimation, increase risk, cost money and possibly even put your customer at risk. Fortunately, there are built-for-purpose integration solutions that eliminate the PC, eliminate custom code, and eliminate protocol conversion for PLC-to-database and cloud integration projects. In this blog, we show you how tManager from Rockwell, an in-chassis PLC module for bidirectional data exchange between enterprise systems and ControlLogix® and CompactLogix™ PLCs, does just that.

Softing has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft® Azure to offer industrial edge connectivity solutions that you can deploy from the AWS or Azure cloud. We show you how to quickly and securely connect machines, PLCs and devices to cloud-based Industrial IoT solutions in a typical brownfield project using our connectivity modules for the Industrial Edge.

Control engineers and those in the manufacturing and the process industries worry about three things taking down their processes: the machines going down, the programmable logic controllers (PLC) or devices going down, and the network going down. This is where Phoenix Digital switches come in. Part of the Rockwell Automation Technology Partner program, these purpose-built Ethernet networking devices were designed specifically for control engineers to network PLCs and Ethernet devices in manufacturing and process environments.

Available for over 20 years, the PROFIBUS standard is a mature digital fieldbus technology used in many factory and process automation applications, as well as in hybrid industries like food and beverages and pharmaceuticals. According to the PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI) association, over 50 million PROFIBUS devices were sold in 2015 — and this number continues to grow. Our blog post takes a deeper dive into PROFIBUS, including what it is and how it works.

Owing to the explosion of the Internet of Things, the number of OT/IT applications increases, and so too does network complexity. Having an abstraction interface can go a long way toward reducing this complexity. Our Secure Integration Server (SIS) is one such example that provides a layer that simplifies management between the OT and IT domains based on the OPC UA standard.

tManager acts as a PLC in-chassis transaction manager, moving plant floor data between enterprise systems and PLCs. It also connects PLCs to cloud applications, analytics apps or dashboards in minutes. In a recent Rockwell Automation Webinar, Softing experts answered audience questions about the ins and outs of tManager. We’ve compiled some questions and answers to broaden your understanding of how tManager works.

Intelligent field devices, from valves to temperature transmitters can detect faults, and in many cases, enable you to trend incoming data to avoid faults altogether. The challenge of managing the complexity of many intelligent field devices across different protocols can be overcome by utilizing a handheld, portable interface tool that supports multiple protocols simultaneously.

tManager makes it easy to connect the worlds of OT and IT in your factory. This PLC in-chassis transaction manager moves plant floor data between enterprise systems and PLCs. It also lets you connect PLCs to your favorite Cloud application, analytics app or dashboard — all in 10 minutes.

A conventional approach to diagnosing network problems is to use network monitoring tools and frame analyzers. However, in a lot of cases, these tools don't reveal the problem. For a complete picture of the health of your PROFIBUS network, it’s important to evaluate everything: the cables, connectors, topology, packets — and the signal itself.