IT Ethernet networks were first put to use in the office environment long before the advent of OT Ethernet networks carrying data to and from equipment in the harsher industrial environment of the factory floor. Perhaps that’s one reason why so many organizations, when building their vital latter-day factory OT networks, simply went back automatically to specifying what they knew—the same familiar cable that served them well on their enterprise side—without taking into account the added challenges of the industrial environment.

We’ve been seeing the trend for the better part of a decade; but, according to the annual HMS Industrial Networks’ study, 2017 has become the milestone year in which Industrial Ethernet has, as ultimately expected, finally overtaken fieldbus in numbers of new nodes installed in factory automation applications.

Improving upon your IP network security is vitally important, especially considering that many of today's industrial networks use Ethernet alongside legacy protocols that were designed long before security was a main goal, such as with TCP/IP protocols. However, this doesn't mean that improving your network security needs to be complicated.

The drive for productivity and high-availability manufacturing means you likely don't have the time you would like to learn new things – even if doing so would ultimately save you time. If you're relatively new to industrial Ethernet networking and the equipment that comes with it, you might be surprised to learn of the time-saving capabilities available in managed switches today. With the right background and knowledge, you can get your network switches up and running fast and easy.

Did you know that it’s National Cyber security Awareness Month? During the month of October, everyone is encouraged to raise awareness about the vital role cyber security plays in the lives of U.S. citizens. In honor of National Cyber security Awareness Month, I’ve decided to revisit a topic that I’ve blogged on before, because of the important role it plays in the advancement of network security for industrial control systems. The topic: Deep Packet Inspection (DPI).