The annual Automation Fair, organized by Rockwell Automation in North America, is one of the most influential professional exhibitions in the industry, featuring a variety of presentations and lectures. This year’s event took place in Chicago in mid-November, a city known as one of the key manufacturing hubs in North America and also the home of CONTROL ENGINEERING's editorial office.

Scott J. Johnson, a Network Product Specialist at Rockwell Automation, delivered a lecture titled "10 Commandments for Industrial Ethernet to Control Tasks." His insights were not only valuable for attendees but also highly relevant to users in China. He emphasized that one of the most common mistakes when using Industrial Ethernet for control tasks is choosing the wrong switch, and he warned against using hubs in the network.

Among the ten key points Scott highlighted, the following stood out as particularly important:

• Understand your system needs thoroughly. This includes factors like the working environment, I/O control, integration with the IT layer, scalability, security, performance, data traffic volume, transmission speed, distance, and the choice of transmission media such as switches, routers, and firewalls.
• Know your system environment. It's essential to determine whether the control network is integrated with the company's IT network or kept separate. If it's integrated, there are many considerations during design and implementation, especially regarding security, traffic management, and IP addressing.
• Ensure IT staff understand field-level requirements. For example, who will manage and maintain the network? Will a unified IP address be used? What are the responsibilities of each party? These issues need to be clearly addressed. Additionally, IT personnel should recognize that I/O data streams are typically multicast.
• Implement proper network segmentation. This approach can significantly simplify network management and enhance security.
• Avoid using hubs. They are outdated and not suitable for modern industrial networks.
• Select the right switch. Whether managed or unmanaged, a managed switch offers advanced features like port mirroring, IGMP snooping, and port diagnostics, which are crucial for reliable performance.
• Choose the appropriate physical media. Copper cables, twisted pairs, or fiber—each has its own advantages and use cases depending on the application and environment.

These guidelines offer a practical framework for building robust and secure industrial Ethernet networks, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and long-term scalability in automation systems.

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