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Industry, standards organizations unite behind Ethernet-APL

June 25, 2021

The process industry is facing a radical change in termsĀ of digitization. Many developments have been initiatedĀ to obtain more information from the process in orderĀ to be able to produce more efficiently or more flexiblyĀ or bring more flexibility into the internal processesĀ (Maintenance). Ethernet-Advanced Physical LayerĀ (Ethernet-APLā„¢) is the key technology here that connectsĀ the field level of process automation systems to theĀ Industrial Internet of Things, making it the decisive stepĀ in achieving a higher degree of digitization a reality.Ā Ethernet-APL not only brings Ethernet technology toĀ the process field device, but also provides a secure,Ā future-proof solution for the requirements of processĀ users.

The fact that the well-known organizations for communicationĀ systems for the automation of process engineeringĀ automation systems FieldComm Group, ODVA,Ā OPC Foundation and PI as well asĀ  twelve industry partnersĀ have joined forces to provide a uniform solutionĀ means that the most important prerequisite for rapidĀ worldwide dissemination through the one standardĀ has been met. The first practical tests of Ethernet-APLĀ are already underway on the basis of prototypes at theĀ companies involved in the project and at users—e.g.Ā BASF—and have been successfully completed.Ā 

The specification work is now largely complete and theĀ first switches and field devices with Ethernet-APL areĀ expected in summer 2021. The specified roadmapsĀ were adhered to so that the chip manufacturers wereĀ able to provide their solutions. The ConformanceĀ Specification, which is important for interoperability,Ā will also be released this year.

At the same time, the other supplementary work, whichĀ is particularly necessary for user acceptance and safe,Ā long-lasting industrial use, will also start. These includeĀ the completion of the Engineering Guideline, theĀ implementation of test cases and tools, and the establishmentĀ of certification processes. Real use cases areĀ also an important building block in this context, so thatĀ the technology is developed in a practical manner. ThisĀ is where the final adjustments are made and subtletiesĀ are incorporated from the userā€˜s point of view.

After all important work regarding certification, standardization,Ā etc. will be completed this year, the firstĀ concrete projects with Ethernet-APL will start nextĀ year. Among other things, the test facilities will beĀ equipped with new devices and no longer just prototypes.Ā From our experience, it is important that theĀ implementation of the use cases is started quickly. ThisĀ is the only way for users to gain confidence in the newĀ technology.

All this work is taking place in close cooperation betweenĀ the organizations and industry partners involved.Ā Therefore, all players are confident that a wide range ofĀ Ethernet-APL devices will be available from 2022 andĀ will be shown at the postponed Achema in April 2022.

FieldComm Group

FieldComm Group believes that digital transformationĀ in the process automation industry is aĀ revolutionary concept implemented in anĀ evolutionary way.

Bridging the OT and IT worlds requires consideration ofĀ the installed base of field instruments … of which overĀ 70 million support HART. Introduction of 2-wire intrinsicallyĀ safe Ethernet-APL technology, initially to networkĀ components, immediately simplifies access to theseĀ instruments driving value for the end user. We heartilyĀ congratulate the Ethernet to the Field Project for all theĀ work completed to achieve this milestone.

Additionally, enhancements to the HART-IP standardĀ coupled with Ethernet-APL will enable HART-IP toĀ extend from today’s infrastructure products all the wayĀ to the field device … with minimal change in host systemĀ software. PA-DIM, the Process Automation DeviceĀ Information Model, supports the Namur Open ArchitectureĀ (NOA) thus providing the device information toĀ seamlessly enable enterprise IT analytics systemsĀ independent of automation protocol while also futureproofingĀ user investments.

As a founding standards development organization ofĀ the Ethernet to the Field Project, FieldComm GroupĀ has led the conformance activities of the team withĀ one principal goal in mind … assuring that users whoĀ begin to transition to Ethernet-APL infrastructure andĀ devices achieve the same level of multi-vendor interoperabilityĀ that they have come to expect from currentĀ process automation technologies.

With over 30 years of experience developing standards,Ā test processes, and product registration services weĀ are confident that equipment supporting Ethernet-APLĀ will conform to the rigorous and often hazardousĀ requirements of process automation.

ODVA

ODVA is actively engaged in the industry-wideĀ effort to promote adoption of long reach andĀ hazardous area capable Ethernet-APL, which willĀ soon open up the process industry to the highĀ speed and rich data afforded via Ethernet.

ODVA is committed to working together with leadingĀ standards organizations and industry partners toĀ develop the technology, guidelines, and best practicesĀ to assure successful deployment of Ethernet-APL toĀ the field. Ethernet communication will be a key factorĀ in moving critical information from the device to theĀ cloud for future applications with modern IIoT andĀ Industry 4.0 solutions. EtherNet/IP will be one of theĀ key available Ethernet communication networks asĀ it was originally designed for the future with a basis inĀ IP technology and has been named as one of theĀ minimum binding requirements for field level to higherĀ system level communication by NAMUR.

EtherNet/IP supports NAMUR NE 107 Process Diagnostics,Ā includes a translation mechanism for the integrationĀ of HART devices, and works efficiently and seamlesslyĀ with FDI technology. Furthermore, EtherNet/IP enablesĀ leading application level cyber security and safetyĀ solutions via CIP Security and CIP Safety. The Ethernet-APLĀ physical layer will make usage of Ethernet in the fieldĀ of process commonplace as a result of the determinedĀ and cooperative efforts of key industry players.

Interest from end users has been enthusiastic and willĀ help drive adoption of Ethernet-APL, which will enableĀ companies to gain the benefits of valuable additional dataĀ insights and drive cost savings. As a result, networksĀ like EtherNet/IP will be able to be used across theĀ process plant to connect devices to higher level infrastructureĀ as an enabler to better performance for IIoT,Ā Industry 4.0, NOA, and OPAF.Ā 

We congratulate the APL Project for completion of thisĀ important milestone for the process industries!

OPC Foundation

OPC UA and Ethernet-APL: A common-sense partnership between two enabling technologies

The OPC Foundation congratulates the Ethernet-APLĀ Project on the announcement of their achievement ofĀ a critically important milestone of cross-vendor utilizationĀ of their standard. We have joined this initiativeĀ because we strongly believe that the combination ofĀ OPC UA over APL will be a key technology for decadesĀ to come.

The key to APL technology is its ability to extendĀ capabilities and simplify applications for end usersĀ by scaling an Ethernet-based IT infrastructure fromĀ edge to sensor: APL is a perfect enabler for extendingĀ OPC UA to the field level.

Only OPC UA technology scales from the sensor to theĀ cloud and back, transporting standardized informationĀ models via secure communications across plant networksĀ in a way that streamlines the deployment andĀ operation of industrial automation implementations.

The OPC Foundation is the global gravity-center forĀ the next generation of field-level communications: 320Ā experts from 65 companies define OPC UA FX (FieldĀ eXchange) specification extensions for a harmonizedĀ process and factory automation solution includingĀ Safety, Motion, and Real-time. Users will, in our view,Ā benefit from these important building blocks: (1) theĀ world’s largest eco-system for interoperability, withĀ (2) OPC UA as the framework for secure informationĀ exchange, with (3) standardized information modelsĀ and semantics (such as the UA-based Dexpi, VDMA’sĀ models, MDIS, and PA-DIM), and now with (4) Ethernet-APL connectivity from the Edge into the field devices.Ā 

Moreover, the PA industry will be very well servedĀ with the inclusion of OPC UA across communicationsĀ frameworks such as the O-PASā„¢ and NOA, that willĀ undoubtedly benefit from Ethernet-APL.

The future of process control is available today – Ethernet-APL is that future.

Profibus and Profinet International

The widespread use of Ethernet in the field of the process industry is on the verge of a breakthrough thanks to the results of the Ethernet-APL project.

Some may criticize the long development time. But all industrial companies and organizations involved in the project were concerned with creating a viable overall solution. Since PI (PROFIBUS and PROFINET International) has been focusing on process industry applications with its technologies since the 1990s, the results for PROFINET have come at the right time, so that, now that PA Profile 4.0 has been made available, the last building block of PROFINET is also available for process technology applications.

The widespread use of Ethernet-APL will not be long in coming. One of the main reasons for us as PI is thatĀ it fulfills one of the main requirements of NAMUR for the realization of NOA. Another lies in the fact that the main organizations for industrial communication systems are developing the standard together with well-known device and system manufacturers who serve the process industry with products. This ensures worldwide coverage by a standard from the veryĀ beginning.

The interest of end users in the results is high. This is proven by the test setups in their laboratories based on first prototypes of devices from different industry partners. The results of the tests have been reported positively in public, which pleases us very much. It has been clearly demonstrated that Ethernet-APL is suitable as a physical layer in the field of process automation and as a base technology for higher-level applications.

Experts from PI are significantly involved in the results of the project. The motivation for us to produce a perfect technology together with other organizations in a result-oriented cooperation was and still is very high and we are looking forward to further cooperation.