MAURICE O'BRIEN, STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGER AT ANALOG DEVICES, EXAMINES ROBUST ETHERNET PHYSICAL LAYER SOLUTIONS FOR TIME CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS IN HARSH INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS. Industrial systems are increasingly adopting Ethernet connectivity to solve manufacturers' key Industry 4.0 and smart factory communication challenges. These challenges include data integration, synchronisation, edge connectivity, and system interoperability. Ethernet-connected factories enable higher manufacturing productivity, and more flexible and scalable manufacturing by enabling connectivity between information technology (IT) and operating technology (OT) networks. This allows all areas of the factory to be monitored and controlled on a single, seamless, secure, and high bandwidth network that supports time critical communications. Scaled computing and a robust communications infrastructure are the lifeblood of the connected factory. Today's networks struggle with increasing traffic loads and interoperability challenges across myriad protocols that require complex, power hungry gateways to translate traffic throughout the factory. Industrial Ethernet solves these issues on a single network by delivering critical deterministic performance seamlessly to the edge of the factory. Historically, there has been an issue with a lack of available Ethernet physical layers (PHYs) designed specifically for robust industrial environments. Designers of industrial communications equipment have had to make do and compromise for far too long with standard, consumer-grade Ethernet PHYs developed for the mass market. In the age of Industry 4.0, where the number of edge nodes is accelerating and determinism is vital to achieving the connected factory, enhanced, industrialgrade Industrial Ethernet PHYs are critical.
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