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The following white papers on industrial communication networking are published for informational purposes only. All white papers are the sole property of Schneider Electric and Telemecanique Automation and Control Services. White papers are in PDF format.

Securing Your Automation Ethernet Network
Choosing an Ethernet Fieldbus offers the competitive advantage of speed, flexibility and accessibility though steps should be taken to secure automation devices and any associated programming workstations and servers. This paper seeks to educate the Controls Engineer on security strategies, technologies and options available. >Read more.

Building a Secure Ethernet Environment
The trend toward using Ethernet as the sole communications network for business and industry has raised concerns about security. While proprietary networks for building or factory automation have major drawbacks in terms of limiting information flow and higher cost, the separation of these networks from other systems provides a measure of protection against unauthorized access. So how do you take advantage of the benefits of Ethernet connectivity within a secure environment? >Read more.

Optimizing Ethernet Networks
The performance level of Automation and Control applications on Ethernet is such that inefficiencies due to errors, congestion, collisions and extraneous traffic must be avoided. This report outlines an example Ethernet segment analysis and reconfiguration. The example was constructed in our Network Certification Lab located in North Andover, Massachusetts. >Read more.

The Impact of PCs on Industrial Control Networks
PCs on control networks have existed for some time using a variety of fieldbus adapter cards, (sometimes coupled with an ethernet adapter in the same PC), to communicate with, monitor and program PLC’s. This paper addresses the installation and configuration of PC’s used in Ethernet TCP/IP control networks. >Read more.

The following papers, collectively titled Internetworking for Automation, are designed to give the Automation professional an understanding of internetworking core concepts, methods, and the technology choices available. They are essential tools for beginners and act as comprehensive reference guides for more advanced users of control networks and WAN implementations.

Summary of Internetworking
(Part 1 of Internetworking for Automation)
This is the first in a series of papers covering internetworking technologies to educate the Automation user. It provides an overview of all the papers and describes various aspects of routing. >Read more.

Wan Physical and Data Link Circuits
(Part 2 of Internetworking for Automation -- for priority support members only, login is required)
This is second in a series of papers covering internetworking technologies to educate the Automation user. It covers aspects of connected your control network to the public Internet for remote access. >Read more.