Industrial communication: The reliable, secure networking of plants with our process control systems

Efficient and productive: Industrial communication via standardized bus systems and networks
Industrial communication ensures reliable data exchange and continuous information flow from the field to the management level. Even the realization of digital transformation is not possible without powerful communication. Especially in the process industry, communication solutions must be able to cope with special challenges: Data transfer in real time, communication in hazardous areas, widely distributed plants, etc. Our powerful process control systems support the current international communication standards and fully rely on PROFINET! The world's leading Industrial Ethernet standard enables high-performance, plant-wide communication in real time - indispensable in times of big data.
Intelligent networking for the future
PROFIBUS, HART, MODBUS, AS-Interface, FOUNDATION Fieldbus etc., various communication standards have been used in the process industry for a long time and without them safe and productive plant operation would not be possible. In order to meet the growing demands of industry, industrial networks have to perform more and more. SIMATIC PCS 7 therefore fully relies on the Ethernet-based PROFINET standard, but also "speaks" all other important industrial standards.PROFINET is the useful combination of the advantages of PROFIBUS, which with over 50 million installed nodes is one of the most widely used bus systems worldwide, and the advantages of Industrial Ethernet. PROFINET is the leading Industrial Ethernet standard for automation and plays an important role in the digitalization of the process industry. With its features – from openness, scalability, flexibility and vendor neutrality to deterministic communication and hard real-time capability – you are well equipped for digital transformation and the world of Industry 4.0. Whether you integrate new communication standards such as OPC UA, combine IT and production networks, or take the next big step with time-sensitive networking (TSN) – the turbo for PROFINET and OPC UA.
PROFINET offers the process and discrete industries new ways to set up flexible and high-performance plant networks to meet stricter increased security requirements. To ensure that these functions are reliable and secure from the outset and can be easily checked and optimized over the course of the plant life cycle, Siemens provides high-performance products for the validation, analysis and continuous diagnosis of simple and highly available PROFINET networks.
Via online analysis of the network quality, the PROFINET Bus Analyzer (BANY) detects critical states in your network before an overload occurs or indeed a section of the network fails. The results of the conducted PROFINET network validation are protocolled in detail and can be used as evidence.
For permanent plant monitoring, the BANY Agent hardware can be permanently integrated into the network. The BANY Scope software enables access to multiple BANY Agents in the plant. This makes it possible to rapidly identify and eliminate error sources in the PROFINET networks in any part of the plant. Stress tests with differently simulated network loads allow potential weak points to be identified and eliminated before the productive phase.
Validation is completed with the free PRONETA software, which automatically scans and clearly documents the topology, configuration and performance parameters of the PROFINET network. This allows qualified installation and efficient approval.
For complex network structures in an increasingly digital world, the Network Management System (NMS) SINEC NMS is available. This system can be used to centrally monitor, manage, and configure industrial networks with tens of thousands of devices around the clock, including security-related areas.
Indispensable for every existing plant: continuous information flow from the field level to the management level. In addition to the Ethernet-based PROFINET standard, our control systems also "speak" other important industrial standards such as PROFIBUS, HART, MODBUS, AS-Interface, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, etc. These communication standards are established in existing plants in the process industry and without them productive plant operation would not be possible. On this basis, Siemens offers a powerful and robust product range for the realization of secure and fast communication networks.