Cutting out cable
5 Oct 2007
Despite some lingering concerns, the flexibility and lower costs of wireless could see it take a major slice of the industrial networking market. Patrick Raleigh and Tim Tunbridge report
End-users are driving the growth in wireless networking products, forcing OEMs and systems integrators to move away from wired systems, particularly when expanding or relocating networks.
Wireless signaling is making more on-line data from machinery available and the cost of connection is much reduced. This will drive a trend towards much more on-line machinery and equipment monitoring and e-maintenance.
Wireless communications means that activities of field operators will be more integrated with more information available to them from the control room and vice versa. Early adopters are getting new and very informative measurements from places that are infeasible to wire, e.g. sensors can be inside rotating machinery.
These are among the key findings from a market study by US-based Venture Development Corp. It says that most users now see the cost of wireless networks as less than or equal to that of wired, which is a significant shift in opinion from its previous studies.
Users cite ease of installation and greater location flexibility as the main reasons for choosing wireless over wired networks. However, many users are comfortable with wired technology and are sticking with it as it has been adopted as the company standard.
Only 8% of users reported any security problems with their wireless networks. Of the few problems reported, about half were for signals coming in from outside the network and half with unauthorised receptions when roaming in mesh networks.
Few or no interference problems were indicated by 65% of wireless network users, with most of the difficulties caused by physical obstructions.
The Venture study embraced networking components (access points, bridges, console servers, gateways, modems, etc), industrial-grade interconnect products (connectors, cable & cord sets, distribution boxes), antennas for wireless networking components and network management software. For wireless products global sales will grow 34% annually, from $262 million in 2006 to $1,131 million in 2011. Growth will be slower for wired products, at 24.8% annually, taking their market to $5,158 million in 2011 from $1,702 million in 2006.
Reasons for the higher forecast market growth for wireless products include growing awareness of the benefits of the technology, lower maintenance and installation costs, and new wireless standards, such as IEEE 802.15.4, being able to meet the needs of industrial users. New vendor- and consortium-driven initiatives based on the growing base of industrial wireless networking are moving the market forward, which benefits also from the ability to use mobiles and applications where it is not possible to install a wired line.
The wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11a, b and g standards accounted for almost 44% of worldwide shipments of wireless products in 2006, with the IEEE 802.11b standard leading the way. As many networking products, however, can switch between different versions of IEEE 802.11, this standard is the de facto market leader.
Several shifts in the types of networks used are expected over the next five years, led by the use of higher frequencies utilising proprietary protocols. As the price of components used in 2.4GHz products declines, the shift to this frequency band follows. Networking products using 2.4GHz have higher data throughput than lower frequency bands and can be used in all geographic regions.
Products using standard networks grabbed the majority of worldwide sales in 2006 and are set for an even larger share by 2011. Advantages of using standard networks include costs, interchangeable suppliers and established best practices, including security and interference protection, and ease of installation.
Most of this gain is expected to be for products using IEEE 802.11 networks, with their share of the market rising to 48% by 2011, from the 44% in 2006.
Also expected is a lesser trend to mesh networking using the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and protocols built upon it, most notably ZigBee. However, their market share will not rise above 5% by 2011, said Venture.
Despite the trend towards IEEE 802.11, the market for of products using proprietary protocols will remain robust through to 2011; maintaining a 32% annual growth rate, though market share will fall from 47% in 2006 to 44% in 2011. This, according to the US market researcher, reflects ongoing concern about the security of wireless open standard networks for industrial use in addition to the lack of adequate standards in the lower RF frequency bands, which users may deem most appropriate for their operations.
Current standards offer many advantages, but may not meet the specific needs of many industrial users. IEEE 802.11 products operate in the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, which allow for a high data throughput and a range of up to 100 metres. Industrial applications in large facilities such as oil & gas fields or water treatment plants, however, require longer distances and frequency bands like 400, 800 and 900MHz are more suitable in these environments. These bands provide better propagation and require lower transmission power and/or provide longer transmission distances.
The RF components for the lower frequency bands and the products operating at these frequencies are cheaper than those for the higher frequency bands. In addition, many of these are in applications where high data rates are not required as they may only be for simple on/off controls, alarms or remote monitoring of variable signals.
Ultimately, the choice between using a standard like IEEE 802.11 and proprietary protocols comes down to the application. Users needing to transfer large amounts of data in short time periods and at relatively short distances may find that IEEE 802.11 fits their needs best. Those with longer-range applications may choose to use lower frequency networks, although in many industries and applications a mix of networks may be best. Lower RF frequency ISM bands are fine at sensor- or field-level, for example, allowing IEEE 802.11 to be used elsewhere.
The average selling prices for all infrastructure products are forecast to decline with: the availability of lower cost components arising from economies of scale as the networking technology market expands; increasing competition as new suppliers enter the market; and use of commercial-grade products as alternatives to costlier industrial-grade components.
Lower price
Software will also fall in price, but at a lower rate than for hardware products as vendors will be able to differentiate themselves from competitors by increasing functionality and features rather than by slashing prices.
When selecting antennas users identified gain/range as their most important criterion. Other important factors include coverage and directional capabilities, quality and reliability, and price.
Quality and reliability are regarded as most important when selecting access points and networking components. Compatibility with existing hardware and software, and component durability are also rated highly.
Compatibility with existing systems is also the main selection factor for users of network management software. Other important considerations include ease of installation/configuration, reliability and price.
Away from the actual products, users rate technical support as a primary consideration when selecting product vendors. Experience with the supplier is also seen as important.
Venture says the Ethernet share of the market is increasing at the expense of most open buses/networks, although this is not a strict displacement. Ethernet networks can be implemented for quick response times and/or the transfer of large files.
Advantages of Ethernet-based networks include the lower cost of connecting devices and infrastructure products, company-wide uniformity with the same type of network suitable for both the office and plant floor, and easy integration with internet and intranets. Also, it is possible to use commercial-grade products in certain industrial environments.
Considering options
"We have not installed wireless in to our plants yet — although we do have it in offices — but we are considering its use in plants, said Peter Lidstone, supply chain director for ICI paints UK and Republic of Ireland. "So far we have not needed wireless in the plants, as devices we have are hard-wired." said Lidstone — referring to the UK/Continental European operations of .ICI Paints and to the global ICI Packaging Coatings.
ICI is investigating a project at the moment where its engineers will look at wireless as an option if they are unable to use a fibre-optic solution, Lidstone said.
With regard to standards, he stated: "We prefer to use open network standards as we have found proprietary protocols can lead to unwanted interference between items of plant when proprietary protocol are misinterpreted by incompatible kit.
Industrial-strength problem
David Robinson UK country manager of Norman Data Defense Systems (UK) — a supplier of anti-malware technology and services — warns against underestimating the problems that can ensue from inadequately secured wireless.
"It's an industrial strength problem," said Robinson, "In the IT world we get roughly about 4000 new malware items every day. The manufacturing environment is also more complicated than in an office where IT take charge and there is a clear line of responsibility about who plugs into what."
Moreover, continued Robinson, responsibility for the manufacturing network is often clouded and security products are not used as often as might initially be believed. "Having a wireless network as part of the overall network infrastructure could open a back door for direct access to your networks which bypasses all the IT security locks and chains you have on the front door to your company."
Security systems with firewalls, DMZ areas, web traffic filters and email scanning are "all well and good, said Robinson. "But if there is a route in for an OEM or a service provider or a partner to connect into a system or employees taking out a laptop connecting at home and bringing it back in to the network, boom you can get infected."
Strong focus on security
There is an "increased awareness" regarding the benefit of industrial wireless applications and their impact on industrial communication technologies, said Christian Siemens, a BASF AG spokesman.
Until now, though, industrial wireless technologies are not available in such a wide range to warrant an overall group strategy at the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based group.
However, said Siemens, "in the near future more and more industrial wireless applications will be implemented in our plants."
As most of these applications will use non-regulated ISM frequencies, BASF will pay strict attention to the robustness of these systems and vendors' solutions to prevent interferences, said its spokesman.
"BASF pursues a very precise and clear security concept for networked automation systems. Wireless networks also will be subject to detailed security analysis and inspections," he concluded.
Hands-on monitoring
"There are areas where we do use wireless, but most of our maintenance is done by people going around collecting data and manual monitoring of things," said Les Lemmon, head of engineering and mechanical section at the Drax Power coal-fired power plant, Selby, North Yorkshire
"In the main, it is better for us to have a man going around to physically check a piece of equipment and monitor it. The data collector picks up some information but it is also an advantage to have a set of hands to check it."
Wireless on the Web
The Process Engineering website
(www.processengineering.co.uk) features regular updates on the adoption of wireless network technology in the process industries. Recent application stories include projects at leading players, such as Yorkshire Water, PPG Industries and Croda Inc. Our latest coverage also examines Perpetuum's new energy harvesting technology and carries a review by UK firm Adaptive Wireless Solutions on its projects in the food & beverage, pulp & paper and biomaterials industries. Advances in wireless technology also feature prominently in the Technology Tracker section of the website.
Wireless signaling is making more on-line data from machinery available and the cost of connection is much reduced. This will drive a trend towards much more on-line machinery and equipment monitoring and e-maintenance.
Wireless communications means that activities of field operators will be more integrated with more information available to them from the control room and vice versa. Early adopters are getting new and very informative measurements from places that are infeasible to wire, e.g. sensors can be inside rotating machinery.
These are among the key findings from a market study by US-based Venture Development Corp. It says that most users now see the cost of wireless networks as less than or equal to that of wired, which is a significant shift in opinion from its previous studies.
Users cite ease of installation and greater location flexibility as the main reasons for choosing wireless over wired networks. However, many users are comfortable with wired technology and are sticking with it as it has been adopted as the company standard.
Only 8% of users reported any security problems with their wireless networks. Of the few problems reported, about half were for signals coming in from outside the network and half with unauthorised receptions when roaming in mesh networks.
Few or no interference problems were indicated by 65% of wireless network users, with most of the difficulties caused by physical obstructions.
The Venture study embraced networking components (access points, bridges, console servers, gateways, modems, etc), industrial-grade interconnect products (connectors, cable & cord sets, distribution boxes), antennas for wireless networking components and network management software. For wireless products global sales will grow 34% annually, from $262 million in 2006 to $1,131 million in 2011. Growth will be slower for wired products, at 24.8% annually, taking their market to $5,158 million in 2011 from $1,702 million in 2006.
Reasons for the higher forecast market growth for wireless products include growing awareness of the benefits of the technology, lower maintenance and installation costs, and new wireless standards, such as IEEE 802.15.4, being able to meet the needs of industrial users. New vendor- and consortium-driven initiatives based on the growing base of industrial wireless networking are moving the market forward, which benefits also from the ability to use mobiles and applications where it is not possible to install a wired line.
The wireless Ethernet IEEE 802.11a, b and g standards accounted for almost 44% of worldwide shipments of wireless products in 2006, with the IEEE 802.11b standard leading the way. As many networking products, however, can switch between different versions of IEEE 802.11, this standard is the de facto market leader.
Several shifts in the types of networks used are expected over the next five years, led by the use of higher frequencies utilising proprietary protocols. As the price of components used in 2.4GHz products declines, the shift to this frequency band follows. Networking products using 2.4GHz have higher data throughput than lower frequency bands and can be used in all geographic regions.
Products using standard networks grabbed the majority of worldwide sales in 2006 and are set for an even larger share by 2011. Advantages of using standard networks include costs, interchangeable suppliers and established best practices, including security and interference protection, and ease of installation.
Most of this gain is expected to be for products using IEEE 802.11 networks, with their share of the market rising to 48% by 2011, from the 44% in 2006.
Also expected is a lesser trend to mesh networking using the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and protocols built upon it, most notably ZigBee. However, their market share will not rise above 5% by 2011, said Venture.
Despite the trend towards IEEE 802.11, the market for of products using proprietary protocols will remain robust through to 2011; maintaining a 32% annual growth rate, though market share will fall from 47% in 2006 to 44% in 2011. This, according to the US market researcher, reflects ongoing concern about the security of wireless open standard networks for industrial use in addition to the lack of adequate standards in the lower RF frequency bands, which users may deem most appropriate for their operations.
Current standards offer many advantages, but may not meet the specific needs of many industrial users. IEEE 802.11 products operate in the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, which allow for a high data throughput and a range of up to 100 metres. Industrial applications in large facilities such as oil & gas fields or water treatment plants, however, require longer distances and frequency bands like 400, 800 and 900MHz are more suitable in these environments. These bands provide better propagation and require lower transmission power and/or provide longer transmission distances.
The RF components for the lower frequency bands and the products operating at these frequencies are cheaper than those for the higher frequency bands. In addition, many of these are in applications where high data rates are not required as they may only be for simple on/off controls, alarms or remote monitoring of variable signals.
Ultimately, the choice between using a standard like IEEE 802.11 and proprietary protocols comes down to the application. Users needing to transfer large amounts of data in short time periods and at relatively short distances may find that IEEE 802.11 fits their needs best. Those with longer-range applications may choose to use lower frequency networks, although in many industries and applications a mix of networks may be best. Lower RF frequency ISM bands are fine at sensor- or field-level, for example, allowing IEEE 802.11 to be used elsewhere.
The average selling prices for all infrastructure products are forecast to decline with: the availability of lower cost components arising from economies of scale as the networking technology market expands; increasing competition as new suppliers enter the market; and use of commercial-grade products as alternatives to costlier industrial-grade components.
Lower price
Software will also fall in price, but at a lower rate than for hardware products as vendors will be able to differentiate themselves from competitors by increasing functionality and features rather than by slashing prices.
When selecting antennas users identified gain/range as their most important criterion. Other important factors include coverage and directional capabilities, quality and reliability, and price.
Quality and reliability are regarded as most important when selecting access points and networking components. Compatibility with existing hardware and software, and component durability are also rated highly.
Compatibility with existing systems is also the main selection factor for users of network management software. Other important considerations include ease of installation/configuration, reliability and price.
Away from the actual products, users rate technical support as a primary consideration when selecting product vendors. Experience with the supplier is also seen as important.
Venture says the Ethernet share of the market is increasing at the expense of most open buses/networks, although this is not a strict displacement. Ethernet networks can be implemented for quick response times and/or the transfer of large files.
Advantages of Ethernet-based networks include the lower cost of connecting devices and infrastructure products, company-wide uniformity with the same type of network suitable for both the office and plant floor, and easy integration with internet and intranets. Also, it is possible to use commercial-grade products in certain industrial environments.
Considering options
"We have not installed wireless in to our plants yet — although we do have it in offices — but we are considering its use in plants, said Peter Lidstone, supply chain director for ICI paints UK and Republic of Ireland. "So far we have not needed wireless in the plants, as devices we have are hard-wired." said Lidstone — referring to the UK/Continental European operations of .ICI Paints and to the global ICI Packaging Coatings.
ICI is investigating a project at the moment where its engineers will look at wireless as an option if they are unable to use a fibre-optic solution, Lidstone said.
With regard to standards, he stated: "We prefer to use open network standards as we have found proprietary protocols can lead to unwanted interference between items of plant when proprietary protocol are misinterpreted by incompatible kit.
Industrial-strength problem
David Robinson UK country manager of Norman Data Defense Systems (UK) — a supplier of anti-malware technology and services — warns against underestimating the problems that can ensue from inadequately secured wireless.
"It's an industrial strength problem," said Robinson, "In the IT world we get roughly about 4000 new malware items every day. The manufacturing environment is also more complicated than in an office where IT take charge and there is a clear line of responsibility about who plugs into what."
Moreover, continued Robinson, responsibility for the manufacturing network is often clouded and security products are not used as often as might initially be believed. "Having a wireless network as part of the overall network infrastructure could open a back door for direct access to your networks which bypasses all the IT security locks and chains you have on the front door to your company."
Security systems with firewalls, DMZ areas, web traffic filters and email scanning are "all well and good, said Robinson. "But if there is a route in for an OEM or a service provider or a partner to connect into a system or employees taking out a laptop connecting at home and bringing it back in to the network, boom you can get infected."
Strong focus on security
There is an "increased awareness" regarding the benefit of industrial wireless applications and their impact on industrial communication technologies, said Christian Siemens, a BASF AG spokesman.
Until now, though, industrial wireless technologies are not available in such a wide range to warrant an overall group strategy at the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based group.
However, said Siemens, "in the near future more and more industrial wireless applications will be implemented in our plants."
As most of these applications will use non-regulated ISM frequencies, BASF will pay strict attention to the robustness of these systems and vendors' solutions to prevent interferences, said its spokesman.
"BASF pursues a very precise and clear security concept for networked automation systems. Wireless networks also will be subject to detailed security analysis and inspections," he concluded.
Hands-on monitoring
"There are areas where we do use wireless, but most of our maintenance is done by people going around collecting data and manual monitoring of things," said Les Lemmon, head of engineering and mechanical section at the Drax Power coal-fired power plant, Selby, North Yorkshire
"In the main, it is better for us to have a man going around to physically check a piece of equipment and monitor it. The data collector picks up some information but it is also an advantage to have a set of hands to check it."
Wireless on the Web
The Process Engineering website
(www.processengineering.co.uk) features regular updates on the adoption of wireless network technology in the process industries. Recent application stories include projects at leading players, such as Yorkshire Water, PPG Industries and Croda Inc. Our latest coverage also examines Perpetuum's new energy harvesting technology and carries a review by UK firm Adaptive Wireless Solutions on its projects in the food & beverage, pulp & paper and biomaterials industries. Advances in wireless technology also feature prominently in the Technology Tracker section of the website.
