Ethernet speeds London commuters!

Commuters look set to have their busy morning journey made more comfortable thanks to the promise from London Overground of longer platforms and more carriages. Electroustic, a specialist in industrial connectors and Ethernet products, has won a contract to supply network switches for security purposes, to help with the London Overground capacity improvement project.

Electroustic will be supplying Ethernet switches, routers and transceivers to ensure fluid integration of the existing security and communications systems into the new system. The switches will be used in the controlling and monitoring of surveillance on the new longer platforms.   

The £320 million (€403m) London Overground project will improve the capacity of the London Overground by 25 per cent to match increasing passenger demand by the end of 2014. 

Electroustic is a franchised distributor that specialises in factory automation and industrial connectors for a wide variety of sectors, including oil and gas refinery, power generation, industrial manufacturing, rail, mining and many others. 

"We understand the high standards set by IRIS (International Railway Industry Standard), and welcome its objectives focused on improving the quality of the rail sector," explained Paul Carr, managing director of Electroustic. "As preferred partners of Hirschmann and Lumberg Automation, both a part of the IRIS certified brand, Belden, we can offer proven solutions to the rail industry."

The first longer trains will be introduced on the Highbury and Islington to West Croydon/Clapham Junction line from the end of 2014, followed by the Richmond/Clapham Junction to Stratford line by the end of 2015.

Electroustic recently called for industry cooperation to see super fast Wi-Fi on trains become a standard. According to National Rail, only nine of 25 train operating companies currently provide Wi-Fi for public use on trains. Interested parties, who would like to be involved with Electroustic in the creation of a coalition to promote open Wi-Fi on trains, advise transport providers on implementation and make information publicly available should contact amy@electroustic.co.uk.

Network switch supply agreement

Yokogawa has signed a supply agreement with Belden, a global manufacturer whose products include the Hirschmann brand of industrial network switches: components that are used to connect the different components of a control network. This new agreement will allow Yokogawa to provide a long-term and stable supply of Hirschmann's highly reliable Industrial Ethernet switches to its customers for use with the Yokogawa Vnet/IP® high-speed control network. Under the terms of the agreement, Yokogawa will sell these network switch products to its customers and provide maintenance services that facilitate the configuration of highly reliable control networks.

Overview of Vnet/IP Communications

The construction of reliable plant control networks requires high performance network switches that are reliable and have strong resistance to hostile environments with extreme ambient temperatures and corrosive gasses. In addition, the continuous supply and maintenance of switches must be ensured at each stage of the plant lifecycle. Yokogawa will offer Hirschmann brand network switches from Belden, the global leader in this market, because customers value a low failure rate and high environmental resistance. In addition, Hirschmann's Industrial Ethernet switches are the perfect choice for configuring control networks in plants in demanding environments that must operate with long-term stability.

Yokogawa is committed to providing its customers with highly reliable plant control systems and the long-term support required to guarantee stable operations over the entire plant lifecycle.
The Yokogawa Vnet/IP® high-speed control network allows control information to be transmitted between the devices such as human interface stations and controllers that comprise a control system. The Vnet/IP control network is used in Yokogawa's CENTUM® VP integrated production control system and ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system.

(We recently reported the acquisition of Byres Security by Belden!) 

Security breakthrough for OPC-based industrial automation

New Tofino® OPC Enforcer technology secures any system using classic OPC, the world’s most widely used industrial integration protocol
Byres Security has released the new Tofino OPC Enforcer firewall, part of the Tofino Industrial Security Solution. This new module locks down any industrial network using the previously hard to secure OPC Classic protocol. Using deep packet inspection firewall technology, the Tofino OPC Enforcer provides superior security over what can be achieved with conventional firewall solutions. The result is improved network reliability, availability and security for any process control or SCADA company using OPC.

Byres Security have published an OPC Feature Page, which is a hub of information on OPC and security, and includes a link to download the new White Paper titled “Securing Your OPC Classic Control System” written by me and Thomas J. Burke, President of the OPC Foundation.

OPC Classic is widely used in control systems as an interoperability solution, interfacing control applications from multiple vendors. Unfortunately, as numerous studies show, the technologies underlying it were designed before network security issues were widely understood. As a result, OPC Classic has been almost impossible to secure until now.

Thomas J. Burke, the president of the OPC Foundation, notes; “The Tofino OPC Enforcer is an important innovation and a great solution for all the systems that currently use OPC Classic – approximately 90% of all industrial networks”.

While the OPC Foundation is working hard to get its new and more secure OPC-UA technology into the market place, it will be years, if not decades, before all legacy OPC DA, HAD and A&E installations are replaced. In the meantime, the Tofino product addresses the security gap by providing a plug-n-protect solution that can be deployed in minutes without changes to existing OPC systems.

The Tofino OPC Enforcer provides two important benefits to control systems users:

1. It provides robust security and stability for any system using OPC DA, HAD or A&E, thus preventing industrial network attacks and accidents. Unlike other firewalls, this product inspects, tracks and secures every connection made by an OPC application, opening only the exact TCP port required for a connection between an OPC client and server.


2. It is implemented without any control system changes. The Tofino hardware is simply installed into the live network and configured using a drag and drop editor to select permitted clients and servers. Once installed, network security is assured, with all OPC traffic managed behind the scenes.

The recent Stuxnet worm attacks against Siemens HMIs and PLC systems has highlighted the need for better security on the plant floor. At the same time, many incidents result from internal network problems.

“Past industrial shutdowns, for example, haven’t been caused by hackers. Instead they were the result of badly configured software causing traffic storms that impacted critical controllers and other systems,” said Eric Byres, security expert and Chief Technical Officer at Byres Security. “The Tofino OPC Enforcer LSM does much more than block hackers and viruses from accessing automation systems. Its dynamic port management techniques prevent many basic network problems from spreading throughout a plant or SCADA system.”

Availability and Requirements
The Tofino OPC Enforcer is available now from Byres Security and from leading automation industrial suppliers MTL Instruments and Belden / Hirschmann. It requires the Tofino Security Appliance, the Tofino Central Management Platform and the Tofino Firewall LSM. The technology will also be available as a stand-alone appliance, the Triconex Tofino Firewall from Invensys Operations Management in Q4 2010.

Network design seminar

Belden Inc. will present the Hirschmann™ 2010 Mission Critical Network Design Seminar, September 19-22, 2010 in Orlando, (FL US)

Seminar topics include: • Introduction to Ethernet Networking • Network Design I: Fundamentals & Best Practices • Network Design II: Implementing Redundancy • Network Design III: Managing Multicast Traffic • Network Design IV: Isolating Network Traffic • Network Design V: Wireless Best Practices & Applications • Network Security, The Hirschmann Way • Network Management • Physical Layer Cabling & Testing: How to test and troubleshoot a reliable Ethernet network • Switch Selection: Choosing the right product for your application • Cool things your switch can do that you don’t know about • Migrating legacy devices to Ethernet • Industrial Connectivity: Passive Product Technology • Industrial Connectivity: Active Products • Ethernet Cabling: Your Questions Answered • Fiber Optic Cabling • Industrial Automation Cabling (Non-Ethernet Applications) • HSI Forum • Distributor Forum • Intro to HSI - Hirschman System Integrator Program Hands-On Labs • Managed switches “Out of the Box” • Network Management • Network Redundancy • Layer 3 / Routing • Network Security • Wireless

In today’s highly competitive markets, training is essential to establish and maintain the technical competencies needed for success and advancement. This seminar provides a multitude of high quality training options to fit specific levels of expertise. Unlike other seminars, the Mission Critical Network Design Seminar is focused on just one particular area of technology: Industrial Ethernet Networking.

Expertise in designing, implementing and maintaining industrial Ethernet networks will be critical as intelligent use of data becomes the difference between market leaders and also rans. This seminar will position attendees at the forefront of industrial Ethernet networking, now and in the future.

The seminar is intended for system integrators; network design engineers (with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms); and anyone involved with the design, implementation and maintenance of mission critical Ethernet networks. During the seminar, attendees will learn how to effectively reduce costs and installation time by implementing a highly resilient network design.

Presenters with a combined experience of over 150 years will speak on technical topics including Isolating Network Traffic, Implementing Redundancy and Network Security. Each presenter has the experience and technical background to address current technology trends for designing state-of-the art mission critical industrial Ethernet networks in a variety of industries including petrochemical; automotive; and power generation, transmission and distribution.