IEC standard accepts a control network protocol

The International Electrotechnical Commission has accepted a control network protocol for process automation as a part of international standard IEC 61784-2 Ed.1.0.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has unanimously accepted the Vnet/IP control network protocol for process automation as a part of international standard IEC 61784-2 Ed.1.0.

Developed by the Yokogawa Electric Corporation, the Vnet/IP plant control network protocol is based on 1 Gbit/s high-speed Ethernet and features both the openness of Ethernet and the reliability and real-time capability required in plant control.

Concurrent with Yokogawa's development of the Vnet/IP control network protocol for the flagship CENTUM CS 3000 R3 system, the company has been actively engaged from the development stage in standardisation activities with a view to this receiving approval as an international standard control network.

Vnet/IP was accepted by the IEC for publication as Publicly Available Specification (PAS) No.

IEC/PAS 62405/Ed.1 in April 2005.

This was an important step in the direction of being accepted as an international standard.

PAS is a mechanism for popularising new technologies in fields where technological advances occur quite rapidly, allowing for the public disclosure of specifications before the IEC officially certifies the technologies as international standards.

Vice president of Industrial Automation Business Headquarters of Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Masatoshi Nakahara, said: "The fact that Vnet/IP has been accepted by the IEC means that Vnet/IP will enter wide use as a standard network protocol and be used by other manufacturers in combination with their own products.

We expect that Vnet/IP will grow and develop.

Yokogawa has gained recognition for its excellent technological capabilities and product quality.

We expect that this achievement will further increase Yokogawa's visibility in the global plant control systems market".

* About Vnet/IP - Vnet/IP is a core building block of Yokogawa's VigilantPlant solutions that promise to bring operational excellence to visionary plants, creating an environment where plant personnel can 'See Clearly, Know in Advance, and Act with Agility'.

Using advanced Yokogawa technology, Vnet/IP achieves TCP/IP general-purpose communications and UDP/IP-based control communications on a single network.

TCP/IP is used for general-purpose communications with PCs, subsystems, and human interface stations (HISs).

UDP/IP is used for control communications between HISs and field control stations.

Even with large-scale plants, Vnet/IP achieves rapid response, with data update intervals of one second or less.

In addition, the network can be made dual-redundant to instantly switch to another network path if a network path fails, making this a highly reliable control system.

Networks can also be configured with general-purpose network equipment such as layer 2 or layer 3 switches.

* About the IEC(International Electrotechnical Commission) - activities for the international standardisation of Vnet/IP are being carried out in TC65, the IEC's industrial process measurement and control working group.

* About Yokogawa - Yokogawa's global network of 18 manufacturing facilities, 84 companies, and over 650 sales and engineering offices spans 33 countries.

Since its founding in 1915, the US$4 billion company has been engaged in advanced research and innovation, securing more than 7,000 patents and registrations, including the world's first digital sensors for flow and pressure measurement.

Industrial automation and control, test and measurement, information systems and industry support are the core businesses of Yokogawa.

For more information about Yokogawa, please visit the company's Web site.

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