New Article from NIST and IEEE on Wireless Network Design and IIoT

A recently published article published by the IEEE and written by researchers at NIST titled "Wireless Network Design for Emerging IIoT Applications: Reference Framework and Use Cases" is available for reading and downloading at this US National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health / PMC site: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6760003/.

ABSTRACT

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, featured with data-centric innovations, are leveraging the observability, control, and analytics, as well as the safety of industrial operations. In IIoT deployments, wireless links are increasingly used in improving the operational connectivity for industrial data services, such as collecting massive process data, communicating with industrial robots, and tracking machines/parts/products on the factory floor and beyond. The wireless system design for IIoT applications is inherently a joint effort between operational technology (OT) engineers, information technology (IT) system architects, and wireless network planners. In this paper, we propose a new reference framework for the wireless system design in IIoT use cases. The framework presents a generic design process and identifies the key questions and tools of individual procedures. Specifically, we extract impact factors from distinct domains including industrial operations and environments, data service dynamics, and the IT infrastructure. We then map these factors into function clusters and discuss their respective impact on performance metrics and resource utilization strategies. Finally, discussions take place in four exemplary IIoT applications where we use the framework to identify the wireless network issues and deployment features in the continuous process monitoring, discrete system control, mobile applications, and spectrum harmonization, respectively. The goals of this work are twofold: 1) to assist OT engineers to better recognize wireless communication demands and challenges in their plants, 2) to help industrial IT specialists to come up with operative and efficient end-to-end wireless solutions to meet demanding needs in factory environments.

See the full text article and PDF download link here.

For information on wireless instrumentation, explosion proof antennas, and explosion proof enclosures, contact Analynk Wireless. Call them at (614) 755-5091 or visit https://analynk.com.

Industrial 5G Communications

Smartphone users aren't the only ones waiting for 5g. Industrial companies are patiently looking forward to the new 5G wireless mobile standard. Owners and operators see industrial 5G as key to making their production plants and operations more flexible, more autonomous, and more efficient than ever before.

Today, most industrial facilities still communicate via wires and cables. With the advent and adoption of the new 5G communications standard, that will all change. 

With 5G peak download speeds of 20 Gb/s (gigabits per second) and 5G peak upload speeds of 10 Gb/s, wireless data transmission for comprehensive factory networks and equipment will communicate at speeds comparable or better than cables. 

The potential of 5G implementation is truly mind boggling, particularly when you consider its huge effect on Industry 4.0, making factories much more productive and less costly to operate. 5G technology has the potential to integrate picking systems, industrial robots, quality control systems, warehousing and autonomous vehicles - harmoniously tying the entire manufacturing process together through a secure, ultrafast, and robust network.

All major industries, including chemicals, primary metals, water treatment, automobiles, aerospace, power generation and oil & gas production, are biding their time and evaluating the promise of 5G's features for their processes. For example, factories will be able to simultaneously transmit data for an astounding 1 million IIoT devices per square kilometer! This easily accommodates all the wireless field instruments for a production line or even an entire plant. Speeds for industrial 5G are at the lower end of the millisecond range. This means instant response to systems upsets or process abnormalities. With 5G, the virtues of augmented reality in the industrial environment will be fully realized, opening the door for a new level of interchange between man and industrial process.

There’s nothing new about wireless communication in industry. Private LTE (Long-Term Evolution) networks are already being used, and process control equipment companies have been successfully implementing Industrial WLAN for quite some time. But since 5G is not yet widely available, Industrial WLAN research and development continues in parallel. However, these networks are nowhere near 5G in terms of performance and speed. 

Even though the international mobile radio standards organization 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) published the commercial mobile wireless network standard for 5G in late 2018,  there still are no published standards for the industrial 5G. 3GPP expects to have that completed by the middle of 2020.

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Wireless Process Control Networks

In order to promote data sharing and analysis in embedded control networks, industrial plants, factories and process automation systems are increasingly deploying information and communications technologies. Despite the severe process control environment, as well as loss of signal propagation and interference with radio frequency (RF), wireless connections provide quick and simple access to a multitude of field tools, reducing network installation expenses and continuing maintenance outlays. This serves as an incentive to adopt industrial wireless networks depending on industry norms such as ISA100.11a, a wireless networking technology standard established by ISA (International Automation Society) and WirelessHART, a wireless sensor networking technology based on the Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol (HART). 

However, wide-ranging acceptance is tentative, as industrial environments differ extensively and process control systems have a variety of critical demands for wireless networking, such as:

• Long-term durability.
• Low-cost operation.
• High reliability in the harsh radio propagation environment.
• Deterministic transmissions in shared wireless bandwidth.

Wired connections have proved efficient in promoting reliable, point-to-point communication between controller and field tools. Wired links, however, have a difficult restriction - they are unable to meet the increasing demands and future requirements to support adaptive network topology and fast reconfiguration found in new process control systems. 

Instead of setting miles of wires to connect hundreds of field tools, industrial wireless communication networks provide tailored network topology wireless links, enable plug-and-play setup, and provide reduced installation and maintenance costs.

Compared to the demands of conventional Internet data services, the requirements of wireless service quality (QoS) in the process control environment are more stringent. In mobile use cases, these include more extremely reliable transmissions as well as centralized data analytics, tighter message latency, and reduced power consumption.

For more information about wireless networking in the industrial space, contact Analynk Wireless. Visit their website at https://analynk.com, or call them at 614-755-5091.

Hazardous Area Enclosures Facilitate Plant Standards for Wireless Access Points

Hazardous area enclosures for wireless access point.
(Analynk)

There are often conflicts between what is needed and what is desired in many technical endeavors, and the field of industrial process control is no exception. Such a conflict between process engineers and IT managers was created by the incursion and popularity of wireless communication into the field of process measurement and control. It is, of course, a cooperative and friendly conflict, but a condition which may require some incompatible interests to be resolved.

For a number of reasons, compliance with certain norms set for the organization's wider scope and standards is advantageous for the wireless network equipment. Standardization on specific brands or hardware types can have true advantages. The tasks associated with network infrastructure back end management are less complicated when all equipment belongs to the same producer and family of products. Provisioning, which includes initial set-up, long-term management and management of unit losses, is simplified when all units are identical. The same objective is pursued by process technicians and operators in standardizing specific transmitters, valves or other parts that have various facilities throughout a plant.

The problem occurs when the access point selected by the IT team, with all the latest standards, needs to be installed in a part of the plant categorized as hazardous (owing to the potential for flammable or explosive gases, vapors or dusts that can be ignited). There is a solution, actually a fairly simple one. Use a non-hazardous area access point (as specified or designated by the IT department) and installing it inside an access point enclosure designed for hazardous areas.

Analynk Wireless manufactures enclosures for industrial wireless access points installed in hazardous locations.  Each access point enclosure is provided with agency approved enclosures, antennas, mounting, penetrations, cabling, and power supplies. Their current product offering accommodates a wide range of wireless access point manufacturers including Symbol, Cisco, Meru, Aruba, HP, and Motorola.  Access point and Wi-Fi technology technologies change rapidly. Wireless component lifecycles are relatively short compared to other process equipment. The use of hazardous area access point enclosures provide flexibility and convenience in access point selection and upgrades.

For more information, contact Analynk Wireless by visiting https://analynk.com or by calling 614-755-5091.

Industrial Wireless Systems Radio Propagation Measurements

Radio frequency (RF) propagation measurements were conducted at three facilities representing a cross-section of different classes of industrial environments. Selected sites included a multi-acre transmission assembly factory typical of the automotive industry; a small-sized machine shop primarily engaged in metalworking located on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg; and a steam generation plant located on the NIST campus in Boulder. A spread spectrum correlation sounder was used to take the measurements at a continuum of points throughout the facility by fixing the transmitter and moving the receiver at a constant rate throughout each facility. The data collected from the RF propagation measurements of each site was analyzed. Analysis is based on channel impulse response (CIR) measurements collected during the measurement using equipment developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The results of the analysis include a tabulated summary and detailed exploration of various industry accepted channel metrics such as path loss, delay spread, and K factor. Interpretation of the measurements contributes to an improved understanding of radio frequency propagation in factories and an additional perspective on deploying wireless communication devices within factories.

This technical paper, provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), addresses concerns about the lack of industrial wireless networking reliability, determinism, and security through a multi-phased approach.

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DOWNLOAD THE FULL TECHNICAL PAPER FROM THIS PAGE ON THE ANALYNK WEB SITE

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US Power Grids, Oil and Gas Industries, and Risk of Hacking

A report released in June, from the security firm Dragos, describes a worrisome development by a hacker group named, “Xenotime” and at least two dangerous oil and gas intrusions and ongoing reconnaissance on United States power grids.

Multiple ICS (Industrial Control Sectors) sectors now face the XENOTIME threat; this means individual verticals – such as oil and gas, manufacturing, or electric – cannot ignore threats to other ICS entities because they are not specifically targeted.

The Dragos researchers have termed this threat proliferation as the world’s most dangerous cyberthreat since an event in 2017 where Xenotime had caused a serious operational outage at a crucial site in the Middle East. 

The fact that concerns cybersecurity experts the most is that this hacking attack was a malware that chose to target the facility safety processes (SIS – safety instrumentation system).

For example, when temperatures in a reactor increase to an unsafe level, an SIS will automatically start a cooling process or immediately close a valve to prevent a safety accident. The SIS safety stems are both hardware and software that combine to protect facilities from life threatening accidents.

At this point, no one is sure who is behind Xenotime. Russia has been connected to one of the critical infrastructure attacks in the Ukraine.  That attack was viewed to be the first hacker related power grid outage.

This is a “Cause for Concern” post that was published by Dragos on June 14, 2019. 

“While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrates its ability to do so in other verticals. Specifically, XENOTIME remains one of only four threats (along with ELECTRUM, Sandworm, and the entities responsible for Stuxnet) to execute a deliberate disruptive or destructive attack.

XENOTIME is the only known entity to specifically target safety instrumented systems (SIS) for disruptive or destructive purposes. Electric utility environments are significantly different from oil and gas operations in several aspects, but electric operations still have safety and protection equipment that could be targeted with similar tradecraft. XENOTIME expressing consistent, direct interest in electric utility operations is a cause for deep concern given this adversary’s willingness to compromise process safety – and thus integrity – to fulfill its mission.

XENOTIME’s expansion to another industry vertical is emblematic of an increasingly hostile industrial threat landscape. Most observed XENOTIME activity focuses on initial information gathering and access operations necessary for follow-on ICS intrusion operations. As seen in long-running state-sponsored intrusions into US, UK, and other electric infrastructure, entities are increasingly interested in the fundamentals of ICS operations and displaying all the hallmarks associated with information and access acquisition necessary to conduct future attacks. While Dragos sees no evidence at this time indicating that XENOTIME (or any other activity group, such as ELECTRUM or ALLANITE) is capable of executing a prolonged disruptive or destructive event on electric utility operations, observed activity strongly signals adversary interest in meeting the prerequisites for doing so.”