Communications enable the exchange of data between devices on an industrial control network. Without communications, controllers are unable to see the values coming from field devices and operators are unable to see the values coming from controllers. Here are some of the key terms we will use when talking about industrial networking and communications:
- Media: Communication requires wires, cables, or fiber-optic connections between devices. The connections used for communication are called the media, which differ from one another by properties such as the maximum distance for each connection and the maximum data transmission speed.
- Node: Each device on the network is called a node.
- Node address: Each node will typically have a unique identifier called a node address.
- Network: When multiple devices are connected under a common device address space, we call this a network. ...
