National Instruments Announces Collaboration on Time Sensitive Networking Testbed with the Industrial Internet Consortium

NI,  a global provider of platform-based systems. announced a collaboration with the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and Bosch Rexroth, Cisco, Intel, KUKA, Schneider Electric, and TTTech to develop a Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) testbed. The goal of this collaboration is to help advance network infrastructure to better support the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0. To support new digital capabilities, connected manufacturing, designers and users need reliable and secure access to smart edge devices. Standard network technologies must evolve to meet the requirements of these next-generation industrial systems and improve the operation of machines, electrical grids and transportation systems.

The goal of this testbed is to display the value of new Ethernet IEEE 802 standards, referred to as TSN, into an ecosystem of manufacturing applications. TSN powers a standard, open network infrastructure supporting multivendor interoperability and integration with guaranteed performance and delivery. The technology can support real-time control and synchronization, for example between motion applications and robots, over a single Ethernet network. TSN can at the same time support other common traffic found in manufacturing applications, helping to drive convergence between IT and operational technologies.  Some real-time control applications have been deployed using nonstandard network infrastructure or unconnected networks that leave the devices and data more difficult or not possible to access. TSN's value is derived from helping to drive convergence and increased connectivity, accessing data needed to enable IIoT connectivity to help improved operations driven by big data analytics and enabling new business models based on smart connected systems and machines.

The testbed will:

• Combine different critical control traffic (such as OPC UA) and best-effort traffic flows on a single network based on IEEE 802.1 TSN standards
• Demonstrate TSN's real-time capability and vendor interoperability using standard, converged Ethernet
• Assess the security value of TSN and provide feedback on the ability to secure initial TSN functions
• Show ability for the IIoT to incorporate high-performance and latency-sensitive applications
• Deliver integration points for smart real-time edge cloud control systems into IIoT infrastructure and applications

Keywords: Testbed, Network Infrastructure, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), Cloud Control Systems, ARC Advisory Group.