The performance of IIoT communication standards

Abstract

The requirements of Industry 4.0 determine the necessity to change thinking in the field of production development, adopted management methods and modernisation of production resources. When planning the implementation of a new production system (or retrofit), it is possible to use the RAMI 4.0 reference model, which was published in April 2015 by the VDI/VDE Society Measurement and Automatic Control. A key aspect of modern industrial systems is connectivity and trouble-free data exchange. In the case of data exchange, the basic element holding back the development of Industry 4.0 is the lack of standardisation, as well as the lack of interoperability between IIoT network nodes. Modern IIoT applications require high network throughput, low latency and reliability. In view of such guidelines, efficient communication standards and specialised equipment are required. Edge Computing is one of the most important technology trends of the 21st century that will play a key role in the IIoT market. Due to the diversity of available technologies and solutions, no universal standards have been developed to date that can be referred to when planning, building and implementing new applications. The article presents an overview of the most popular industrial communication protocols and their systematisation in terms of meet the requirements for IIoT devices.