Improving the real-time performance of Ethernet for plant automation(EPA) based industrial networks

Real-time Ethernet(RTE) control systems with critical real-time requirements are called fast real-time(FRT) systems.To improve the real-time performance of Ethernet for plant automation(EPA),we propose an EPA-FRT scheme.The minimum macrocycle of EPA networks is reduced by redefining the EPA network frame format,and the synchronization process is modified to acquire higher accuracy.A multi-segmented topology with a scheduling scheme is introduced to increase effective bandwidth utilization and reduce protocol overheads,and thus to shorten the communication cycle significantly.Performance analysis and practical tests on a prototype system show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme,which achieves the best performance at small periodic payload in large scale systems.

Real-time performance of periodic data transmission in EPA industrial Ethernet

To evaluate and improve the real-time performance of Ethernet for plant automation（EPA） industrial Ethernet,the real-time performance of EPA periodic data transmission was theoretically and experimentally studied.By analyzing information transmission regularity and EPA deterministic scheduling mechanism,periodic messages were categorized as different modes according to their entering-queue time.The scheduling characteristics and delivery time of each mode and their interacting relations were studied,during which the models of real-time performance of periodic information transmission in EPA system were established.On this basis,an experimental platform is developed to test the delivery time of periodic messages transmission in EPA system.According to the analysis and the experiment,the main factors that limit the real-time performance of EPA periodic data transmission and the improvement methods were proposed.

Study on the network delay of periodic information in the NCS based on EPA

The network delay of the periodic messages transmission in the network control system （NCS） based on Ethemet for plant automation （EPA） is analyzed from the theoretical and experimental perspective in this paper. The composition and the characteristics of the network delay of EPA periodic messages transmission in a subnet is studied through analyzing the information transmission regularity and EPA deterministic scheduling mechanism. On this basis, the queuing delay at communication schedule management entity （EPA _ CSME） that is the most important component of network delay is analyzed, during which the formulas for the queuing delay of periodic messages and other real time parameters are proposed. Furthermore, an experiment is developed to test each component of network delay of periodic messages transmission in a EPA subnet. According to the experimental and the theoretical analysis, the conclusion is drawn that the delay during which the periodic messages wait for the periodic messages transmission time slice is the main factor that causes considerable network delay, and improvement method is presented.