Industrial Network Solutions

Network monitoring to avoid production slowdowns and prevent cyber risks
The integration of advanced industrial networks, high tech automation, and physical processes are some of the main elements characterizing the 4th industrial revolution, better known as the Industry 4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Consequently, industrial networks are more complex and highly heterogeneous, and most of the time operating with an increased risk of industrial specific vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities like cyber and operational incidents, as shown by Norsk Hydro in 2019, several car manufacturers in 2017, and by hundreds of plant floors every day.

Whether it is a company with one plant or hundreds of factories worldwide, efficiency and excellence in the network infrastructures are key to maximize operational efforts and avoid bottlenecks & downtime, which in turn adds costs. And in manufacturing, time equals money. When a device, data center, or server on the network fails, accurate and fast troubleshooting is crucial. Every minute of downtime impacts business production, and so, profit.

More specifically for the industrial sector, the Operational Technology (OT) is the core technology, including any hardware and software that are used to sense and capture data as well as monitor and control the behavior of physical devices, processes, and events of the entire Industrial Control System (ICS). Typical OT networks are comprised of switches, monitors, sensors, valves, and manufacturing devices managed by an ICS.

Some of the most difficult challenges associated with monitoring industrial IT and OT network infrastructure are:

  • Achieving real-time network monitoring
  • Detecting networking and operational issues before they cause downtime
  • Preventing unplanned downtime due to equipment failure
  • Remote access control
  • Remote troubleshooting of intermittent issues on hard to reach remote sites
  • Managing cyber threats effectively
Manufacturing assembly line illustration

Visibility and control over OT and IT networks

Excellence in network monitoring infrastructures means anticipating an incident with augmented visibility and gaining full control of the environment for network administrators. How to do so?

Accessing the network traffic

Deploying network traffic access points (TAPs) throughout the Industrial Ethernet framework ensures safety, uptime, and improved efficiency. Installing TAPs for all monitoring feeds guarantees 100% of the network traffic is copied and transmitted to monitoring tools, achieving real-time network monitoring, and detecting operational issues before they cause downtime.

Why use Profitap TAPs in industrial environments

  • TSN support, low jitter
  • Low failover time
  • High resolution timestamping
  • Accurate packet capture
  • High fidelity traces
  • 24V models available
  • Data Diode function prevents any injection of data from the monitoring ports back into the network
  • Once TAPs are in place in the network, the monitor ports can be connected and disconnected at will without disrupting the network link

Some of our TAPs for industrial networks:

100M DIN Copper TAP

10/100M TAP with DIN rail mount and 20-30 VDC powering

1G DIN Copper TAP

10/100/1000M TAP with DIN rail mount and 20-30 VDC powering

ProfiShark 100M

10/100M portable TAP with USB 3.0 monitoring output

ProfiShark 1G

10/100/1000M portable TAP with USB 3.0 monitoring output

C1D-100-Front-250px

C1D-1G-Front-250px

ProfiShark-100M

ProfiShark-1G

Some of our TAPs for industrial networks:

100M DIN Copper TAP

10/100M TAP with DIN rail mount and 20-30 VDC powering

C1D-100-Front-250px

1G DIN Copper TAP

10/100/1000M TAP with DIN rail mount and 20-30 VDC powering

C1D-1G-Front-250px

ProfiShark 100M

10/100M portable TAP with USB 3.0 monitoring output

ProfiShark-100M

ProfiShark 1G

10/100/1000M portable TAP with USB 3.0 monitoring output

ProfiShark-1G

Data capture and analysis

To get a fast and reliable real-time overview of what is happening on the network, manufacturing industries require visibility and control over both OT and IT networks without impacting the integrity of the environment. The ideal solution is to have network traffic analysis tools that can be easily transported and deployed onsite but controlled remotely, for all the manufacturing industries with operations spread over multiple locations. This eliminates time-consuming and expensive onsite travels for IT and OT specialists, while still offering fast drill-down to the network issues. In case direct traffic access by an onsite technician is required, it is best to provide them with dedicated tools that offer quality traffic capture and timestamping, for a quick and reliable packet capture analysis.

Why use IOTA in industrial environments

  • Modbus support
  • TSN support, low jitter
  • Capture, analysis and storage in a single compact device
  • High resolution timestamping
  • Accurate packet capture
  • High fidelity traces
  • 24V models available
  • Includes various powerful dashboards for quick and easy analysis of captured traffic

Some of our data capture and analysis tools for industrial networks:

IOTA 1G

IOTA 1G M12

IOTA-1G-Perspective

IOTA-1G-M12-Perspective

Some of our data capture and analysis tools for industrial networks:

IOTA 1G

IOTA-1G-Perspective

IOTA 1G M12

IOTA-1G-M12-Perspective

Product Portfolio

Profitap Product Portfolio

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Free consultation with a Profitap engineer

Questions about problems and projects in your industry? We’re here to help. Fill in the form below for a free consultation with a Profitap Systems Engineer.