16 NEWS
AW JULY 2021
New Tool for Troubleshooting Industrial Ethernet By David Greenfield
Editor-In-Chief/Director of Content, Automation World
T
he growing prevalence of Ethernet on the plant floor has been clear for years now, but the increase in remote work brought on by the pandemic has only served to underscore the importance of Ethernet in industry. Other drivers behind Ethernet’s wider use on the plant floor, such as connectivity to enterprise systems and the ability to transmit greater amounts of data, as well as the general push toward Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things applications, remain key reasons why Ethernet continues to replace many fieldbus installations.
Like any industrial communications technology, Ethernet requires specific maintenance tools to ensure the network remains up and running with minimal or no downtime. To help address specific Ethernet issues, Fluke Networks recently introduced the LinkIQ-IE Cable+Network Industrial Ethernet Tester, which is designed to troubleshoot network cabling. To understand the effect of Ethernet cabling issues in industry, Indu-Sol, an industrial network support organization, reports that more than half of their industrial Ethernet service calls result from cabling-related issues. Fluke Networks says that, by combining their state-of-the-art cable measurement technology and basic tests for industrial Ethernet switches, LinkIQ-IE speeds and
simplifies the discovery of network failures via a touchscreen interface that’s similar to a smartphone. “Troubleshooting industrial Ethernet problems often involves the use of complex tools such as protocol analyzers that require years of training or trial-and-error approaches such as running bypass cable in the hope of solving the problem,” said Walter Hock, vice president of products at Fluke. “We designed LinkIQ-IE to provide answers to key troubleshooting questions in seconds through an easy-to-use touchscreen interface and a price that puts it in the reach of factory teams.” James Sinn, owner of Sinn Development, an Oakville, Ontario-based provider of design, installation, and troubleshooting services, said, “With the ability to display
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