As interest in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gains greater traction across industries, engineers are realizing that it’s very possible—and not all that complicated—to monitor production parameters and detect deviation from required quality standards, predict future events and trends, continuously optimize product quality, and reduce overall production time. This ability to control every step in the product lifecycle will enable new business opportunities and significantly change the concept of manufacturing through instant access to real-time process information and feedback.
但是，为了实现这一目标，公司的信息技术（IT）和运营技术（OT）部门将需要改变它们的合作方式。这是需要解决的三个主要领域：
Secure the network
随着联系的世界，脆弱性和风险增加。在设备网络中，一个受损害的系统可以充当广泛感染的催化剂，最终威胁到整个公司的基础设施。IT和OT需要共同努力，以维持网络可用性，机密性和完整性。他们还可以共同努力，以防止有意攻击和无意中的错误。
Recommended security measures include use of:
•加密以确保数据机密性并防止在公共网络上运行时未经授权的数据拦截。
•访问控制,确保只有设备紧密相联的wed to communicate with one another can do so, and to prevent unauthorized access to the network during operation.
•验证以阻止设备和用户，无明确访问网络。
•区域将关键部分与系统的非关键部分分开，并避免网络感染的传播。
作为一个团队工作
Different departments have different priorities. OT professionals typically focus on keeping production running to avoid the costs of downtime, while IT workers hone in on protecting data integrity.
Despite these distinct roles, it’s important to look at manufacturing holistically and combine forces to create an open dialogue between departments. Finding ways for both departments to work together will help businesses take advantage of their combined strengths and meet business goals.
Align network infrastructure
All devices that can be part of an IIoT initiative need a powerful network connection. This creates a huge demand for consistent and unified communication over an Ethernet network.
The network containing these devices should be hierarchical to simplify network management and operation. At the field level, communication areas should be divided into effectively manageable units, such as machine, production, and any other logical or physical unit.
In any IIoT initiative, the amount of data generated and collected will be significantly higher than ever before, introducing a challenge for IT and OT professionals. Both teams will be required to work together to connect devices in a simple, cost-efficient manner while also meeting the demanding performance and reliability requirements of the specific application.
要获得更多了解IIOT的含义的信息，请阅读我们最近的白皮书，Communication for the Industrial Internet of Things.
