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Many major DCS, PLC and other control system vendors heavily utilize Ethernet
based communications as part of their distributed architectures, including
routers, switches, and cabling. Also operator stations, engineering consoles
and application platforms run on PC hardware using Microsoft operating systems.
The health and performance of these assets are just as important as any pump,
controller or conveyor.
IT network administrators know that there is a huge amount of data can be polled
from network devices, including port link status, speed, data rates, network
errors, power supply status, disk usage and many others. Access to this
information allows administrators to display and historically record network
status information as well as to remotely configure and perform management
functions. Accurate and timely information on the state of the assets can be
used to detect and correct impending problems before they become untimely,
catastrophic failures. This data is readily available today via MatrikonOPC IT
Connectivity products.
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