Ethernet and the IP protocol family have become the standard communication system for office applications. For this reason, the suitability of Ethernet for industrial communication applications has been a topic of discussion for several years. In connection with this, automation product manufacturers and fieldbus organizations are now presenting concepts for "industrial Ethernet".

PROFINET is a system introduced by the PROFIBUS user organization which uses Ethernet as its central communication medium.

"Fieldbus gateways" - The direct connection between PROFIBUS and Ethernet

Industrial Ethernet is a high-level communication system which makes it possible to link a variety of fieldbus networks while simultaneously integrating them vertically into a company infrastructure - all the way to the level of the intranet or Internet. In this way, modern automation architectures with truly distributed systems become a reality.

Gateways connect the fieldbus networks with the Ethernet architecture and thus provide access to plant-wide, company-wide or even public networks.

The FG Series is a gateway family in Softing's automation range which efficiently links PROFIBUS and Ethernet.

It allows PROFIBUS to continue to be used where its strengths are the greatest: in the connection of decentralized peripherals, when using fast drives which require synchronization in the microsecond range, and when implementing intrinsically safe devices in process automation and safety-oriented applications.