Practical Industrial Data Networks

Steve Mackay is a professional engineer with over twenty-five years' experience throughout the world with a particular interest in data acquisition techniques, industrial data communications and process control. He is the Technical Director of IDC Technologies and consults widely to clients in the oil and gas, mining and manufacturing industries. Steve has presented courses to over 12,000 engineers and technicians throughout the world. A professional engineer working for IDC Technologies with over thirty-five years' experience focussing mainly on the telecommunications and data communications industries who has consulted in these areas and presented training courses to over 15,000 engineers and technicians throughout the world.Edwin has over 20 years of practical experience in the planning, design, construction and operation of telecommunications systems, data networks and SCADA systems. He has also been involved as Project Manager on many SCADA and telecommunications projects and has a passion for the topic. He is the co-author of three best selling books on Ethernet, OPC, and Computer Networks. The Internet and TCP/IP and the Principles of Data Communications and has also published numerous papers. He has also consulted widely on SCADA, OPC, data communications and telecommunications issues in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Over the past five years more than 8000 engineers and technicians have attended his workshops worldwide. When not working in the communications world he relaxes by reading and writing on technology issues at his beachside home. Deon Reynders is a professional engineer working for IDC Technologies, with over thirty years’ experience. He has worked as a consulting engineer and focussed particularly on data communications and industrial networking. He has presented training courses to over 12,000 engineers and technicians throughout the world.Deon has had over 20 years experience in various aspects of data communications and Local Area Networks with specific experience in Systems Engineering, Project Management, software and hardware development. He has worked on various IT projects in a multinational corporate environment ranging from the commercial side to the factory automation area. He is currently retained as a consultant to industry in the LAN and data communications area. Deon is a practical, hands-on engineer and an entertaining speaker on Information Technology topics specialising in TCP/IP and LANs. He has received excellent reviews from course attendees in regions ranging from Europe/North America to Africa and Australia. John Park is a staff engineer with IDC Technologies with a particular interest in electronics, circuit board design and data communications. He has presented training courses throughout the world to over 15,000 engineers and technicians.

• Introduction; Overall Methodology; RS-232; RS-485; Current Loop and RS-485 Converters; Fiber Optics; Modbus; Modbus Plus; Data Highway + /DH485; HART; ASI Bus; DeviceNet; Profibus PA/DP/FMS; Foundation Fieldbus; Industrial Ethernet; TCP/IP; Radio and Wireless Communications; Appendix A: Glossary; Appendix B: Basic Communications Terminology; Appendix C: Practical and Problem Solving Sessions; Appendix D: Miscellaneous Industrial Protocols Overview; Appendix E: Fieldbus Comparison Chart; Appendix F: Local Services, Regulations and Standards.

"The title of this book describes the contents fot a T. Each chapter covers a specific standart, protocol or type of equipment or hardware. The chapters tend to cover the same topics in a similar order, making the book as a whole consistent and reinforcing. It also makes it easy for the reader to compare the same section of different chapters. For example, you could compare the information on the ProfiBus application layer, 13.2.3, to the information on the Fieldbus application layer, 14.4. Each chapter focuses on description and troubleshooting and includes many diagrams to clarify and reinforce the text...Because of its practical nature and accessible style, Practical Industrial Data Networks could be used for almost anyone working with networked data on an industrial scale. It is the sort of book that any institute of higher learning, from a community college to a four year university, should have on hand to support its computer science, information technology, engineering and technology departments. Similarly, any business running an industrial data network will find this book a useful reference guide." --E-Streams Vol. 7, No. 11 - November 2004