ComBrio Inc., a provider of remote product services software geared toward data center applications, has entered the manufacturing automation arena with an offering devoted to remote industrial automation network access and security.
A new version of the company’s Virtual Service Infrastructure (VSI) suite, released this week, adds features that address the needs of the automation market. VSI Automation and Control gives remotely located service personnel the ability to securely access discrete and process control devices on an industrial Ethernet network behind a company’s firewall.
The product, consisting of a hardware appliance and administrative software, can be used by global manufacturers that rely on a central IT department to manage multiple sites, or by equipment providers — including control automation vendors — that are adding remote diagnostics and management to their service offerings.
More control networks are moving toward industrial Ethernet, as are the devices that enable them. According to ARC Advisory Group, the industrial Ethernet infrastructure market grew to more than $260 million in 2006. ARC forecasts that the market will continue to grow at a 29% annual clip and will reach $955 million in 2011. In addition, the worldwide market for Ethernet-based devices and I/O is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27.5% over the next five years. The market comprised more than 1 million nodes in 2007 and is forecast to grow to more than 3 million nodes by 2012, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.
Amid this growth of IP-enabled devices, however, many manufacturers are worried that tying the automation and process control networks to the enterprise network will jeopardize security in the plant. To protect the production environment, many companies have set up complicated demilitarized zones (DMZs) to isolate the industrial network. The end result, however, has been limited access and visibility.
VSI Automation and Control alleviates the need for a DMZ, according to ComBrio. Its combination of VPN technology, IP addressing rules, and secured parameters are bundled in a manner that gives remote personnel the access they need to the SCADA system or a distributed control system, for example, while providing the IT department with the ability to manage who can enter the network.
“When [automation networks] became Ethernet-enabled, the IT guys had to deal with another network layer that for a long time they didn’t care about,” said Dave Boulos, ComBrio’s vice president of product marketing, in an interview with Managing Automation. “Now, as devices talk across the network, whether they are inbound or outbound, these are things they need to deal with. We enable them to connect the automation network with the IT network while maintaining complete control.”
And for people accessing the remote device, the experience is no different than if they were sitting inside the plant. “They have visibility and access to a particular device they are responsible for managing without having to go through hoops to open firewalls and create special rules,” Boulos said.
ComBrio has two manufacturing pilot projects running, at an automotive and a chemical company, Boulos said. It is also working with vendors, such as Emerson Process Management, to augment their service offerings.
VSI Automation and Control is available now. It is sold via a licensed-based model that scales with the number of devices that need to be supported, the company said.