Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE)

Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) is the architecture of a single industrial network Ethernet developed jointly by the companies Rockwell Automation and Cisco.

These reference architecture focused on industrial application give to users a basis for deployment of advanced technologies. Recommendations about development and deployment contain the reference architecture manufacturing tested, checked and documented.

Integrating experience of Rockwell Automation and Cisco, documents represent a basis for risk minimization and successful deployment of the technologies optimized for engineers of automation and informatization. The general scalable architecture for industrial Ethernet networks, along with such services as assessment of security and information security management, will help the enterprises to set and implement performance measures, scaling at the same time internal resources.

2015: Architecture for problem solving cybersecurity on industrial enterprises

Rockwell Automation Inc companies. and Cisco in June, 2015 announced expansion of the architecture Converged Plantwide Ethernet (CPwE) designed to help operation specialists and IT to solve problems of information security. This expansion uses the technologies created by both companies and includes both recommendations about design, and the recommended architecture for creation of safe factory and corporate networks of the increased security.

Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT) requires flexible and safe object connections, mechanisms, technology databases and people. Security in the connected environment allows the organizations to minimize risks and to protect intellectual property thanks to compliance to politicians and the protected data exchange between all participants of process.

The fundamental principle of the approved architecture is the possibility of application the politician and procedures of information security at several levels of protection. The method of defense in depth helps production workers to create processes and politicians for identification and reflection of threats in the systems of industrial automation and control. The provided architecture of CPwE rely on such industry standards as IEC 62443, and offer recommendations for increase in safety of data exchange in the industrial demilitarized zones and the executions the politician controlling access to factory wired and wireless networks.

Rockwell Automation and Cisco were developed by a number of the managements which are designed to help industrial enterprises to implement solutions of information security support. These materials contain the brochures giving general concept of a key design philosophy:

• The guide to design and implementation of the industrial demilitarized zone contains recommendations about safe data transmission from production sites to other departments of the enterprise.
• The guide to development and implementation of services of identification offers a method of ensuring execution of the security policies allowing to control strictly access from within the enterprise both on wire and on wireless networks.

Now for implementation of comprehensive approach to information security of the company can use the advanced solutions of Rockwell Automation and Cisco. The general scalable architecture created by two leaders for industrial Ethernet networks along with such unique services as assessment of security and services for information security management, will help the enterprises to set and implement performance measures, scaling at the same time internal resources.