Disclosed herein are various clusters. A cluster comprises processing nodes that have supervisory roles and subordinate roles. A node in the cluster can have a supervisory or a subordinate role. The cluster can self-orchestrate its roles. The roles of the nodes can be assigned and/or reassigned (e.g., autonomously and/or automatically) by the cluster. Such system may achieve automatic commissioning of the cluster(s), e.g., in a facility.

A method for data communication between subscribers of an automation system includes a first passive subscriber and a second passive subscriber receiving a write request sent by an active subscriber, determining a first transmission time point for transmitting a first reply message by the first passive subscriber, transmitting the first reply message at the first transmission time, and receiving the first reply message. The method also includes determining a second transmission time for transmitting a second reply message by the second passive subscriber, transmitting the second reply message at the second transmission time, receiving the second reply message, and interpreting the first reply message and the second reply message as segments of a data packet.

I/O network modules connect field devices to a process control network. Each I/O network module includes a set of electrical connectors for connecting a field device to the module and an I/O channel extending from the set of electrical connectors to a network port. The I/O channel includes a conversion circuit that converts between an I/O signal and network-compatible signals. Each I/O channel connected to the process control network through an I/O network module is associated with its own unique network address. This enables controllers and field devices on the process control network to communicate essentially directly with one another through the network.

Constructed is a network management system which manages, in an integrated manner, a first communication system, a second communication system and a third communication system passed through by packets that are sent and received via wireless communication between a first device and a second device. The network management system performs information setting to these communication systems for dividing a communication system group, which includes these communication systems, into a plurality of logical partitions each corresponding to a plurality of different service levels based on the management information of each of these communication systems. A logical partition corresponding to a service level with regard to each of the plurality of different service levels is a partition passed through by packets that are sent and received via wireless communication between the first device and the second device belonging to that service level.

A device for coupling a fieldbus to a local bus for connection to at least one data bus subscriber, the device comprising a first unit that is connectable to the fieldbus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the fieldbus; a second unit that is connectable to the local bus and is adapted for sending and receiving data via the local bus in at least one data packet; a data management unit that is connected to the first unit and the second unit, wherein the data management unit is adapted for transferring first symbols from data received via said first unit to said second unit in a sequence-dependent manner; and wherein the second unit is adapted to send at least one data packet including the first symbols on the local bus. In addition, a corresponding method for transferring data is described.

A field device of automation technology having a function for checking quality of a network connection includes an operating electronics and at least one communication interface for connecting to a communication network having one or more network participants and for building a communication connection, wherein a communication stack and a PHY are associated with the communication interface, wherein the communication stack and the PHY are embodied continually to gain and to store communication information regarding the communication connection, wherein the operating electronics is embodied to read out communication information from the communication stack and from the PHY, and by means of an algorithm to subject the communication information to computation and based on the result of the computation to classify a communication state.

The present disclosure relates to a method for verifying a value stream along a transport route, wherein a plurality of field devices, each having at least one sensor and/or actuator for determining and/or monitoring at least one process variable and an electronic unit, are arranged along the transport route and generate corresponding data, or for verifying the value stream of at least one product in warehouse stock, wherein a first service platform is used, via which a plurality of participant nodes each with at least one database have a communication connection to one another according to a distributed ledger or blockchain technology.

The present disclosure relates to a function connection unit for connecting functional modules. The functional connection unit includes a plurality of functional module terminals configured to connect to the functional modules and to communicate according to a first communication protocol, and a parameter memory that includes parameter data for device specific parameterization of at least one functional module. The parameter memory is configured to connect to a functional module terminal of the plurality of functional module terminals. The function connection unit is configured to read the parameter data from the parameter memory. The function connection unit is also configured to parameterize at least one functional module in a device-specific fashion based at least in part on the read parameter data.

In a method for data communication between a control unit and a drive system, the control unit and the drive system are connected to one another, preferably via a bus, in such a manner that data is transmitted by a telegram. The telegram includes an instruction which can be configured for recording and includes an identifier. At least one actual value, preferably a plurality of actual values, and/or of an actual value sequence, preferably a plurality of actual value sequences, of the drive system, are recorded through the instruction for recording, and at least one defined actual value from a plurality of actual values and/or recording at least one defined actual value sequence from a plurality of actual value sequences can be recorded through the identifier.

In a distributed control system including a central communication device, terminal communication devices to which target devices to be controlled are connected, and a network including multiple communication paths connecting the central communication device and terminal communication devices, each terminal communication device includes a calculation input/output performance storage unit storing input/output performance of a calculation unit for controlling the target devices to be controlled and a control input/output performance storage unit storing the performance of the input/output control units of the target devices to be controlled, and the central communication device collects input/output performance information previously stored in these storage units, determines communication paths of the terminal communication units and a packet division method in such a manner that an amount of a communication data of a network and response performance requested of the distributed control system are satisfied, on the basis of the collected input/output performance information and sets the determination results in the terminal communication devices.