Altera simplifies industrial Ethernet design for factory automation systems

HONG KONG: Altera Corp. has announced a licensing structure that simplifies the integration of FPGA-based Industrial Ethernet designs in factory automation systems.

Developed in collaboration with Softing Industrial Automation GmbH, the new licensing structure provides system developers with access to leading Industrial Ethernet protocols with no upfront license fees, no per-unit royalty reporting or protracted negotiations.

As a result of the collaboration between the two companies, customers will have access to a variety of Industrial Ethernet protocols in a single Altera FPGA, including PROFINET RT, PROFINET IRT, Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP/IP, EtherNet/IP and PROFIBUS DP—all of which are fully compliance tested in hardware.

The two companies will demonstrate the Industrial Ethernet solution at the SPS IPS Drives show in Nuremberg, Germany, from November 27 to 29, 2012.

“While Industrial Ethernet is a vital technology for linking the elements of industrial electronic systems, it is also a highly fragmented technology that includes a variety of different protocols,” said Christoph Fritsch, senior manager of the Altera industrial business.

“Supporting a market like Industrial Ethernet is the sweet spot for FPGAs due to their programmability and ability to quickly and easily support different protocol standards. By teaming with Softing, we offer customers a simplified licensing structure that allows systems developers to easily support a broad range of protocols within a single hardware solution.”

Altera’s Industrial Ethernet solutions implement the protocol intellectual property (IP) and software stack into an FPGA that features an integrated embedded processor. The embedded processor configures the FPGA at power-up with the desired protocol IP. In this way, a single board can work with a range of protocols without hardware modifications. The FPGA can also be used to implement various industrial automation functions, such as sensor interfaces, accelerators and control logic.

Altera also works with a range of industrial automation partners to support multiple design options. Altera’s Industrial Networking Partner Program (INPP) provides an ecosystem of established networking experts that enable customers to evaluate Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus solutions on a common FPGA-based platform. These partners provide IP, reference designs and design services that meet network communication and FPGA development needs.

Support for the PROFINET RT and PROFINET IRT protocols will be available in January 2013. Additional protocol IPs will be supported later in 2013.