Industrial Local Area Networks Standardization Needs and Issues

The need for communication standards to meet the demands of industrial operations is critical. This paper reviews standardization on local area networks (LAN) within industry. Specific topics include industrial local area requirements, applicable standardization activities, utilization of broadband or baseband media and major issues existing today. Standardization activities discussed are those under way by the International Standards Organization (ISO), the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), and IEEE Project 802. Broadband/baseband media utilization discussions focused on back bone and sub-network concepts within the local area network environment. Current issues and requirements are for cost effective device attachment to the local area network.