FDT Group and ODVA to Add FDT 3.0 Support to CIP

Author photo: Craig Resnick
ByCraig Resnick
Category:
Acquisition or Partnership

FDT Group, an independent, international, not-for-profit industry association supporting the evolution of FDT technology, announced its continued partnership with ODVA, Inc. to add support for FDT’s latest 3.0 architecture solution, incorporating the new FDT IIoT Server (FITS), to the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP).  CIP-based networks, such as EtherNet/IP, provide network communications for both the process and factory automation sectors that can directly leverage the emerging communication annex supporting the FITS platform.

FDT and ODVA share a common core mission that includes advancing open, interoperable information and communication exchange for the industrial automation marketplace.  The industry associations have cooperated on the ability to integrate devices implementing ODVA technologies (EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, ControlNet and CompoNet) and standards into the FDT ecosystem for over 15 years.  Their most recent work resulted in a CIP annex supporting the FDT 2.0 desktop and client/server architecture, which enables nesting through all its networks and in combination with other networks supported by the current version of the FDT standard.  This effort allowed CIP-based FDT Device Type Managers (FDT/DTM) to integrate with FDT-based hosting environments in a plug-and-play manner.

The FDT 3.0 standard, due to be released shortly, will execute the FDT Group’s digital transformation pathway to connect to the intelligent enterprise supporting Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 applications.  Based on industry-driven feedback, the new FITS platform supports skid-to-cloud deployment, a more robust security architecture, remote access and mobility, IT/OT integration, and compatibility.

In addition to a new CIP annex, HART and Profibus annexes supporting the new FITS architecture are under development with expected released dates later in 2020.

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