POWERLINK and Ethernet/IP Comparison as Robust Industrial Ethernet Protocols

Industrial protocols based on Ethernet are common in automation and control systems nowadays. As different protocols claim the advantages over competitors based on their own experimental results, it is necessary to perform independent analyses where the industrial networks are analyzed. In this work, five different tests are perfomred to compare a well known protocol as Ethenet/IP with POWERLINK, a relatively new and open protocol. The aim is to provide results able to point the applications where each of the protocols is best suited. Commercial automation controllers from Omron Electronics and B&R are used. Results show that, for general purpose applications, both protocols provide similar result, is only in case of cyber-attack (identity supplantation) or remote management provides some differences.