Besides simple awareness, several other guidelines can simplify networking projects. The promise of open, interoperable networks is greater flexibility, simpler layouts, and increased component selection. However, communication obstacles remain, and users trying to solve specific manufacturing problems often simplify to one or two suppliers and their recommended networking methods that can handle most or all application requirements. Solving a networking problem today is generally more important than having flexibility that may or may not be needed in the future. Again, truly knowing your application and its needed capabilities can resolve trade-offs between openness and compliance.
Users just have to make sure that they re comfortable being locked into one network or supplier.
Simpler is not always best. To achieve true optimization, networking projects must take into account installation, training, and maintenance costs, as well as mean time between repair and mean time between failure calculations. In the short term, for example, an Ethernet network may not be as easy to debug as a more traditional one. Mr. Jones adds that relatively smaller manufacturers may not have as precise performance targets as larger organizations, but that it doesn t matter as much if a smaller user installs more capabilities than needed. Much like settling on one supplier, users can also simplify their network projects by using bridging and gateway devices equipped with inherently compatible fieldbus protocols, which usually means they require little or no added configuration.