Industrial networks - Articles

Automation

Simplifying the Alphabet Soup of Industrial Networks

Today’s open-standard industrial networking has come a long way from all the proprietary systems of the past, reducing costs and setup time.

Wayne Labs

March 12, 2026

It used to be that if you used one particular vendor’s automation products or sensors, you were locked in forever. With today’s open standards-based networks, users are no longer locked in and can shop around for sensors, industrial PCs, PLCs and industrial network devices.

The IDEC Corp. HT4P Safety Commander tablet being held.

Automation/Robotics

IDEC Corp. Develops New HT4P Safety Commander

April 6, 2023

The company releases a human-machine interface (HMI) tablet for the factory floor.

Cellular Communications Provide Secure Options for Printer Networks

This well-known industrial printer supplier separates its fleet of printers from industrial plant networks, affording an extra measure of security.

Wayne Labs

October 14, 2022

Known for its industrial line of printers, Videojet has extended networking options for users who need wireless connections but are squeamish about connecting their printers via just Wi-Fi—or Ethernet cabling—to internal plant or enterprise networks.

Understanding the Increased Demand for Industrial Switches in Food and Beverage Plants

Henry Martel

September 23, 2022

What qualities to look for in an industrial Ethernet switch that can provide long-term reliability in an F&B plant.

Cybersecurity

Prevent ransomware attacks and save your business from financial ruin

Keeping ransomware out of your IT and OT systems depends on a well informed staff that plans ahead plus the proper network and cybersecurity tools to avert a disaster

Wayne Labs

October 2, 2020

Ransomware and malware don't have to put you out of business, so be prepared for the inevitable.

Ransomware is big business—and you can’t afford to play the game!

A cyberattack not only creates costly downtime but also can destroy IP, cause food safety issues and just be plain expensive—whether or not you pay the ransom

Wayne Labs

September 24, 2020

Ransomware could cost your food or beverage company millions.

Engineering R&D

Are you backing up ransomware with your data?

New tool spots sleeper ransomware so it doesn’t get backed up with your data, only to attack later

Wayne Labs

September 16, 2020

Fighting sleeper ransomware demands new preemptive tools beyond the usual AI and machine learning functionalities.

Cybersecurity and OT

Industrial control systems risk shutdowns and other dangerous outcomes due to cybersecurity attacks

No doubt a ransomware or malware attack can shut down enterprise business systems, but cybersecurity attacks can do a lot more damage on manufacturing systems

Wayne Labs

August 31, 2020

Of late, several companies have taken hits on their worldwide IT and Web based systems. Perhaps the most recent, Canon, suffered a global ransomware attack, taking down many Canon websites and systems - also with a threat of making their private business data public. But can these IT/enterprise attacks threaten and/or damage OT systems? And what can they do to food and beverage products? Make them unsafe by altering a critical kill step or omitting preservatives? What else? I asked Barak Pereleman, VP of OT Security at Tenable, what attack vectors may pose danger to OT-based systems.

Engineering R&D

GRL enables processors to track and trace product

Wayne Labs

July 19, 2019

Imagine the ability to track a product anywhere in the world with accuracy of within one foot—less than 31 cm. Sounds impossible, but with technology that LocatorX is developing, it can be done.

Using incremental process control for largely manual processes

Wayne Labs

April 16, 2019

Some food and beverage plants are potentially well-suited to totally automated process control. Other applications may not be so easy to automate but can still benefit from incremental process control implementations.