In fully implementing Industry 4.0 manufacturers face a number of challenges including upskilling the workforce, investment and adapting to new standards. But arguably the most important of all is ensuring the safety and integrity of their digital networks. The fourth industrial revolution relies on machines being able to communicate easily with each other, and the speed of digital transformation coupled with interconnected cyber-physical systems means that network security is a critical factor to be considered.
This useful technical paper 'Using the Festo IoT Gateway in Enterprise Networks' explores how recent work by Festo enables control engineers can ensure the security of their networks whilst providing the benefits on Industry 4.0 connectivity. It shows how to set up a separate network with firewall rules to control all communication to and from the IoT Gateway. This application note is intended to provide a low cost approach for small companies but the concepts also apply to more complex enterprise networks with hardware firewalls. It shows how to connect the Festo IoT Gateway to the Internet while maintaining the network architecture for all other network hosts.