In efforts to minimize latency in time-critical processes, Ahmed observed that manufacturers typically position edge computing nodes close to production equipment and connect them to industrial Ethernet switches. This is where security becomes a consideration, especially where factory networks connect to external systems, remote access platforms or the cloud.
To address this, OT traffic should be isolated from less critical networks to enhance security and preserve deterministic performance.
Industrial companies should be aware that, common security mechanisms such as firewalls and deep packet inspection can introduce additional latency and jitter if placed directly in time-critical communication paths. To avoid this issue, manufacturers should position security controls at network boundaries rather than within real-time control segments.
By combining edge computing with well-designed, segmented industrial networking infrastructure and appropriately placed security controls, manufacturers can ensure both low-latency decision-making as well as secure and reliable connectivity across their production environments.
Latency vs. reliability
Amid all the latency considerations manufacturers need to ponder, they must also consider the potential impacts on reliability. Here, manufacturers need to consider the failover mechanisms available to them.
“In industrial applications, availability and performance must be engineerable together,” said Mai. “High reliability is not achievable by a single feature, but by an end-to-end design approach, to apply redundancy where necessary and avoid any single point-of-failure to clearly prioritize and separate traffic flows and ensure robust monitoring and diagnostics.”
