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Freescale Industrial Platform Garners Support for Key Protocols and
Operating Systems
(Wireless News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)
Freescale said that its comprehensive platform for industrial markets
is attracting support from a growing number of industrial software and
protocol providers.
As a result, the company noted, manufacturers can now quickly and
easily incorporate a safety-certified operating system and two popular
networking communication protocols when creating next generation
industrial control solutions.
The MPC8360E-RDK development platform now supports the EtherNet/IP and
DeviceNet industrial communication protocols via collaboration with
Real Time Automation, Inc. (RTA). Additionally, Green Hills Software's
Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL3), TUV-certified Integrity RTOS is
available for the platform. Freescale will demonstrate its solution at
the Freescale Technology Forum in Munich this week.
Delivered in the COM Express form factor, the MPC8360E-RDK debuted
earlier this year with initial support for PROFIBUS, a widely popular
field bus; ETHERNET Powerlink, a deterministic Ethernet protocol; and
the IEEE 1588 clock synchronization protocol. Based on the MPC8360E
PowerQUICC II Pro processor, the platform is designed to speed and
simplify the creation of intelligent industrial equipment that runs
demanding networking protocols and requires precise, highly accurate
communications. It is ideal for a broad range of applications such as
industrial control and automation of widely distributed systems at
power utilities or chemical processing plants, as well as networked
communication systems for healthcare related diagnostics and monitoring.
"We applaud Freescale's enablement strategy for the industrial
marketplace," said John Hanks, vice president of product marketing,
Data Acquisition and Industrial Control, National Instruments.
"Utilizing the performance and flexibility of PowerQUICC processors,
this small, rugged industrial development platform enables quick
evaluation of control and communications processing needs. It allows
companies to keep pace with ever-changing industrial marketplace
demands."
EtherNet/IP can be deployed using Freescale's industrial platform via a
version of the EtherNet/IP Servprotocol from RTA. The platform now
provides the technology required to implement a comprehensive "no
royalty" EtherNet/IP networking solution. The RTA software has been
field tested for thousands of hours in products ranging from 90-ton
mining machinery to valve controllers to barcode readers.
EtherNet/IP is one of the most comprehensive and market-proven
industrial Ethernet network solutions available for manufacturing
automation. Designed to help configure, access and control industrial
automation devices, the protocol provides a seamlessly integrated
system from the industrial floor to the enterprise network.
Also available from RTA is DeviceNet - a communication protocol that
interconnects simple industrial devices and higher-level devices.
DeviceNet reduces costs associated with connecting and installing
networked industrial equipment by detecting system performance
problems, automating diagnostics and facilitating device replacement.
To shorten the time and effort required to certify the safety of
industrial devices, Green Hills Software delivers a version of its
TUV-certified Integrity RTOS for Freescale's industrial platform. The
operating system leverages the PowerQUICC processor's memory management
unit and advanced communications capabilities to help deliver safe,
reliable services in harsh environments associated with manufacturing,
power systems, health care facilities and transportation systems.
Integrity's separation architecture gives customers the flexibility to
run multiple protocols as separate, independent applications. It also
eliminates the need to certify these protocols by running them in their
own protected address space -- outside of the critical safety-rated
sections of the system. With the secure partitioning capability of the
Integrity OS, software can be partitioned on a single processor and
certified according to its appropriate safety integrity level. This
partitioning capability eliminates the need for separate physical
systems or to certify code beyond the required safety level, the
company noted in a release.
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
((Distributed on behalf of 10Meters via M2 Communications Ltd -
http://www.m2.com))
((10Meters - http://www.10meters.com))
Copyright 2007 Wireless News
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