The necessity of tested and proven network architectures

Many industrial operations rely on networks provided to them by their automation vendors. These default networks often focus on the immediate, localized needs of specific equipment or processes. While they may be good at their intended function, they frequently fall short when addressing the broader challenges of scale, security, and innovation in modern industrial environments. Such networks may not consistently offer the level of cybersecurity needed to protect the entire operations and may also hinder quick adaptation to changing business needs, incorporate new technological advancements, or offer the level of performance required for critical industry initiatives such as utilities grid modernization or in manufacturing Industry 4.0 initiatives, including AI.

Delaying modernization increases the risk of significant business disruption and loss of market share to more nimble competitors. For example, in a survey, Oxford Economics estimates that the total yearly cost of downtime for the Global 2000 companies is$400 billion, highlighting the importance of scalability, resiliency, and cybersecurity for modern digital operations that are driving organizations to modernize their networking infrastructure.

What makes industrial network design challenging

And yet, network modernization for key industry use cases is not without its challenges. While navigating their modernization journey, industries need to address potential areas for optimization, including incorporating the needs of both IT and OT teams, new skills learning processes, and robust technical designs that ensure peak performance and seamless operations for mission critical processes. Reducing risk, standardizing, and reducing complexity is critical to maximize this investment and speed time to value in modernizing networks.

While sharing some similarities with campus networks, industrial networks possess unique requirements and constraints that distinguish them. Industrial networks need to operate reliably ensuring high availability in settings that involve extreme temperatures, high humidity, dust, vibration, and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Industrial operations demand stringent network performance, including ultra-low latency, deterministic data delivery, and high reliability, to ensure seamless and safe operation of critical processes. Industrial networks must also protect operations as they are increasingly targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks. Moreover, these networks must be able to work with a mix of legacy systems and modern devices running several specific industrial communications protocols.

Figure 1:Sample validated network and security design for manufacturing

For these reasons, and because industrial operations are critical revenue producers for organizations, it is necessary that designing, deploying, and securing industrial networks is done with tested and proven architectures that Cisco Industrial IoT CVDs provide.

The value of Cisco Validated Designs

Indeed, a unique part of Cisco's industrial portfolio are Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs). CVDs for Industrial IoT provide pre-tested and proven solutions that can help organizations navigate these challenges. CVDs help both IT and OT teams build skills so they can take ownership of their network and build advanced capabilities without fear of integration complexities or performance surprises. Today, we have a library of over 50 documented designs and architectures covering a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing, power and water utilities, mining, ports and terminals, roadways and intersections, and public transportation.

Andrew Blair, the lead telecoms engineer for ScottishPower Renewables, explained the importance of a validated design: "The offshore environment is a very unique place with very unique challenges. We need a tried and tested network infrastructure that covers all elements of our operations and maintenance and provides a secure way for those elements to communicate. And that's exactly what Cisco developed with us for the Cisco Validated Design."

CVDs provide customers with a trusted foundation for building robust, efficient, and secure network solutions that meet their industry-specific performance and business needs and include joint testing with key automation application provider solutions to ensure performance according to design. Thus, CVDs reduce systems integration time and cost, ensure ecosystem interoperability, accelerate deployment times, and create a flexible foundation for the future.

1. Establish trust: CVDs provide customers with the assurance that the solutions are backed by extensive testing, have been proven to show results in production deployments globally, and are developed, validated, and fully supported by Cisco experts
2. Follow a consistent approach: CVDs define standardized architectures based on proven Cisco enterprise and industrial networking, management, and security portfolios. By leveraging these designs, with their clear guidelines and best practices, customers can reduce the likelihood of unexpected failures and downtimes
3. Tailored to industries: CVDs cover nearly all industrial sectors including manufacturing, utilities, roadways and intersections, mining, oil & gas, and more. And include all specific networking, management, and security considerations tailored to each sector's unique needs
4. Kept up to date: Cisco regularly updates CVDs to incorporate the latest technologies, security enhancements, and industry standards, ensuring customers have access to the most current and relevant solutions
5. Accelerate delivery: By following CVDs, customers can streamline their deployment processes, reducing the time, resources, and expense needed to implement complex industrial networks
6. Customizable: CVDs enable customers to implement tailored solutions that align with their unique operational requirements, even while providing a standard solid foundation.
7. Facilitate IT/OT partnership: CVDs help create a collaborative environment between IT and OT, enabling more streamlined and secure IT operations, while providing OT with tested, repeatable deployments.

Partner with Cisco to make your industrial networks future-ready

By leveraging Cisco Validated Designs, organizations can accelerate their industrial digital transformation journey. CVDs help streamline network design, reduce deployment risk, and improve overall operational performance and resiliency. From data centers and cloud to remote industrial sites, Cisco Validated Designs provide a solid foundation for building reliable, secure, and scalable networks. For further help, browse through a library of our industrial CVDs, or schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Cisco industrial expert, and we will reach out to you.

Sign up for the Industrial IoT Newsletter