A SDN-Based Heterogeneous Networking Scheme for Profinet and Modbus Networks

With the rapid development of the Industrial Internet, Industrial Network technology has been widely used in the industrial field. In order to meet the complex and diverse transmission requirements of the industrial environment, industrial field networks generally consist of different network protocols. However, since each network has its own communication standards, it is difficult to achieve collaborative management. Thus, how to realize the centralized management and efficient intercommunication among different Industrial Networks has become a significant challenge. In view of this challenge, this paper proposes a heterogeneous networking scheme based on software defined network (SDN) for Profinet and Modbus networks, considering the characteristics that SDN is able to manage the network flexibly. It includes the network access of devices and establishment of cross-network communication relationships. A test platform is built and the experimental results indicate that the presented scheme can effectively complete the network access of devices and implement collaborative management among heterogeneous networks.