Exploiting FDDI communication features to connect fieldbuses in process control environment

In this paper the authors deal with the problem of the information exchange between processes in extended FieldBus systems. As is known, although most of the traffic in these systems is within a single bus, there is always a certain amount transiting from one FieldBus to another, often covering a certain distance. There is therefore the problem of finding ways to interconnect the various Fieldbuses in such a way as to meet the time constraints imposed by the applications. The paper proposes and then assesses a way of interconnecting even a large number of Fieldbuses, introducing delays which are compatible with process control requirements.