Not long ago, many questioned the need for Gigabit Ethernet outside the realm of advanced, high-speed motion control applications. But with the advance of the Industrial Internet of Things and the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) networks, the need for greater bandwidth—and greater control of data—is only increasing.
In response, Beckhoff announced the release of EtherCAT G to give EtherCAT the Gigabit Ethernet speeds needed for data-intensive applications. The company notes that this new EtherCAT technology is compatible with the 100Mbit/s EtherCAT standard and, when used with a new branch controller model for EtherCAT G, it can operate in parallel with 100 Mbit/s EtherCAT in multiple network segments.
