Cisco and Industry 4.0



How to Achieve Industry 4.0 Maturity

Industrial Networking Solutions (INS) understands that to stay competitive, companies in the Industrial space need to modernize their approach to networking and data management. Every Industrial organization should be striving to reach Industry 4.0 maturity by creating connected networks of assets that are autonomous and equipped with data-generating sensors.

To begin assessing your company’s Industry 4.0 maturity, INS recommends evaluating your level of strategy to see if it includes data analytics and operational automation. Companies should be investing in and developing new business models to support Industry 4.0.

Progressing along the path to Industry 4.0 means that companies must implement modern network hardware to connect IoT devices and tools for virtualizing and visualizing the data these devices generate at the edge of the network.


Assessing Your Adoption Level

Companies can gauge their level of Industry 4.0 adoption by judging whether they have smart products, factories, and operations in place. In other words, are products and company assets connected and communicating with higher-level systems? When companies operate smart factories, they utilize automated and connected manufacturing processes.

Smart operations digitally model processes and products while controlling them virtually through algorithms. With smart operations, companies can control, monitor, and adjust processes in real-time. Product planning systems and supply chain management are examples of smart operations that integrate the physical and virtual.


Data Virtualization and Visualization

To reach Industry 4.0 maturity, companies need to embrace data-driven services. Organizations must gather and analyze the data generated by connected devices to make decisions about how to improve products, services, and operations. For example, manufacturers can use data analytics to improve supply chain logistics and inventory management.

The data generated by sensors can be mined for deep insights using advanced analytics. These insights help to optimize and automate operations and ensure that tracking and preventative maintenance is being carried out on valuable company assets.

The right network technology is needed to visualize data at the edge. Some connected devices may have compute capabilities at the edge, and others may need to be connected to a centralized system. More data needs to be pushed from the edge to the cloud. INS can help companies design and develop technology for data visualization.


Barriers to Industry 4.0 Adoption

Many Industrial companies face challenges in adopting Industry 4.0 because they rely on legacy networking hardware and communications technologies, as well as outdated protocols that create security and connectivity problems.

For example, companies in the Industrial space may not realize they can use cellular technology to achieve connectivity. Today, everything is remote and wireless, so companies need to be willing to refresh their network hardware to support wireless connectivity.

A major barrier to making updates is that many companies may not understand their budgetary needs enough to plan for investments in a technology refresh. Some organizations don’t even have a refresh cycle in place.

Without a budget and plan for technology refresh cycles, Industrial companies can’t achieve Industry 4.0 maturity. Modern networking technology, such as updated switches and routers, is needed to connect the sensors on IoT devices to the internet and the cloud. Other innovations, such as process automation, must be supported by up-to-date networking technology. Companies also need wireless networking for real-time closed-loop process control and non-real-time process and asset monitoring.

At INS, we help our customers overcome these barriers by giving them access to the latest networking solutions from leading technology companies, such as Cisco.


Raising Your Level of Industry 4.0 Maturity

Partnering with the right technology company will help you progress on your journey to Industry 4.0. You need to work with a partner with expertise in operational technology and Industrial IoT.

Industrial Networking Solutions (INS) specializes in designing, deploying, and supporting operational technology. We have delivered hundreds of Operational Technology/Industrial IoT (OT/IIoT) networks. As a Cisco partner, we provide our customers with leading wireless networking solutions to support data visualization and automation.
 

To learn more about how to implement modern Industrial networking solutions,
Contact INS today at 800.889.1461 or visit www.industrialnetworking.com



Peplink 5G Routers: C-Band Certified on Verizon Network and Required Firmware Upgrades

Which Peplink 5G Routers are C-Band supported?

Currently, the following devices are C-Band certified on Verizon’s network:

  • MAX BR1 Pro 5G
  • MBX Mini
  • HD4 MBX 5G
  • MAX BR2 Pro

Users will be able to use Verizon’s 5G Business Internet plan if they own any of the certified devices above. 

IMPORTANT: Your Peplink device needs to be running an updated firmware in order to activate the full C-Band capability. Please follow the link below to update to special system and cellular modem firmware versions.


Links of Interest

Windows: How to locate Ethernet Adapter Settings

To Locate and Configure your Ethernet Adapter settings on your Windows based computer proceed to the following steps. The steps cover Windows 10, 8 and 7 operating systems.


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Links of Interest

Cradlepoint: How to Configure APN (Access Point Name)

If your Cradlepoint cellular device is having issues successfully establishing connection to the cellular network, it may be that the device's APN (Access Point Name) value needs to be appropriately configured.  The APN value is assigned to the SIM card (line of service) by your cellular carrier.

Note: If you're unsure what APN value is assigned to your SIM card, please contact your cellular carrier to obtain this information before proceeding with the following steps.

For a step by step guide to configure the APN click >> here <<

To check current status of the APN value in the Cradlepoint see steps below

1. Login to the admin page of the device. For instructions logging in please click >> here <<
2. Navigate to: Status > Internet > Connections.
3. Under Device List click the SIM card carrier you want to check.
4. Under Device Information it should list the APN currently being used.

Example pictures shown below.

 

Additional Information
Common APNs used by the carriers
Configuring the APN on older Cradlepoints (With NCOS firmware of 6.0 and below)

Links of Interest

Sierra Wireless: How to Configure APN (Access Point Name)

If your Sierra Wireless cellular device is having issues successfully establishing connection to the cellular network, it may be that the device's APN (Access Point Name) value needs to be appropriately configured.  The APN value is assigned to the SIM card (line of service) by your cellular carrier.

Note: If you're unsure what APN value is assigned to your SIM card, please contact your cellular carrier to obtain this information before proceeding with the following steps.

Configuring APN settings:

Depending on the model of Sierra Wireless device and its firmware level there are slight variations on where to configure the APN. (pictures of the 3 most common ones further below).

1. Login to the admin page of the device. For help logging in click >> here <<.
2. Navigate to WAN/Cellular.
3. Navigate to Cellular > SIM Slot 1 Configuration or SIM Slot 2 Configuration.
4. Enter the appropriate APN value into the Override APN or User Entered APN field.
5. Click Apply
6. Click Reboot.

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Links of Interest