ODVA 2026 Industry Conference

Industrial networks are commonly defined through topology, protocol conformance, and connectivity. While these descriptors remain essential, they are no longer sufficient to explain the behavior of contemporary automation systems operating across distributed control, diagnostics, engineering access, segmentation boundaries, and cross-domain integration. This paper argues that new networks require a renewed examination of current heuristics in networking, particularly when industrial architectures are treated only as static communication infrastructures rather than as dynamic systems of interaction.

The paper develops a conceptual framework that reinterprets eight networking heuristics through an industrial lens, focusing on interaction density, connection paths, communication-function fit, concentration points, and coordination load, specifically, through EtherNet/IP. Drawing on network analysis and communication theory, it distinguishes which heuristics can be translated productively into industrial-network thinking and which must be qualified before they can support technical reasoning. The central finding is that industrial-network behavior cannot be inferred from protocol and topology alone. Architectural reach, resilience, and scalability are also shaped by how traffic and control dependencies are distributed, where bridges connect segmented domains, and where hubs emerge as either useful coordinators or failure concentrators. This paper proposes a more precise analytical approach to the interpretation of industrial systems already well understood by practitioners. By redefining industrial networks as interaction systems rather than static infrastructures, the paper offers a stronger conceptual basis for architecture review, segmentation strategy, concentration analysis, interoperability planning, and resilience-oriented design.

Authors
Rob Lodesky, HMS Industrial Networks