This section introduces the various aspects of networking components to consider for an effective deployment of the VxRail system. It is important to recognize the common ports and protocols that are used in an industrial network. This helps to identify what you should and should not see within your network. Some of the industrial protocols inherently lack security features and can be susceptible to cyberattacks. Reduce risk by using segmentation to establish boundaries for the different protocols.
Review high-level network considerations such as scalability. Be sure to have an accurate account of the bandwidth and network size (number of devices) to confirm that enough resources have been planned to handle the current scale, and that there are no issues when the need to scale up arises. Also consider issues with convergence of the new deployment with the existing infrastructure. Ask yourself if any new technologies and components that you deploy will interfere with any existing ones, or perhaps how they can be consolidated. Also, think about network performance, especially as industrial networks require low latency to support the real-time requirements of many manufacturing use-cases. Lastly, review how the new components will be managed, monitored, and secured (see Security for more detail).
Protocol | Ports |
Allen-Bradley DH+, DF1, DH485 | Bus |
Allen-Bradley EthernetIP | TCP/44818, 2222 |
BACnet/IP | UDP/47808 |
ControlNet | Bus |
DeviceNet | Bus |
DNP3 | TCP/20000, UDP/20000 |
EtherCAT | UDP/34980 |
EtherNet/IP | TCP/44818, UDP/2222, UDP/44818 |
Fieldbus | Bus |
FL-net | UDP/55000 to 55004 |
ICCP | TCP/102 |
Modbus TCP | TCP/502 |
Modbus RTU | Serial |
OPC UA | TCP/135, 4840, 4843, 40831 |
Siemens Profibus PA, DP | Bus |
Siemens PROFINET | TCP/102 |
Details of a few commonly used industrial protocols are discussed in the following sections.