IIoT and PLC Coexistence, Not Confrontation

　　物联网的工业互联网承诺重新设计机械，重组流程，并利用大数据的力量，以提高生产力和盈利能力。根据一些人，熟悉的架构和设备，如可编程逻辑控制器（PLC）可以冲走。另一种观点认为，数据采集的爆炸将推动更大数量的更小的设备，如微型或纳米PLC，可以部署几乎整个工厂的任何地方。

　　物联网的工业网络是基于收集大量的数据从流程和设备进行密集的分析在云中。我们的目标是加强重新优化和重组的进程，追求改善，如减少浪费和更快的响应客户的需求。第四次工业革命的工厂（工业4）可能包含成千上万的在设备和工作区域的传感器，报告对电机电流和振动方面的不同，环境温度和湿度、最终产品的测试和检验测量、编号、批号和时间戳。

　　The success of Industry 4.0 requires these thousands of channels of data to be efficiently collected into the Cloud to be stored， prioritized， grouped and analyzed， and ultimately transformed into improved instructions to be communicated to machines， and information to drive smart business decisions. The design of machinery， control systems， and factory communication networks is expected to change significantly， which could pose a threat to incumbent devices such as programmable logic controllers （PLCs） that have hitherto dominated data collection， processing and control tasks in conventional automation.

　　The desire to collect more data to improve manufacturing yield and assist business decision making did not originate with Industry 4.0. Enterprises have been looking to collect increasing quantities of data from equipment and automate exchanges between factory floor and back office analytical systems since long before the Cloud. The Industrial PC （IPC） is one example of a concept that emerged to enable PC-based automation with the benefits of a seamless data flow to and from decision makers on the corporate LAN. The PLC， however， retains several advantages including long lifecycles and high reliability， and has also evolved to meet market needs by increasing processing capability， providing extra functionality， and incorporating PC-based standards.