A solution for remotely diagnosing fieldbus networks across the internet

Purpose – To emphasise the need for remote fieldbus diagnostics and to show a technical solution based on industry standard approaches.Design/methodology/approach – The design and approach takes a Profibus fieldbus, as an example candidate, and captures the diagnostic data using an OPC model and then uses a Java RMI object broker to develop/support the remote end clients.Findings – The findings show, by an implementation example, that it is possible to implement remote diagnostics for a fieldbus network, without interfering with the operation of the network. The findings also highlight the need for security in such a solution.Research limitations/implications – The implementation example is rather cumbersome, but the paper suggests that all the hardware and software could be implemented on a single embedded processor in a single box. The security issues are flagged as a possible limitation, but solution approaches are briefly suggested.Practical implications – The paper highlights the lack of standardisat...