A Protocol Translation Scheme Between EtherCAT Field Network and IPv6-Based Industrial Backbone Network

As an important supporting technology for Industrial Internet, Industrial Ethernet has attracted extensive attention in recent years. EtherCAT is a typical Industrial Ethernet specification and widely used in field networks. With the development of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), it is a challenge for connecting EtherCAT filed network to IPv6-based industrial backbone network in the factory. This paper proposes a protocol translation scheme between EtherCAT network and IPv6 network. The methods for packet identification, frame format translation, priority translation, and address translation are presented. The translation scheme is implemented in the testbed. Test results verify the effectiveness of the proposed translation scheme.