Fault Tolerant Ethernet

Fault Tolerant Ethernet (FTE) is the control network of the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS). FTE is designed to provide not only fault tolerance, but also the fast response, determinism, and security required for industrial control applications. FTE is Honeywell patented technology. It unites Honeywell’s expertise in designing robust control networks with commercial Ethernet technology in a patented, advanced networking solution. While FTE is not a general purpose Information Technology (IT) network due to its control mission, it leverages commercial Ethernet technology found in IT networks to lower the costs of the FTE network infrastructure, connections to IT networks, connections to third-party Ethernet devices, and on-going maintenance and support. Honeywell's FTE features: Four communication paths between FTE nodes to tolerate all single faults and many multiple faults. Tolerates a variety of multiple failures in cables and electronics. Rapid (~1 sec) detection and recovery (compare to dual LANs with 20-30s switchover and 1/2 as many paths). Transparent to PC applications. Allows normal (non-FTE) Ethernet nodes. Online addition/removal of nodes. No proprietary hardware. Minimal overhead—no duplicate messages. Fully distributed—no “master” node. Easy configuration. Fast 100/1000 Mbps performance. STP or fiber cable for noise protection. CE-Mark compliant. Full suite of services available for network engineering, installation, and management.