Discovery mechanisms in industrial networking

Automation networks of today are getting bigger and more complex, putting a significant burden on the personnel in charge of the systems. Initialization and configuration are challenging and sometimes very time-consuming. Thus there is a need to look for more elegant solutions to handle these tasks. Proper use of discovery mechanisms, i.e. discovery of devices, addresses and services, can help to reduce the manual labor and errors that may occur. In this paper we will look at why and how existing discovery solutions may be realized in the industrial scene.