6.3.2 Module Quiz - Network Design – Module 6 Exam Answers

6.3.2 Module Quiz – Network Design – Module 6 Exam Answers

This article provides detailed answers to the “6.3.2 Module Quiz – Network Design” from Module 6. Designed to help students and IT professionals enhance their understanding of network design principles, these answers will guide you through key concepts like network topologies, IP addressing, and efficient network infrastructure planning. Whether you’re preparing for the quiz or reviewing your answers, this resource ensures clarity and accuracy in understanding the material.

1. Which term describes the network feature that provides alternative paths in case of equipment or link failure?

Security
Quality of service
Redundancy
Scalability
Fault tolerance

Redundancy helps ensure continuous network operation by allowing traffic to reroute through alternative paths if primary routes become unavailable.

The correct answer that aligns with the provided statement is Redundancy.

Redundancy is a critical principle in network design that ensures continuous network operation even when failures or disruptions occur. By incorporating multiple alternative paths for data transmission, redundancy allows the network to reroute traffic seamlessly if a primary route becomes unavailable. This minimizes downtime and maintains service availability, which is especially vital for businesses and critical systems that require high reliability.

For example, in a redundant network, devices such as routers and switches are often deployed in pairs, or multiple links are established between key points in the network. Protocols like OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) or BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) facilitate dynamic rerouting when a failure is detected, ensuring traffic can find the most efficient alternative path.

Redundancy also supports fault tolerance, which is the ability of a system to continue functioning despite hardware or software failures. However, redundancy specifically emphasizes the creation of backup paths or components, which is distinct from scalability (the ability to grow) or quality of service (ensuring traffic prioritization).

In conclusion, redundancy is essential in any robust network design, providing a safety net that keeps systems operational and preventing service interruptions due to unforeseen failures.

2. What is the purpose of Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)?

to optimize network routing paths
to improve network performance through load balancing
to establish a fault-tolerant default gateway
to provide secure communication between routers

Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is designed to provide redundancy for the default gateway in a network, ensuring continuous network connectivity in case of router failure.

The correct answer is: to establish a fault-tolerant default gateway.

Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is a Cisco proprietary protocol designed to enhance network reliability by providing redundancy for the default gateway in a local network. Its primary purpose is to ensure continuous network connectivity by designating a group of routers to work together as a single virtual default gateway. If the active router in the group fails, HSRP automatically switches the role of the default gateway to a standby router, maintaining uninterrupted communication for connected devices.

HSRP works by assigning one router as the active gateway and another as a standby. The active router handles traffic, while the standby router monitors the active router’s status. If the active router becomes unavailable due to a failure or maintenance, the standby router takes over the IP address and MAC address of the virtual gateway without requiring any reconfiguration on the end devices.

This fault-tolerant mechanism is crucial for minimizing downtime in environments that require high availability, such as enterprise networks. While HSRP ensures redundancy for the default gateway, it is not designed for optimizing routing paths, improving performance through load balancing, or securing inter-router communication, which are functions of other protocols or configurations.

3. In an industrial network, which protocol prevents frames from looping within a ring topology and within a star topology that uses EtherChannel?

Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)
Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP)
Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP)
Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP)

Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) is designed to prevent frames from looping within a ring topology and EtherChannel within a star topology in industrial networks.

The correct answer is: Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP).

Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP) is designed to prevent frames from looping within a ring topology and also supports EtherChannel in a star topology in industrial networks. REP is a Cisco proprietary protocol used in Ethernet networks to provide fast convergence and maintain high availability by avoiding network loops in redundant topologies.

REP operates by blocking one port in a redundant ring or star topology to prevent looping, similar to the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), but with much faster recovery times. It is commonly used in industrial Ethernet networks where quick recovery from link failures is critical. Unlike STP, REP is specifically tailored for these environments and offers improved performance and reliability.

Although Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) provides redundancy by sending duplicate frames across independent networks, it does not specifically address loop prevention. Similarly, Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is used for default gateway redundancy, and Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) is more common in industrial settings for managing ring topologies but is not tailored to EtherChannel environments.

REP is the most suitable protocol for preventing loops and ensuring robust operation in industrial ring and EtherChannel topologies.

4. What does the High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) protocol provide in industrial networks?

Dynamic routing seamlessly between subnets and VLANs
Quality of service prioritization
Seamless communication with fault tolerance in ring topologies
Seamless load balancing within star topologies

High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) protocol is designed for ring topologies to provide redundancy and seamless failover in case of a network component failure, making it ideal for mission-critical systems such as substation automation.

The correct answer is: Seamless communication with fault tolerance in ring topologies.

High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) is a protocol specifically designed for industrial networks to ensure seamless communication with fault tolerance in ring topologies. HSR is a zero-failover time protocol, meaning that in the event of a failure of a network component, communication continues without interruption. This feature is crucial for mission-critical systems, such as substation automation and other industrial control systems, where even brief communication interruptions are unacceptable.

HSR works by duplicating each frame sent over the network and transmitting it in both directions around the ring. The receiving node processes the first frame it receives and discards the duplicate, ensuring uninterrupted communication even if a link or node in the ring fails. This redundancy and fault tolerance make HSR highly reliable for systems that demand continuous operation and low latency.

Unlike protocols that focus on dynamic routing, quality of service prioritization, or load balancing in star topologies, HSR is purpose-built for high-availability scenarios in industrial ring networks. Its seamless failover capability ensures that industrial systems can operate efficiently and without disruption, even in the face of network failures.

5. What is the purpose of the Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) in industrial automation networks?

Establishes a fault-tolerant default gateway that allows multiple routers to work together in a group.
Quality of service prioritization.
Deploys resiliency protocol to prevent loops within the redundant links.
Fast convergence after a failure in a ring network topology.

Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) is designed to provide rapid recovery in a network failure within a ring topology, ensuring minimal downtime in industrial automation networks.

The correct answer is: Fast convergence after a failure in a ring network topology.

Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) is a protocol used in industrial automation networks to ensure fast convergence and rapid recovery in the event of a network failure within a ring topology. MRP is defined in the IEC 62439-2 standard and is widely adopted in industrial environments where minimizing downtime is critical for maintaining operational efficiency and productivity.

MRP operates by designating a Media Redundancy Manager (MRM) to manage the ring and ensure that one link is always in a blocked state to prevent loops, similar to the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). If a failure is detected in the ring, MRP quickly unblocks the backup link to restore connectivity, achieving recovery times as low as 10 milliseconds, depending on the network size and configuration.

MRP is specifically tailored for ring topologies and does not serve as a fault-tolerant default gateway (like HSRP), handle quality of service prioritization, or deploy general loop prevention for redundant links (like REP). Its primary purpose is to provide fast and reliable failover mechanisms in industrial automation networks, ensuring seamless communication and minimal disruption to critical processes.

6. What potential issue arises in the network topology where end devices have redundant communication paths through multiple switches?

Broadcast storms
MAC address conflicts
Slow convergence after link failure
Loss of connectivity between end devices

When redundancy through multiple switches is introduced without proper mechanisms to prevent loops, such as the implementation of spanning tree protocols, Layer 2 loops can occur, leading to broadcast storms and other network instabilities.

The correct answer is: Broadcast storms.

When redundancy is introduced in a network topology where end devices have multiple communication paths through switches, and no proper loop prevention mechanisms (like Spanning Tree Protocol, STP) are in place, Layer 2 loops can form. These loops lead to broadcast storms, which are a major issue in such networks.

A broadcast storm occurs when broadcast frames circulate endlessly within the network due to the lack of a loop prevention mechanism. This results in the exponential amplification of broadcast traffic, consuming excessive bandwidth and overwhelming network devices, leading to degraded performance or even a complete network failure.

Key characteristics of broadcast storms include:

High CPU utilization on switches and routers as they attempt to process the flood of traffic.
Decreased network performance as legitimate traffic struggles to traverse the network.
Increased latency or loss of connectivity for end devices due to resource exhaustion.

To prevent this issue, protocols like Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), or other redundancy management protocols such as REP or MRP are implemented. These protocols ensure that redundant paths exist for failover but are not actively used unless necessary, thus breaking potential loops and avoiding broadcast storms.

7. What solution would address the potential Layer 2 loop issue, that occurs when multiple switches are used to provide network redundancy?

Implementing Quality of Service (QoS)
Deploying Port Security
Configuring Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)
Enabling Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a protocol to prevent Layer 2 loops in Ethernet networks by dynamically blocking redundant links to ensure a loop-free topology.

The correct answer is: Enabling Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is the industry-standard solution for addressing potential Layer 2 loop issues in Ethernet networks. STP works by dynamically identifying and blocking redundant paths within the network to ensure a loop-free topology while maintaining redundancy for failover.

When multiple switches create redundant communication paths, Layer 2 loops can occur, leading to problems such as broadcast storms, MAC address table instability, and excessive resource utilization. STP prevents this by:

Identifying redundant links and placing them in a blocking state.
Electing a root bridge that acts as the central point for path calculation.
Monitoring network topology changes and dynamically adjusting blocked and active paths as needed to maintain connectivity while avoiding loops.

STP provides fault tolerance by automatically reactivating blocked links when a primary link fails, ensuring continuous communication.

Why other solutions do not address Layer 2 loops:

Quality of Service (QoS): Manages traffic prioritization but does not prevent loops.
Port Security: Secures ports by limiting MAC addresses but is unrelated to loop prevention.
VLANs: Segment network traffic but do not inherently prevent loops within a VLAN.

By enabling STP or its faster variants, such as Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), networks can safely deploy redundancy without the risk of Layer 2 loops.

8. What does Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP) provide as an alternative to Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)?

Enhanced network security features
Loop prevention and faster convergence time
Improved multicast traffic handling
Better Quality of Service (QoS) management

REP is a Cisco proprietary protocol that provides an alternative to STP. REP provides a way to control network loops, manage link failures, and improve convergence time. It controls a group of ports that are connected in a segment, ensures that the segment does not create any bridging loops, and responds to link failures within the segment.

The correct answer is: Loop prevention and faster convergence time.

Resilient Ethernet Protocol (REP) is a Cisco proprietary protocol designed as an alternative to Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). REP provides a more efficient mechanism for loop prevention and significantly faster convergence times in Ethernet networks, particularly in industrial and service provider environments where rapid recovery is critical.

Key Features of REP:

Loop Prevention: REP controls a group of ports connected in a segment to prevent Layer 2 loops. It blocks specific ports within the segment to maintain a loop-free topology while allowing redundant paths to exist for fault tolerance.
Fast Convergence: REP detects link failures and reconfigures the network quickly, often within milliseconds, ensuring minimal disruption. This is much faster than traditional STP, which can take several seconds to converge.
Simplified Configuration: REP simplifies network design by allowing engineers to create a single logical segment without the complexity of configuring VLAN-based loop prevention mechanisms.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Enhanced Network Security Features: REP does not primarily focus on security.
Improved Multicast Traffic Handling: REP does not specialize in multicast traffic.
Better Quality of Service (QoS) Management: REP is not designed to manage traffic prioritization or QoS.

In summary, REP offers a robust and high-performance alternative to STP by providing faster recovery and effective loop prevention, making it ideal for critical and time-sensitive network environments.

9. What does scalability enable a network to do?

Decrease bandwidth capacity to conserve resources
Limit physical expansion to reduce costs
Ensure compatibility with legacy systems only
Handle increasing workloads and support network growth

Scalability allows a network to adapt to growing demands and expand its capacity and physical footprint to accommodate new requirements and developments.

The correct answer is: Handle increasing workloads and support network growth.

Scalability in a network refers to its ability to adapt to growing demands by increasing its capacity, supporting additional devices, and accommodating expanding workloads without significant performance degradation. This is a critical feature for modern networks, which must keep up with dynamic business and technological changes.

Key Benefits of Scalability:

Increased Capacity: A scalable network can handle higher bandwidth requirements, more connected devices, and greater data traffic as the organization grows.
Physical Expansion: Scalability allows the addition of new hardware, such as switches, routers, and access points, to extend the network’s physical reach without disrupting current operations.
Future-Proofing: Scalability ensures that the network can adapt to emerging technologies and evolving requirements, reducing the need for frequent overhauls.
Cost Efficiency: While initially scalable designs might require an upfront investment, they save costs in the long run by avoiding bottlenecks and supporting incremental growth.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Decrease bandwidth capacity to conserve resources: Scalability increases capacity to meet demands, not reduce it.
Limit physical expansion to reduce costs: Scalability supports expansion without significant limitations.
Ensure compatibility with legacy systems only: Scalability focuses on growth and adaptability, not just legacy system support.

In summary, scalability enables a network to seamlessly grow and adapt, ensuring it can meet increasing workloads and accommodate future requirements.

10. What does QoS stand for, and how does it benefit industrial automation networks?

Quantity of Standards ensures compliance with industrial automation protocols.
Quality of Service provides dedicated bandwidth and controls jitter and latency.
Quick Operational Support prioritizes industrial automation devices based on manufacturer specifications.
Quota of Security limits access to certain traffic types within the network.

Quality of Service (QoS) enables industrial automation networks to prioritize traffic flows, ensuring that critical applications receive the necessary performance levels, such as controlled jitter and latency, required for real-time operations.

The correct answer is: Quality of Service provides dedicated bandwidth and controls jitter and latency.

Quality of Service (QoS) is a set of network management techniques used to prioritize specific types of traffic, ensuring that critical applications receive the performance levels necessary for their operation. In industrial automation networks, where real-time performance and reliability are essential, QoS plays a crucial role in maintaining network efficiency and stability.

Key Benefits of QoS in Industrial Automation:

Traffic Prioritization: QoS ensures that time-sensitive data, such as control signals or monitoring information, is prioritized over less critical traffic, reducing the likelihood of delays.
Dedicated Bandwidth: By allocating specific bandwidth to critical applications, QoS prevents congestion and ensures smooth operation.
Controlled Jitter and Latency: Industrial automation often requires precise timing. QoS minimizes jitter (variability in packet delivery times) and latency (delay in packet transmission), ensuring the reliability needed for real-time communication.
Minimized Packet Loss: QoS reduces the risk of losing important data by giving priority to high-priority traffic.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Quantity of Standards: Does not relate to traffic management or performance.
Quick Operational Support: Is not a feature of QoS.
Quota of Security: Refers to access control, not traffic prioritization or performance enhancement.

In conclusion, QoS is critical for industrial automation networks, as it ensures reliable, real-time communication by prioritizing important traffic, managing bandwidth, and maintaining consistent performance levels.

11. Which statement describes traffic flows in an industrial network?

OT traffic typically consists of pulse-based communication with large packet sizes.
Different industrial automation network traffic types have identical requirements for latency, packet loss, and jitter.
Cyclical I/O data is communicated in very short intervals (milliseconds).
Industrial devices in the network do not utilize Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) marking.

Cyclical I/O data is communicated in very short intervals (milliseconds) from devices to controllers and human-machine interfaces (HMIs) or workstations, all on the same network segment and mainly remaining in the local Cell/Area Zone.

The correct answer is: Cyclical I/O data is communicated in very short intervals (milliseconds).

In industrial networks, cyclical I/O data refers to the periodic exchange of small packets of data between devices such as sensors, actuators, controllers, and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). This type of communication occurs at very short intervals (often in the range of milliseconds) to ensure real-time performance and responsiveness in automation systems.

Key Characteristics of Traffic Flows in Industrial Networks:

Cyclical Communication: I/O data is transmitted regularly in a cyclic manner, enabling real-time monitoring and control of processes.
Short Packet Sizes: Industrial traffic typically consists of small data packets that need to be delivered promptly.
Low Latency Requirements: Critical for maintaining the synchronization and reliability of automated processes.
Local Segmentation: Most industrial communication remains within the local Cell/Area Zone, minimizing delays and reducing the need for extensive routing.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

OT traffic with large packet sizes: OT (Operational Technology) traffic usually involves small, time-sensitive packets rather than large ones.
Identical requirements: Different traffic types in industrial networks have varying requirements for latency, jitter, and packet loss.
No DSCP marking: Industrial devices often use Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) for traffic classification and prioritization.

In conclusion, cyclical I/O communication in very short intervals is a defining feature of industrial network traffic, ensuring efficient and reliable real-time operations.

12. Which actions can result from policing mechanisms in a Quality of Service (QoS) model?

Modifying all traffic to the lowest priority to temporarily ease the congestion.
Dropping packets if the allocated bandwidth is not exceeded.
Increasing the priority of packets if the bandwidth is exceeded.
Modifying the classification of packets to lower their priority if the bandwidth is exceeded.

Policing mechanisms in a QoS model can enforce bandwidth limits and manage traffic by taking various actions when bandwidth thresholds are reached. If the allocated bandwidth is exceeded, packets may be “marked down,” where the classification is modified to lower their priority, ensuring that higher-priority traffic receives preferential treatment. This helps maintain network performance and prevent congestion by prioritizing critical traffic.

The correct answer is: Modifying the classification of packets to lower their priority if the bandwidth is exceeded.

In a Quality of Service (QoS) model, policing mechanisms are used to enforce bandwidth limits on traffic flows. These mechanisms monitor the rate of traffic against a predefined bandwidth threshold. If the bandwidth is exceeded, policing can take specific actions to manage congestion and ensure that critical traffic receives the required priority.

Actions Performed by Policing Mechanisms:

Marking Down Packets: If traffic exceeds the allocated bandwidth, the QoS model can reclassify (or “mark down”) the excess packets to a lower priority using techniques such as Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) marking.
Dropping Packets: In some cases, packets exceeding the bandwidth threshold may be dropped outright, especially for non-critical or best-effort traffic, to prevent congestion.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Modifying all traffic to the lowest priority: QoS mechanisms do not indiscriminately lower the priority of all traffic; they only target specific traffic that exceeds thresholds.
Dropping packets when bandwidth is not exceeded: Policing does not drop packets if the traffic is within the allocated limits.
Increasing priority when bandwidth is exceeded: Policing does not raise the priority of packets; it enforces limits by marking or dropping.

Summary:

Policing mechanisms in a QoS model ensure fair bandwidth usage by modifying or dropping packets that exceed limits, maintaining network performance and prioritizing critical traffic.

13. What makes protecting industrial automation and control systems (IACS) from cyber threats particularly challenging compared to IT networks?

IACS networks use advanced security technologies not found in IT networks.
OT personnel focus primarily on maintaining the confidentiality of information.
IT and OT personnel have different operating procedures and priorities.
IACS networks are more straightforward and less complex than traditional IT

Protecting IACS from cyber threats is challenging due to the differences in priorities and focus between IT and OT personnel. OT personnel are primarily concerned with safety, reliability, and productivity, aiming to protect people, the environment, and production processes. On the other hand, IT cybersecurity personnel focus on maintaining IT systems’ confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While the goals of both groups overlap in securing the organization and minimizing risk, their divergent priorities can complicate network security efforts.

The correct answer is: IT and OT personnel have different operating procedures and priorities.

Protecting Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) from cyber threats is particularly challenging because of the fundamental differences in the focus and priorities between Operational Technology (OT) personnel and Information Technology (IT) cybersecurity teams. These differences often create gaps in communication and approaches to security.

Key Differences:

Focus of OT Personnel:
- Prioritize safety, reliability, and productivity.
- Aim to protect people, the environment, and uninterrupted production processes.
- Require systems to operate in real time with minimal latency, often using legacy equipment that lacks modern security features.
Focus of IT Personnel:
- Emphasize confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of data.
- Tend to use dynamic and scalable solutions that may conflict with the static, deterministic nature of OT environments.
Complexity in Integration:
- OT systems are often more sensitive to downtime and cannot easily accommodate frequent updates or patches.
- IT solutions may inadvertently disrupt OT processes due to their differing operational requirements.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

IACS networks use advanced security technologies not found in IT networks: IACS networks often rely on legacy systems and lack modern security features.
OT personnel focus primarily on confidentiality: OT priorities are reliability, safety, and productivity, not confidentiality.
IACS networks are more straightforward and less complex: IACS networks are highly complex, involving real-time operations and a mix of legacy and modern systems.

Summary:

The challenge arises from the distinct operational goals of IT and OT teams. Bridging the gap between these priorities is essential for effective IACS cybersecurity, ensuring both safety and data security while maintaining operational efficiency.

14. Which fundamental security principle ensures that devices in the plant network are identified and authenticated?

Visibility of all devices in the plant network
Asset Hardening
Malware detection and mitigation
Segmentation and zoning of the network

This principle emphasizes extending visibility to all industrial automation and control systems (IACS) network devices. Traditionally, enterprise management systems identified devices like laptops and printers when they accessed the network. However, for secure systems, this visibility must be extended to all devices, including those in the IACS.

The correct answer is: Visibility of all devices in the plant network.

The fundamental security principle of visibility ensures that all devices in the network, including those in the Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) environment, are identified and authenticated. This is a critical step in securing industrial networks, as it allows administrators to know exactly what devices are connected, assess their security posture, and enforce appropriate policies.

Key Points About Visibility:

Device Identification: All devices, from traditional IT devices (laptops, printers) to specialized OT devices (PLCs, sensors, actuators), must be identified when they access the network.
Authentication: Once identified, devices must be authenticated to verify they are authorized to connect to the network.
Extended Scope: In industrial environments, visibility extends beyond IT equipment to include OT devices, which are often legacy systems that lack inherent security mechanisms.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Asset Hardening: Focuses on securing individual devices by reducing vulnerabilities but does not address device identification and authentication.
Malware Detection and Mitigation: Targets threats like malicious software, not device visibility and authentication.
Segmentation and Zoning of the Network: Involves dividing the network into zones to limit access but does not directly ensure device identification and authentication.

Summary:

Extending visibility to all IACS devices is the first step in implementing a secure network. It ensures that every device is identified, authenticated, and monitored, enabling the application of appropriate security controls and minimizing risks.

15. Which three requirements are needed specifically for reliable IACS networks? (Choose three.)

Quality of service
Determinism
Fault tolerance
Preservation of time series
Scalability
Low latency

All networks require four basic requirements: scalability, fault tolerance, quality of service, and security. For IACS networks specifically, low latency, determinism, and preservation of time series are three additional requirements.

The correct answers are: Determinism, Preservation of time series, and Low latency.

Reliable Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) networks have specific requirements to ensure real-time performance and precise operation for industrial processes. While general networks require scalability, fault tolerance, quality of service, and security, IACS networks demand additional capabilities due to their unique operational needs.

Requirements for Reliable IACS Networks:

Determinism:
- Ensures predictable and consistent network behavior.
- Critical for time-sensitive applications where data must arrive at precise intervals.
Preservation of Time Series:
- Ensures the accurate sequencing and timestamping of data for monitoring, logging, and troubleshooting.
- Vital for processes that depend on historical data for analysis or control.
Low Latency:
- Minimizes delays in data transmission to meet the real-time demands of industrial systems.
- Necessary for high-speed communication between devices like sensors and controllers.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Quality of Service: Important for prioritizing traffic but not unique to IACS networks.
Scalability: Relevant for all networks but not specific to IACS reliability.
Fault Tolerance: Necessary for general reliability but not exclusive to IACS operational requirements.

Summary:

For reliable IACS networks, determinism, preservation of time series, and low latency are essential to ensure the precision, speed, and accuracy required for industrial automation and control processes.