Security is becoming increasingly important in the process engineering industry. With the new MGuard security router, Phoenix Contact is addressing this trend.

The security router meets the demanding hardware requirements of the process industry as well as the strict IT requirements for security products. Hardware features include an extended temperature range of -40 to +70 °C, IECEx and ATEX approvals for Ex Zones and corrosive gas testing in accordance with ISA-S71.04-1985 G3 Harsh Group A.

From a software point of view, existing MGuard security functions were enhanced with additional security components for OPC Classic, a protocol widely used in the industry. These include DPI (deep package inspection) and NAT (network address translation) functions. DPI allows for a high-quality OPC Classic firewall in the production facility, whereas NAT provides the option of integrating plants with identical IP addresses into a higher-level production network quickly, easily, and without address conflicts.