The majority of industrial controllers used for plant automation of any size follow the IEC 61131-3 programming standard. Drawing on open hardware platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, OpenPLC has recently gained a following in small-scale, compact automation. But how flexible and performant is this open-source solution compared to the most prominent players in this scene? In this talk, I will briefly explore the performance and possibilities of OpenPLC as a solution for middle and large-scale control systems, including virtualization and network stacks, such as fieldbuses.
