IEC 62439:2008(E) is applicable to high-availability automation networks based on the ISO/IEC 8802-3 (Ethernet) technology. It specifies:
- a classification scheme for network characteristics (see Annex A);
- a methodology for estimating network availability (see Annex B);
- a set of communication protocols that realize high availability automation networks via the use of redundancy and that can be used in a variety of applications.