The Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) is something we’ve covered before, but we haven’t touched on the Automanager yet. It’s an entity that was introduced in the 2016 version of the MRP specification (IEC 62439-2-2016), and it helps make a MRP ring even more fault-tolerant. Making Media Redundancy… More Redundant MRP originally had two entities: a Client and a Manager. Clients […]
PROFINET implements redundancy in multiple ways to tolerate multiple types of failures. A PROFINET system can be designed to tolerate a failure of a device, a controller, or even the media that connects them within a network. But there’s another component of a PROFINET system that can fail: the network itself. Availability in the worst-case scenario Network redundancy is a […]
The concept of redundancy in PROFINET is broken into several parts: device, network, media, and controller redundancy. This article takes a look at controller redundancy and why it’s more complex than device redundancy. There are two moving parts that make Controller redundancy work: coordination between controllers (usually some vendor-specific communication between PLC applications) and how devices handle simultaneous connections (a […]
It’s three A.M. Third shift is in full swing when a distributed I/O rack decides to stop working. But instead of stopping the line, the system seamlessly switches over to the redundant I/O rack and just logs a “maintenance requested” message with the operator. The maintenance crew doesn’t have to scramble, and the night continues without a hitch. That’s device […]
Planning a development roadmap for a PROFINET project is critical for a smooth process and on-time product release. There are four basic steps (and partners) you’ll need to work with to complete the project. The first and last, joining PI and applying for a product certificate, are pretty straightforward transactions. Everything in between is where the interesting stuff happens and […]
We need to put PROFINET on our device. Where do we start? This is a question we field nearly every week, and this section gives you the background, resources, and contacts to get up and moving with your PROFINET project. There are a lot of resources out there explaining the process of developing a PROFINET product. In addition to PROFINET […]
We’re going to put PROFINET on our product. How should we go about it? Once you’ve figured out what PROFINET features you need to implement on your product, the next question is how to implement those features. There are four options, three of which are viable: Drop an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) on your PCB to handle your PROFINET […]
PROFINET certification can be an intimidating process, but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing what you’re getting into before you complete the test application not only sets expectations, but it also puts you in a position to streamline the process. Step 1: Choose a Test Lab PI Test Labs operate as independent and accredited institutions. They aren’t part of the […]
Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from the PROFINET Developer Workshop offered by the PROFI Interface Center. For more information on this or other advanced topics, contact them at [email protected]. Alarms, Diagnostics, Errors… these terms get thrown around a lot when people discuss how to communicate when bad things happen on the network. But what do they really mean? […]
