PROFINET DCP is part of the protocol suite and stands for “Discovery and basic Configuration Protocol”. It is used by the engineering tool and controller to discover devices, identify device information, and configure device settings such as PROFINET device name and IP address on a PROFINET network.
In our PROFINET DCP overview, we discussed the ability to reset a device among other features. In this article, we’ll expand the discussion of this topic, covering the default reset and other reset modes. For users, taking extra care and doing a proper factory reset can save you time and headaches. For developers, this information may be helpful for your […]
We often get the question: Why doesn’t PROFINET use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for IP address assignment as DCHP is used extensively in the office? Answer: DHCP could be used, optionally, but there are some differences you should know between DHCP and PROFINET DCP.
Unlike other competitor networks, all PROFINET devices support Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) which is defined in IEEE standard 802.1AB. There are multiple reasons for LLDP support. The first is to be able to discover, check, and maintain the topology of the PROFINET network and obtain diagnostics if something changes. The second is for easy device commissioning when setting up […]
What’s the MAC address of the device you are viewing this from? The IP Address? What’s your name? The easiest of all those to remember is your name, mine is PNC for short. PROFINET device names are used for the same reasons.
The number one rule-of-thumb, which you should never forget when commissioning a PROFINET system: make sure to assign the device name from your engineering tool (or setup auto commissioning). Here is the PROFINET Naming Convention list to help you out.
An oft-heard question: “Why do PROFINET devices need IP addresses? PROFINET uses names!” You may have heard the misinformation that PROFINET does not use TCP/IP. The correct information is that it in fact does.
So, the short answer to that oft-heard question: PROFINET uses TCP/IP and therefore needs an IP address.
