PROFINET

PROFINET (Process Field Net) is a standard for Industrial Ethernet based on Industrial Ethernet according to IEEE 802.xx.

Technology

Three protocol levels are defined:

The protocols can be recorded and displayed using an Ethernet analysis tool such as Wireshark. The topology can be shown using analysis tools such as TH Scope.

Component model

A PROFINET Component Based Automation (CBA) system consists of various automation components. One component covers all mechanical, electrical and IT variables. The component can be generated using the standard programming tools. A component is described using a PROFINET component description (PCD) file in XML. A planning tool loads these descriptions and enables the logical interconnections between the individual components to be generated for implementing a plant.