PROFINET – the Ethernet standard for automation

PROFINET is the leading Industrial Ethernet standard with more than 7.6 ¹⁾ million nodes worldwide.

PROFINET increases companies' success by accelerating processes, boosting productivity, and increasing plant availability.

¹⁾ Source: PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) Edition 2013

Advantages at a glance

Flexibility

Short response times and optimized processes are prerequisites for competitiveness in global markets, because product lifecycles are becoming shorter and shorter.

PROFINET ensures maximum flexibility in plant structures and production processes, and it enables you to implement innovative machine and plant concepts. Mobile devices, for example, can be integrated into relatively inaccessible locations.

IWLAN

PROFINET also supports wireless communication with Industrial Wireless LAN and thus opens up new application fields. For example, technologies subject to wear such as contact wires can be replaced and automated guided vehicle systems and mobile operator panels can be used.

Safety

The PROFIsafe safety profile, which has been tried and tested with PROFIBUS and which permits the transmission of standard and safety-related data on a single bus cable, can also be used with PROFINET. No special network components are required for fail-safe communication, standard switches and standard network transitions can be used without restrictions. In addition, fail-safe communication is equally possible via Industrial Wireless LAN (IWLAN).

Flexible topologies

PROFINET also enables the use of star, tree, and ring topologies in addition to the linear topology characterized by the established fieldbuses. This is made possible by means of switching technology via active network components, such as Industrial Ethernet switches and media converters, or by integrating switch functionality into field devices. This results in an increased machine and plant planning flexibility, as well as savings in cabling.

The PROFINET network can be installed without any specialist knowledge and meets all requirements relevant to the industrial environment. The PROFINET Guideline "Cabling and Interconnection Technology" provides network installation support for manufacturers and users. Symmetrical copper cables or RFI-resistant fiber-optic cables are used depending on the application. Devices from different manufacturers are easily connected via standardized and rugged plug-in connectors (up to IP65/IP67).

Thanks to the integration of switch functionality into the devices, linear topologies can be formed that are configured based on an existing machine or plant structure. This results in savings in cabling overhead and cuts down on components such as external switches.

Open standard

PROFINET, the open vendor-independent standard (IEC 61158/61784), is supported by PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI). It stands for maximum transparency, open IT communication, network security and simultaneous real-time communication.

Due to its openness, PROFINET creates the basis for a uniform automation network in the plant to which all of the machines and devices can be connected. The integration of existing parts of the plant, using PROFIBUS for example, can also be achieved without any problems through the use of network transitions.

Fieldbus integration via a proxy

Use of web tools

PROFINET's unrestricted support for TCP/IP permits the use of standard web services such as web servers in the device. Independently of the tool used, information from the automation level can be accessed from almost anywhere at any time using a commercially available Internet browser. This considerably simplifies commissioning and diagnostics.

Each user can decide for himself how much openness to the IT world he will permit for his machine or plant. Thus, PROFINET can be easily operated as an isolated plant network or it can be connected to the office network or the Internet via suitable security modules, such as the SCALANCE S modules. This allows new teleservice concepts or even the fast exchange of production data.

Expandability

On the one hand, PROFINET permits the easy integration of existing systems and networks without great effort. Thus, PROFINET protects the investments in existing plant units which communicate via PROFIBUS and other fieldbuses such as AS-Interface, for example.

On the other hand, additional PROFINET stations can be added at any time. Network infrastructures can be expanded using additional network components, both wired and wireless versions, even during operation.

Efficiency

Global competition means that companies must deploy their resources economically and efficiently. This applies in particular to production. PROFINET ensures more efficiency here.

Simple engineering guarantees fast commissioning, and reliable devices enable high plant availability. Comprehensive diagnostics and maintenance concepts help to reduce plant downtimes and maintenance costs to a minimum.

One cable for all purposes

PROFINET permits simultaneous fieldbus communication in isochronous mode and standard IT communication (TCP/IP) via one cable. This real-time communication for the transmission of user/process data and diagnostic data is performed on a single cable. Specific profile communication (PROFIsafe, PROFIdrive and PROFIenergy) can be integrated without additional cabling overhead. This solution provides a wide range of functions with a low degree of complexity.

Device and network diagnostics

By retaining the field-proven PROFIBUS device model, the same diagnostic information is available with PROFINET. In addition, device diagnostics also includes read-out of module-specific and channel-specific data from the devices. This enables simple and fast location of faults. In addition to the availability of device information, the top priority in network management is reliability of network operation.

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) has become established in existing networks as the de-facto standard for the maintenance and monitoring of network components and their functions. PROFINET uses this standard and provides users with the option of servicing networks using familiar tools such as the SINEMA Server network management software.

In order to facilitate the maintenance of PROFINET devices, both locally and also remotely via a secure VPN connection, application-specific Web sites in the familiar HTML standard can be created on the integral Web server of the field devices.

Energy efficiency

Moving toward the green factory: PROFIenergy

PROFIenergy is a profile that provides functions and mechanisms for PROFINET field devices that support energy-efficient production.

The vendor and device-independent profile defined by PNO allows the user to significantly reduce the energy consumption and costs: PROFIenergy enables specific loads that are not required to be switched off. This noticeably reduces energy costs during pauses in production. PROFIenergy facilitates automated activation and deactivation of technologically related plant sections. The coordination is performed centrally by means of a higher-level controller, and the networking via PROFINET. This means that during long pauses, as much energy as possible is saved. Plant sections that are switched off for short periods contribute to the even distribution and most efficient use of energy.

The use of PROFIenergy is made easier for the machine builder by its integration into well-known series of products. In addition, PROFIenergy is defined in such a way that the necessary function blocks can be integrated into existing automation systems at a later date.

Energy consumption without PROFIenergy

Energy consumption with PROFIenergy

Easy cabling

Stringent demands are placed on the installation of cables in the industrial environment. There is also the requirement to set up error-free industry-standard networks in the shortest possible time without specialist knowledge.

Siemens offers FastConnect, a system that meets all these requirements: FastConnect is the standards-compliant, industry-standard cabling system consisting of cables, connectors, and assembly tools for PROFINET networks.

The time spent for connecting the terminal devices is minimized thanks to the easy installation using only a single tool, and installation errors can be avoided thanks to the practical color-coding. Both copper cables and glass fiber-optic cables can be assembled on-site in this way.

Fast device replacement

PROFINET devices are identified via a name that is assigned in the configuration. When replacing a defective device, a new device can be recognized by the IO Controller by means of topology information and have a name automatically assigned to it. An engineering tool is therefore not required when replacing devices.

This mechanism can also be used during the initial commissioning of a complete plant. Quick commissioning is thus especially possible for series machines.

Ruggedness

An automation network must be able to withstand most external sources of interference. The use of Switched Ethernet prevents faults in one section of the network from influencing the entire plant network. PROFINET enables the use of fiber-optic cables especially for areas that are critically sensitive to EMI.

Performance

Productivity and product quality determine market success. Precise motion control, dynamic drives, high-speed controllers, and the deterministic synchronization of devices are therefore key factors in achieving superior production. They allow high production speeds and simultaneously optimized product quality.

Speed and precision

Fast motion control applications need precise and deterministic data exchange. This is implemented thanks to isochronous drive controls using Isochronous Real-Time (IRT).

PROFINET permits high-speed and deterministic communication due to IRT and isochronous mode. The different cycles of a system (input, network, CPU processing and output) are also synchronized in the case of parallel TCP/IP traffic. PROFINET's short cycle times make it possible to increase the productivity of machines and plants, and to ensure product quality through high precision.

The standardized PROFIdrive drive profile enables vendor-independent communication between CPUs and drives.

Large quantity structures

Previous limitations in the scope of the machines and systems to be implemented can be easily overcome through the use of PROFINET. With PROFINET, up to 256 field devices can now be managed by one SIMATIC Controller.

In a network, several controllers can interact with their assigned field devices. The number of field devices per PROFINET network is virtually unlimited – the entire band of IP addresses is available.

High transmission rate

By using 100 Mbit/s in full duplex mode, PROFINET achieves a significantly higher transmission rate than previous fieldbuses. Thanks to this, both the process data and other plant data can be transferred via TCP/IP without any problems. In this way, PROFINET combines the industrial requirements of simultaneously transferring fast IO data and large data quantities for other parts of the application. Even the transfer of large quantities of data such as by cameras does not affect the speed and the precision of the IO data transfer thanks to PROFINET mechanisms.

Redundancy

Higher plant availability can be achieved by means of a redundant installation (ring topology). The media redundancy can be implemented both with the help of external switches and direct via integral PROFINET interfaces. Reconfiguration times of 200 ms can be achieved. In the case of an interruption to the communication in only one part of the ring installation, this means that a plant standstill is prevented and the necessary servicing and repair work can be carried out without time pressure.

MRPD

High network availability can be achieved without reconfiguration time using the PROFINET-compatible MRPD procedure (Media Redundancy for Planned Duplication). The MRPD protocol is an extension to the MRP protocol for sending message frames in duplicate within a ring topology. Networks can only be constructed with SCALANCE X-200IRT switches and additional components with the real-time feature Isochronous Real-Time IRT (PROFINET standard), such as SIMATIC controllers, ET 200, SIMOTION and SINAMICS drives.

Fast start-up

The Fast Start-Up function allows rapid start-up of PROFINET IO Devices that are connected to SIMATIC Controllers. The communication connection between the controller and the device is established in less than a second. For modular plants, individual plant parts can therefore be connected or disconnected in the shortest time. For example, the tool change can be accelerated significantly in robot applications.