- Details
- Category: Industrial Networks
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By Carlos Martinez
More powerful and flexible PROFINET communications
Siemens' Industry Automation division has enhanced the PROFINET connectivity of its SIMATIC S7-300 and S7-400 controllers with the Shared Device, Intelligent Device (I-Device) and Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) functions.
This simplifies system configuration, for example in security applications, makes network topologies with multiple controllers leaner and more flexible, and contributes to increased system availability. The new firmware also offers more diagnostic functions via user-definable web pages and supports isochronous mode in PROFINET communications.
The Shared Device function allows multiple SIMATIC controllers to access a Profinet I/O device, such as a remote I/O system. This simplifies system configuration, for example, in security applications. It enables a standard CPU and a security CPU to share the same remote I/O system.
The Intelligent Device (I-Device) function enables I/O-level communication between a CPU and other higher-level or central controllers. Until now, only hierarchical access was possible: from a central CPU to a subordinate I/O unit. I-Device allows for a leaner and more flexible network topology design among multiple controllers. This simplifies, for example, connections between controllers from different projects and the integration of Siemens and other manufacturers' controllers within a communication network.
The Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) function helps increase the availability of the installations. For this purpose, the network is initially installed in a ring topology, for example, using Industrial Ethernet switches or the PROFINET interfaces integrated into SIMATIC controllers and distributed ledger systems. If communication is interrupted in one part of the ring, it only affects a specific section, preventing a complete system failure. This allows for unhurried maintenance or repair work. The MRP protocol guarantees a maximum reconfiguration time of 200 milliseconds.
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