Industrial Communication Guide

ETHERNET IN INDUSTRIAL USE

2. Standard Ethernet communication In this category, communication takes place directly using stan- dard Ethernet messages. Components are addressed by means of their MAC address. Simplified communication (no IP informa- tion), means that the time response is improved, with average latency at around 10 ms. Since no changes have to be made to the network hardware, IP communication and pure Ethernet communication can take place at the same time. Typical repre- sentatives include Profinet RT or Powerlink. 3. Proprietary Ethernet communication This category does use parts of the Ethernet standard but with the addition of manufacturer-specific software and hardware ex- tensions so as to achieve a deterministic response. For example, an Ethernet message contains special information that can be processed by a proprietary hardware/network component (e.g. a slave component). The speed which can be achieved in this way is less than 1ms and the response is deterministic. Representati- ves include CC-Link IE, EtherCAT and Profinet IRT.

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