What are the differences between PROFIBUS V0, V1, and V2?
The question was prompted at the Vancouver PROFINET one-day training class. (Yes, we get PROFIBUS questions at the PROFINET class and vice versa.) Here’s the summary: DPV0: Cyclic Data Exchange, Diagnostics (all devices) DPV1: Acyclic Data Exchange, Process Alarm Handling (process automation) DPV2: Clock Synchronization & Time Stamp (drives) It’s important to note that the…
The Hanover Fair Experience (Hanover Fair 2009 Report 1)
This is my first post on the Fair; I’ll introduce you to the fair itself and the PI booth. Later posts will provide specific news of PROFIBUS and PROFINET. Hanover Fair was not as well-attended as past years, but everyone I spoke with felt that attendance was better than they expected. The mid-day crowds on…
Profisafe and Profibus for High Availability and Safety in the Process Industries
Process fieldbuses and open fieldbus safety protocols have caught the attention of process users in recent years thanks to the potential to cut costs and improve diagnostics. Separate the facts from the hype in this ARC white paper: Profisafe and Profibus for High Availability and Safety in the Process Industries.
PROFINET and IT
The structures and topologies of conventional network technology used in IT and in automation differ only in the machine-level area. As a result, PROFINET can be easily integrated into existing network environments. This white paper describes PROFINET in IT terms and shows how PROFINET relates to IT topology. The adaptations required of Industrial Ethernet for environmental and functional purposes are described.
Training Class Catch-up
Seems like I just blogged about the Louisville PROFINET one-day training class, but since then I’ve been to Tampa (PROFINET), Denver (PROFIBUS), and Long Beach (AS-i). And now I’m writing this on the plane to the final PROFINET one-day training event of the year (Chicago for PROFINET and a PROFINET Developer Workshop). My colleagues are…
Long Beach Process Q & A
From the plane bound for Louisville, here is one of the comments from the PROFIBUS in the Process Industries one-day training class in Long Beach: “I think PROFIBUS is more complicated than Foundation Fieldbus as far as device connections go.” At the physical layer there is no difference between FF and PROFIBUS PA so the…
Anaheim PROFINET Training Report
It was old-home week for me last week in Anaheim. I lived in Orange County from 1994 until 2000 while working at Wonderware. So after catching up with some other Wonderware alumni on Tuesday, it was off to the training class on Wednesday. I think we have these PROFINET training sessions down pat, but it’s…
Hanover Fair 2008: More news
The big news related to PROFIBUS and PROFINET (and maybe for the show over all) was the continuing growth of the PROFIBUS and PROFINET fieldbuses. What the numbers were and meant were in an earlier post. The other topics from the PI press conference included: The news: IO-Link Integration into PROFIBUS and PROFINET The gist:…
Hanover Fair 2008: The Big News – Growth
The leading news at the PI press conference covered the continuing growth of PROFIBUS and our first node count of PROFINET devices. (You can read the full press release here.) I tend to get all excited about PROFINET at the expense of PROFIBUS, so before I get to the PROFINET story, here’s the scoop about…
Switch Education
“When Should I Invest in a Managed Ethernet Switch?” is the question posed in the latest issue of the Industrial Ethernet Book. I’ve heard it said elsewhere that you’ll either use a managed switch or wish you had. The logic is that an unmanaged switch has diagnostic information consisting of blinking LEDs. If your line…