PROFINET Addressing Parameters

If you are planning on adding new nodes into your PROFINET network, you will need to consider their addressing parameters. Each PROFINET device has 3 addressing parameters: a MAC address, a device name, and an IP address. The MAC address is predefined by the manufacturer, and usually, it can not be changed. On the other hand, the device name and the IP address must be assigned to each individual network node.

Before a PROFINET IO device can communicate with a PROFINET IO controller, a device name must be assigned to both communication partners. The procedure of assigning a device name on top of an IP address to each node helps integration, commissioning, and troubleshooting since device names are easier to handle than IP addresses. Users can freely choose a unique name for each node following the basic rules listed below. The key is to assign self-explanatory names that can provide a better overview of the plant.

The third parameter is the IP address. But, why do you need to assign an IP address if you already assigned a name? The protocol requires IP addresses for TCP/IP or UDP/IP communication. PROFINET uses the TCP/IP or UDP/IP communication channel to transport non-time critical data(for example configuration, parameterization, and diagnostics.)

PROFINET Device Name Rules

  • Only numbers, 0…9, lower case letters, “a…z”, hyphen “-“ and period “.” will be accepted
  • Up to 127 characters, but each name component (i.e. between periods or hyphens) can
    on be 63 characters or digits in length
  • No spaces allowed

-Nelly Ayllon