Automation networks have always been designed to meet two key criteria: reliability and availability. Reliability is the first priority. Data that enters the network should be unchanged and always make it to its destination. Availability is a more complex problem because it’s not just about moving bits across a network. Redundancy mechanisms turn a reliable system into a highly available system, adding extra components or functionality to maintain reliable operation through a number of failures. This White Paper goes over the four components of a PROFINET redundant network. Then, it covers PROFINET’s scalable system redundancy configurations.