Reference · built on requestConnectorIndustrial & building protocols

PROFINET

Cyclic IO data, acyclic records, alarms, and diagnostics from PROFINET IO devices described by GSDML files.

Request accessPricing ↗

About

PROFINET is the Industrial Ethernet standard of PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI), standardized in IEC 61158 and IEC 61784-2. An IO controller, typically a PLC, exchanges cyclic IO data with IO devices as provider and consumer over an IO data CR, with update times from 250 µs to 512 ms sent directly on layer 2 with Ethertype 0x8892. Acyclic read and write record services over UDP address submodules by slot, subslot, and index, including the Identification and Maintenance (I&M) records. Alarms carry diagnostics with maintenance required and maintenance demanded levels. Each device ships a GSDML file describing its modules, IO data, parameters, and diagnosis.

Through Fibric, an IO supervisor of its own reads records, alarms, and topology from the devices you name. A record write is proposed for your approval and sent once.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from PROFINET and what it could propose, based on the vendor's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Cyclic IO data of each submodule addressed by slot and subslot, with provider and consumer status and the cycle counter
  • Acyclic record data read by index over UDP: parameters, status, actual configuration, and diagnostics
  • Identification and Maintenance records IM0 to IM5: hardware and firmware version, tag function and tag location, and further plant data
  • Alarms with the states good, defective, maintenance required, and maintenance demanded, including module removal and insertion
  • Network diagnostics and topology from the MIB and LLDP-EXT MIB, read by SNMP or acyclic PDEV services on CC-B and CC-C devices
  • Device names and IP assignment discovered with the DCP protocol during commissioning
  • Asset Management Records (AMR) for internal firmware and hardware components that I&M data does not cover

Proposed actions

  • Target capability: propose an acyclic write record to a submodule, addressed by slot, subslot, and index, for parameters the GSD defines
  • Target capability: propose assigning a device name and IP address over DCP during commissioning or replacement

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Route a diagnostic alarm to the right person

    A device raises a diagnostic alarm with maintenance required or maintenance demanded. The operator reads the slot and subslot, looks up the module from the GSDML, and proposes who gets it.

    With Alarm Triage, Exception Routing

  • Catch a line stop from the cycle counter

    When cyclic data stops arriving within the monitoring time, the consumer reports an error. The operator times the gap per device and books it against the line's downtime reasons.

    With Line Downtime, OEE Loss

  • Replace a device without a laptop

    On replacement, the controller assigns the name and IP over DCP by topology. The operator checks IM0 hardware and firmware versions on the new device and flags a mismatch before parameters load.

    With Predictive Maintenance

  • Keep the asset register true

    I&M and AMR records name each device's firmware, tag function, and location. The operator compares them with your asset list and proposes the entries to correct.

    With Integration Health

Requirements

  • Ethernet reach on the same layer-2 network as the IO devices, since cyclic real-time frames carry no TCP/IP information
  • The GSDML file for each device, which the engineering tool needs to know its modules, submodules, parameters, and diagnosis
  • An application relation (AR) of its own; an IO controller establishes one AR per configured IO device, and shared devices allow more than one controller
  • PI membership to download the PROFINET Specification and the GSDML Specification; the Security Guideline is public
Authentication
PROFINET has no user login of its own; PI's layered security concept relies on security zones and modules that admit only explicitly identified and authorized messages, and specification V2.5 adds Security Classes with IDevID certificates and credential management for device authentication.

Limits

  • The PROFINET Specification (IEC 61158-5-10, IEC 61158-6-10, IEC 61784-2) and the GSDML Specification are members-only downloads from PI
  • Cyclic IO data is unacknowledged; the consumer only learns of loss when data misses the monitoring time, a multiple of the update time
  • IRT cycle times down to 31.25 µs need CC-C hardware with bandwidth reservation and synchronization, and TCP/IP traffic shares the open interval
  • Any field device bearing the name PROFINET must hold a PI certificate from an accredited PI test lab; others may not follow their GSD

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Fibric builds the connector under a managed deployment when you request it. Your quote covers the build, capabilities, usage, and support.

Request PROFINET ↗

Questions and answers

Does PROFINET use TCP/IP?
Cyclic IO data does not. It runs directly on layer 2 with Ethertype 0x8892, with update times between 250 µs and 512 ms. Acyclic record read and write services use UDP, and standard TCP/IP traffic such as a device's web server shares the same cable.
What is a GSDML file?
The XML-based General Station Description for a PROFINET device. It describes identification, structure, communication features, process data, parameters, and diagnosis, and the engineering tool reads it to configure modules and submodules. The GSDML Specification is at version V2.50.
What do the conformance classes mean?
CC-A provides real-time (RT) communication with all IT services available. CC-B adds network diagnostics and topology information, with SNMP mandatory. CC-C adds hardware-supported bandwidth reservation and synchronization for Isochronous Real-Time. Specification V2.5 introduces CC-E.
Ask about PROFINET

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This connector listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It describes integration with PROFINET through published interfaces. Third-party names and logos identify the systems an integration connects to; they are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy