Hi everyone! This video is about what PROFINET is and how it works.
PROFINET is an open industrial Ethernet standard, so let’s start by explaining Ethernet.
Ethernet is the most widely used communication medium in the world to transmit data between devices.
Ethernet is everywhere! You may be familiar with it from your home or office.
It resides on layers 1 and 2 of the ISO/OSI model.
This model generically describes the different abstraction layers in a communication system.
Ethernet together with TCP/IP communication
forms the basis of the Internet we all use every day!
Today, Ethernet is not only suitable for homes and offices, but also for use in industry.
It is called: Industrial Ethernet.
Industrial environments are very different from homes or offices.
Browsing the web for cat videos is not the same as running a multimillion-dollar factory.
First, factories require very accurate communication
due to high operational costs and high productivity requirements.
Unlike the Internet, messages must arrive exactly when they are expected;
data delays or jitter are unacceptable.
Again, watching those cat videos may not be as time-critical.
The factory floor is extremely complex!
Hundreds, thousands of interconnected devices,
and PROFINET connects all of them through a common Ethernet network.
PROFINET uses TCP/IP and other protocols for certain tasks,
but automation devices require much higher precision and performance for cyclic data exchange.
So, how does PROFINET handle this?
Here is an example:
Two seven-story buildings and a highway as the transport medium.
This is Bob.
He works on the top floor of building A.
His job is to deliver messages from his office to the top floor of building B.
Sometimes Bob delivers messages in a similar way like TCP/IP works.
During the delivery, he faces a crowded elevator
and sometimes traffic on the highway.
The delays along the way make his job slow and imprecise.
Therefore, he only uses his TCP/IP mode
for non-time critical messages.
Bob can handle time-critical messages much more efficiently
after getting a “PROFINET Promotion”.
The promotion gives him access to the executive elevator.
It goes directly from floor 2 to floor 7
and vice versa with no interruptions.
This is how PROFINET works!
It makes his job fast and deterministic.
Wait! But what is determinism?
Determinism means his message arrives precisely when it is supposed to.
Bob is always on time,
never too late, never too early.
Now, imagine it’s rush hour with many Bobs
–many, many Bobs driving on the highway.
Traffic may delay or obstruct our Bob’s journey with his very important message.
The same thing can happen on Ethernet.
Anybody can have access to it at any given time.
But Bob has one more trick up his sleeve.
For these critical messages, Bob can use the PROFINET HOV lane on the highway,
known as PROFINET Isochronous Real-Time.
It uses a concept called bandwidth reservation.
These messages are given a dedicated time band on the network to guarantee their delivery.
Now, let’s put it all together!
PROFINET utilizes several protocols through a common Ethernet network,
but its communication coexists plainly with other Ethernet traffic.
This is important because industrial networksThis is important because industrial networks are also used to access data
for office applications, the web, the cloud, and much more.
For more information visit us.profinet.com
Thanks for watching!