PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) is working rigorously on implementing the integration of TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) in PROFINET. Publication of the initial version of the PROFINET specification with integrated TSN functions will take place soon. With the multi-vendor implementation presented to the public at SPS IPC Drives 2018 (November 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany), the practicality of the solution was also demonstrated. In order for the products to also exhibit a high degree of interoperability right from the beginning, the work required for establishing certification has already been started. The concept and the first step of implementation for a PROFINET with TSN certification were presented at Hanover Fair 2019.
The creation of test cases, which was started early on, and implementation concurrent with a specification not only enable a correspondingly early start to test upon the availability of products but are also helpful and necessary for checking completeness, uniqueness, and testability of the specification.
Certification tests are indispensable for ensuring the interoperability and quality of products. This is why PI has done so much work over the past few years to create comprehensive, automatically running PROFINET tests. It is an investment which has paid off for customers and manufacturers by ensuring trouble-free commissioning and reliable operation.
This proven testing system is the basis for the expansion of TSN tests. Due to the real-time requirements of TSN, the corresponding routines have now been transferred to a freely-available TSN developer board with a real-time operating system. The associated test program on a standard computer controls processing of the scripts and evaluates the results. Naturally, it will also be possible to run previous tests in this test environment. The concept and a live demo were shown at the PI stand at the 2019 Hanover Fair, right next to the TSN multi-vendor demo.