An intelligent, interconnected automation environment requires digitally connected systems and devices. Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) provides seamless Ethernet connectivity from the Enterprise to the Edge on a converged network to unlock the benefits of Industry 4.0.

Should you use a managed switch or an unmanaged switch with PROFINET? It is your choice. You can employ managed or unmanaged switches. But, how to choose? This Tech Tip will help you make a decision.

Download this White Paper to gain an overview of PROFINET Application Profiles. It explains the details and mechanisms for the most commonly implemented Application Profiles: PROFIsafe, PROFIenergy, and PROFIdrive.

Aside from the mandatory characteristics in each PROFINET device, PI defines a list of optional features: Device Redundancy, Controller redundancy, Shared Device, I-Device, Dynamic Reconfiguration, Fast Startup, iPar Server, and much more...

PROFIsafe is a safety communication technology for discrete manufacturing and process automation systems. It was developed to meet the Functional Safety requirements for PI communication technologies. Read this overview of functional safety and PROFIsafe.

Even though PROFINET and OPC UA have some overlap in the automation and process industries, they complement each other very well in bringing the best horizontal and vertical integration possible. In the latter case, raw data from field devices turns into valuable information as expected by higher level decision-making systems.

Have you used I&M records during a PROFINET project? I&M records are data blocks stored internally in each PROFINET device. The records contain useful information about a particular device and might be expanded to provide further detail. Learn about PROFINET I&M data records with this article.

A facility was mid-way through a long-term project to gradually upgrade the industrial network that formed the backbone of their manufacturing processes when the engineers started noticing some issues. Read this Tech Tip and learn how they overcame the challenges of a migration project.