Certification is vital for quality and interoperability

The first step toward integrating TSN in the PROFINET communication architecture has been achieved. PROFINET specification 2.4 will be released soon after the 2019 Hanover Fair (Germany, April 2019). It will describe for the first time how PROFINET devices can be developed with TSN.

Since TSN defines a whole basketful of standards, another important aspect of the specification is the selection of elements that are needed and are suitable for industrial automation. For PROFINET, these elements primarily include time synchronization in accordance with IEEE 802.1ASrev, extensions for scheduling in accordance with IEEE 802.1Q-2018, frame preemption in accordance with IEEE 802.1Q-2018/IEEE 802.3-2018, and the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) in accordance with IEEE 802.1AB for determining the connected technology.

It’s no accident that the same principles are used in TSN as were previously used with IRT at PROFINET; it’s the result of the extensive work and experience of PROFINET specialists in the field of standardization. And PI already showed during a multi-vendor demo at last year’s SPS trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, that this doesn’t only work on paper.

But PI certainly doesn’t stop there. The last 30 years of PI’s history have shown that it’s not enough to just have a standard for interoperability. Over the course of many years, we have built up a high-quality certification system that guarantees the interoperability of various components from different manufacturers. And this is also necessary for TSN. Thus, at the 2019 Hanover Fair, PI debuts its new PROFINET test system for the certification of PROFINET devices with TSN. At the trade fair stand, users and manufacturers can learn more about the technology and how it can be used. The system will ensure that PROFINET networks will continue to work perfectly in the future, even when using devices from several different manufacturers.