Communication
11.2 PROFINET
S7-1200 Programmable controller
System Manual, V4.2, 09/2016, A5E02486680-AK
927
Properties and advantages of the I-device
Fields of application
Fields of application of the I-device:
● Distributed processing:
A complex automation task can be divided into smaller units/subprocesses. This results
in manageable processes which lead to simplified subtasks.
● Separating subprocesses:
Complicated, widely distributed and extensive processes can be subdivided into several
subprocesses with manageable interfaces by using I-devices. These subprocesses can
be stored in individual STEP 7 projects if necessary, which can later be merged to form
one master project.
● Know-how protection:
Components can only be delivered with a GSD file for the I-device interface description
instead of with a STEP 7 project. The user can protect his program since it no longer has
to be published.
Properties of the I-device:
● Unlinking STEP 7 projects:
Creators and users of an I-device can have completely separated STEP 7 automation
projects. The GSD file forms the interface between the STEP 7 projects. This allows a link
to standard IO controllers through a standardized interface.
● Real-time communication:
The I-device is provided with a deterministic PROFINET IO system through a
PROFINET IO interface.
The I-device has the following advantages:
● Simple linking of IO controllers
● Real-time communication between IO controllers
● Relieving the IO controller by distributing the computing capacity to I-devices.
● Lower communications load by processing process data locally.
● Manageable, due to processing of subtasks in separate STEP 7 projects
To Next Page
Loading...
