Profinet
An advanced, high-speed Ethernet protocol for real-time control loops. For real-time (RT) exchange it bypasses IP/TCP overhead entirely, executing at Layer 2 for synchronous field control.
Type
Industrial Real-Time Ethernet
Typical Latency
< 1ms — Isochronous Real-Time (IRT) mode supports sub-microsecond synchronisation.
Hardware Requirements
Profinet-certified managed switches, shielded industrial Ethernet cable, specialised network interface chipsets (NIC).
Security
Profinet Security Extensions add network segmentation, cryptographic device-access checks and firewall rules.
Typical Use Case
High-speed assembly lines, synchronised multi-axis servo arrays, PLC-to-PLC production interlinks, CNC robotics.
Connection Parameters
- Layer
- Direct Ethernet Layer 2 / UDP 34964 (Context Manager)
- Classes
- Class A (DCP/RTC), Class B (RT), Class C (IRT)
- Cycle time
- From 31.25µs (IRT mode)
- Roles
- IO-Controller, IO-Device, IO-Supervisor
Need Profinet integration for your plant?
Our engineers configure drivers, gateways and security for this protocol as part of every Factomation deployment.