Ethernet — and the TCP/IP Suite to which it is inextricably linked — is the same network technology used in the majority of local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) architectures found in commercial and domestic applications around the world. These architectures connect computers to each other and to peripherals, link operations to the enterprise, and provide users with access to web-based applications.
Ethernet has an installed base numbering in the billions of nodes. By leveraging the economies of scale in this proven commercial technology, EtherNet/IP provides users with the tools to deploy standard Ethernet technology for manufacturing applications while enabling Internet and enterprise connectivity for data anytime, anywhere.
EtherNet/IP offers several unique advantages for manufacturing automation applications:
- Complete producer-consumer services let you simultaneously control, configure and collect data from intelligent devices over a single network or use a single network as a backbone for multiple distributed CIP Networks.
- Compatible with standard Internet protocols — e.g., HTTP, FTP, SNMP, and DHCP — and standard industrial protocols for data access and exchange such as OPC.
- Compliance with IEEE Ethernet standards provides users with a choice of network interface speeds — e.g., 10, 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps — and a flexible network architecture compatible with commercially available Ethernet installation options including copper, fiber, fiber ring and wireless.
- Options for industrially rated devices incorporating IP67-rated connectors (RJ45or M12) with module and network status LEDs with device labeling for ease of use.
What is EtherNet/IP?
EtherNet/IP, like other CIP Networks, follows the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, which defines a framework for implementing network protocols in seven layers: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application. Networks that follow this model define a complete suite of network functionality from the physical implementation through the application or user interface layer. As with all CIP Networks, EtherNet/IP implements CIP at the Session layer and above and adapts CIP to the specific EtherNet/IP technology at the Transport layer and below. .
For a complete, in-depth look at the technology behind every EtherNet/IP-compliant product, click here for The CIP Advantage Technology Overview Series: EtherNet/IP (Pub 138).