3 Network Analysis Task

PRONETA’s Network Analysis gives you a quick overview about which devices are installed in your PROFINET network, and how they are connected with each other. The Network Analysis also lets you view and change various network parameters of the devices, like IP addresses, device names etc.

Different networks can be compared with each other, and the devices can be configured automatically or manually.

3.4 Configuration Mode

The Configuration mode provides a semi-automatic mechanism to assign device names from a reference network to all or single devices in a physical network.

This provides a quick and reliable method to configure a large number of identical installations (like a series of switching cabinets). The results can then be checked in the Comparison Mode.

 

The main screen is divided into:

A Topologies List (1)

One major (top) and two smaller (bottom) Graphical Views (2)

A Device Table (3) with the devices stored in the selected topology

Function Bar

The following functions are available in the function bar:

Icon

Name

Function

 

The last two commands have counterparts in the devices’ context menus. There they do not operate on all devices of the network, but only on the selected device.

Graphical View

The Graphical View is a graphical display of the PROFINET network. For details on its operation, see the Graphical View in Online mode.

Device coloring indicates the device’s availability for configuration:

Icon

Color

Meaning

 

Hovering the mouse pointer over a device will bring up Device Tooltips with basic information about that device.

Tool Bar

In the top section of the view, there is a tool bar with a variety of function icons:

Icon

Name

Function

Device Context Menu

By right-clicking on any device in a Graphical View or in the corresponding Device Table, you can bring up a context menu with various functions.

Not all menu entries are available for all devices with the actual entries depending on the state of the device and the Device Type.

Icon

Name

Function

Device Table

This table lists the devices existing in the selected reference network. The handling is similar to the Device Table in Online mode, but all write operations are disabled.

Finding Matching Devices in Configuration Mode

In this mode, matching between devices is determined based on:

Device ID

Vendor ID

Connections between devices

Note that this is fixed and differs from how differences are being determined in Comparison mode – see Set Comparison Criteria.