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.

3.2 Offline Mode

Offline mode allows you to examine a reference network which was previously stored to disk, in much the same manner as in Online mode. The main difference is that, as the name implies, Offline mode is strictly limited to reading operations and will never write to your devices.

The main screen is divided from left to right in:

A Topology List  (1) of previously stored reference networks

A Graphical View (2), and

A Device Table  (3) similar to the one in Online Mode which displays devices stored in the selected topology.

Function Bar

The following functions are available in the function bar:

Icon

Name

Function

Topology Import

Topologies can be loaded from disk into PRONETA in one of three formats:

As an XML file which has previously been stored from PRONETA

As an AML file which has been created with TIA Portal

As a STEP 7 project (versions 5.4, 5.5 or 5.6)

In the Add Topology dialog, select the topology file type you want to load, and klick "Browse" to search for the corresponding topology on disk.

Note the following when using AML files:

NOTE

Currently (TIA Portal V15), the TIA Portal performs only a restricted AML export.
  • HMI devices, SINAMICS S and SINAMICS G drives which were configured using Startdrive, are missing from the exported AML file and consequently are not displayed in PRONETA topologies.
  • Devices which were configured in the TIA Portal through GSDML files will be displayed in PRONETA topologies, but they can't be compared correctly to devices from an online scan in comparison mode.
For all other devices, the topology is displayed properly and the comparison functions correctly.

Topology List

In this window a list of stored network topologies is displayed. Add more topologies through the commands in the function bar.

To remove an entry, right-click in the list and apply the “Remove File” command.

Selecting an entry from the list will display this topology in the Graphical View.

Graphical View

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

A right-click on a device in the Graphical View or in the Device Table will bring up the Device Context Menu.

Tool Bar

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

Icon

Name

Function