Profibus 🚐

Profibus (Process Field Bus) is a widely used industrial communication protocol that facilitates data exchange among various devices in automation systems. It comes in two variants, PROFIBUS DP (Decentralized Peripheral) and PROFIBUS PA (Process Automation).

Profibus runs on a Master/Slave relationship. The main role of the Master devices is to control the bus, this involves tokens, timers and all sorts

Profibus' architecture is based on a master-slave principle, where a central controller (master) communicates with various field devices (slaves) over a common bus.

The communication between the master and slaves is established through a series of data exchange mechanisms, including cyclic data exchange and event-driven communication. A slave is usually a peripheral device (I/O transducer, valve, network drive, or other measuring device) which processes information and sends its output to the master.

Profibus is built to the OSI (Open System Interconnection) reference model, in this model each layer performs a specific task.

A Profibus master forms an "active station" on the network. Profibus DP defines two classes of masters. Class 1 Masters handle regular data exchange with the assigned slaves, facilitating normal communication. On the other hand, Class 2 Masters are special devices primarily utilized for commissioning slaves and diagnostics.

While some masters can support both Class 1 and Class 2 functionality. It's important to note that Profibus typically restricts master-to-master communication, except for certain exceptional cases.