EtherNet/IP employs: ■ The application layer just mentioned ■ An Internet Protocol networking layer ■ The standard Ethernet link layer Note that the IP in EtherNet/IP is short for industrial protocol and refers to network protocols originally developed to allow communication over serial connections such as RS-232 and RS-485 — both standards for industrial data transmission. Many such connections now operate over Ethernet using protocols such as TCP/IP, so common for Internet communications. EtherNet/ IP communications and its very standardized hardware (including hubs, switches, routers, Ethernet cables, and Ethernet network cards) is defined by the IEEE 802.3
Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol. Developed in 2009, EtherNet/IP arose from collaboration between the Open DeviceNet Vendors Association (ODVA) and ControlNet International (CI) under the auspices of ODVA and its members. ODVA itself was founded in 1995 as a consortium of automation companies (including Rockwell Automation, Cisco, Schneider Electric, Omron, and Bosch Rexroth) to advance open and interoperable communications for industrial automation. According to ODVA, EtherNet/IP leads industrial- Ethernet adoption — representing 25% share of market in 2017 and 28% in 2018 with the most nodes of industrial Ethernet networks shipped.
Adoption of industrial Ethernet continues to outpace other options as companies become digitally connected. That’s especially true where Internet of Things (IoT) functionality is employed in automation and industrial control systems to boost data accessibility and usability. EtherNet/IP and PROFINET are the top options here. Structure of EtherNet/IP and expanding EtherNet/IP applicability EtherNet/IP is an industrial network protocol that employs the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) to standard Ethernet. It works on a network application layer — which (in the two conceptual models of networks) is at the ‘topmost’ device and user-facing layer to allow communication between controls and input- output (I/O) devices. More specifically, EtherNet/IP is the top layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and transmission control protocol/ internet protocol (TCP/IP) models.
Written by: Bill Schweber, Contributing Author at DigiKey
EtherNet/IP versus PROFINET
Figure 1: The two most common models used to describe networks are the OSI model and the TCP/ IP model. Image source: Design World
Written by: Lisa Eitel, Contributing Editor, DigiKey
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