System-Level Modeling and Simulation of Networked PROFINET IO Controllers

In the industrial automation domain, an embedded system must not only fulfill its functionality, but also has to satisfy additional requirements, particularly with respect to real-time aspects. Given their often distributed fashion, a key aspect of industrial automation systems is the communication infrastructure. PROFINET IO modifies traditional Ethernet to fulfill the challenging requirements with respect to real-time guarantees and high timing precision. In this paper, we present a system-level modeling and simulation approach of modular networked PROFINET IO controllers. This includes the modeling of PROFINET IO core components such as controllers and switches, testing components such as traffic generators and monitors, as well as the composition of these components for the purpose of applying functional and timing simulation of a complete network.