Ethernet/IP provides support for energy management

08 May 2012

ODVA has released its first round of specification enhancements for 2012, including publication of expanded capabilities for the optimisation of energy usage on EtherNet/IP and other CIP Networks.

The first specification enhancements in 2012 for energy quickly followed other energy-related enhancements that were released in November 2011. As a result, The EtherNet/IP Specification now includes a set of functionality for energy awareness and power management and allows users to conserve energy with reduced power usage during non-operational states of devices and equipment, yielding significant energy savings.

Commenting on the enhancements, Katherine Voss, executive director, ODVA, said: “The energy functionality in CIP and EtherNet/IP allows users both to measure energy consumption as well as consume energy more efficiently. The definition of standards for energy reporting and power management will allow vendors to provide a scalable and comprehensive energy solution for their customers and reduce overall time for implementation for vendors, OEMs, systems integrators and end-users alike.”

In addition, the April 2012 publication of the ODVA network specifications includes a range of updates for network management, including the addition of a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent in an EtherNet/IP device, and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) as another option for high availability, alongside Device Level Ring, for devices with multiple Ethernet ports and embedded switch technology.

The specifications are organised as a group of publications in The CIP Networks Library. Each specification is made up of one or more volumes of The CIP Networks Library. The latest editions of the specifications are:

The EtherNet/IP Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volumes One (Edition 3.12), Two (Edition 1.13) and Seven (Edition 1.5)

The DeviceNet Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volumes One (Edition 3.12), Three (Edition 1.12) and Seven (Edition 1.5)

The ControlNet Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volumes One (Edition 3.12), Four (Edition 1.7) and Seven (Edition 1.5)

The CompoNet Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volumes One (Edition 3.12), Six (Edition 1.7) and Seven (Edition 1.5)

The CIP Safety Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volume Five (Edition 2.5)

The EtherNet/IP Specification
Comprised of The CIP Networks Library:
Volumes One (Edition 3.12), Two (Edition 1.13) and Seven (Edition 1.5)