Technologies

Ethernet POWERLINK supports the following technologies:

• Hot Plugging – Stations can be removed from the POWERLINK network and reinserted at another location. This does not require a restart of the master (MN) and the real-time capability as well as the minimum response time are not affected.
• Multiplexing – The isochronous phase of the bus cycle can be shared by several stations (CNs). Some stations that do not have to exchange data in every bus cycle (e.g. temperature sensors) are not addressed in every cycle.
• The following figure shows an example of multiplexing:

In this example, stations are addressed as follows:

• Stations CN1, CN2 and CN3 in each bus cycle
• Stations CN4, CN5, and CN6 in the first bus cycle
• Stations CN7, CN8 and CN9 in the second bus cycle
• Stations CN10 and CN11 in the third bus cycle
• From the fourth bus cycle onwards, the order in which the stations are addressed is repeated.