ARCwire -- Open DeviceNet's Vendor Association (ODVA) and the FDT Group announce the publication of the Field Device Tool (FDT) for Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) Networks: Annex to FDT Specification. The annex provides the schemas required to implement the Device Type Managers (DTM) configuration option for the currently available adaptations of networks built on the CIP, which include DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP, and ControlNet. In addition to previous configuration options, the latest publication of the CIP Networks Library of Specifications now also allows for DTM configuration for all CIP Networks.
With the increasing ability to multitask network diagnostics, prognostics, and configuration, along with conventional control tasks, DTMs will provide users with new opportunities for further productivity improvements in their plant networks. The addition of the DTM configuration option to CIP is part of the next generation of standards development activities to include plug-and-play configuration, providing users with homogenous environment regardless of the networks in use.