PROFINET divides time into repeating send cycles. Standard RT frames share Ethernet capacity with other traffic, so network conditions can affect their arrival times. IRT uses a reserved phase for scheduled traffic within each cycle. That schedule supports the repeatable timing needed by synchronized motion. The simulation places the two modes side by side so you can compare their timing under added network load.
Each grey band is one send cycle. The coloured blocks are device frames landing on the wire. In IRT mode, the green frames appear at the same point in each simulated cycle. The display models this as zero jitter; real equipment still has timing tolerances. In RT mode, the blue frames move within the cycle as traffic competes for transmission time. The meter shows the spread in the simulated arrival times.
Hit 🌩️ Inject network load to compare how each mode reacts. The simulated RT frames spread further apart as load increases, while the IRT frames keep their scheduled positions. The reserved phase separates that traffic from ordinary Ethernet traffic. This is useful for synchronized motion, but the display is not a measurement of a real network.
A device must complete connection setup before exchanging cyclic data. Check the device description, identification and configured network relationships:
📄 GSDML describes a device's modules, data and capabilities in XML. Import it when needed so TIA can identify what the device is and configure the supported modules correctly.
🏷️ Device name + DCP allow the controller to identify the device by name and assign its configured IP during startup. A name mismatch can prevent the configured connection from being established.
🔁 Provider/consumer describes the cyclic data exchange: each side provides its own data and consumes the other side's data. Monitoring detects when expected updates are missing.
🗺️ Topology records which ports are connected. IRT uses the planned topology to schedule transmission through the network, so the configured connections must match the installed network.
You need to synchronize 8 servo drives for printing registration. Their sampling must stay within microseconds of each other on every cycle. Which communication class supports that scheduled timing?