Diagnostics - PROFINET

PROFINET page

On the PROFINET page, you can view information on the controller and the connected PROFINET devices.

From the 2022.0 LTS release on, the vendor-specific PROFINET alarm error codes are downloaded to the controller by means of PLCnext Engineer, along with the corresponding plain texts for the error codes. 

The vendor-specific PROFINET error codes and the corresponding plain texts can be imported into PLCnext Engineer by means of FDCML files (Phoenix Contact devices) or by GSDML files (other vendors). 

Overview tab

On the Overview tab, you will find information on the current PROFINET function of the controller and its IP settings.

Status area

In the Status area, you can see whether the controller is currently being used as a PROFINET controller and/or a PROFINET device.

Controller Details area

The current IP settings of the controller are displayed in the Controller Details area.

Diagnostic information on the connected PROFINET devices is available on the Device List tab.

Device List tab

The Device List tab provides an overview of the configured PROFINET devices.

The overview contains the device names of the PROFINET devices, the current IP settings, as well as the diagnostic state and code.

 

Diagnostic state	Description
OK	No error
Warning	A warning occurred, e.g., “Maintenance Required”, “Maintenance Demanded”, and “Diagnosis available”.
Error	A PROFINET bus error occurred. From firmware 2022.0 LTS on: A PROFINET bus error occurred. A module error occurred (i.e. in the backplane of a PROFINET device).  AR has not been established (no connection is displayed as status for the respective AR).
AR deactivated	AR is deactivated. Diagnosis is not possible. (From 2022.0 LTS, AR can be deactivated via the AR_MGT function block in PLCnext Engineer.)

Show former firmware stateShow former firmware state

Opening WBM of a PROFINET device

Some PROFINET devices feature their own web-based management (WBM). You can open WBM of a connected PROFINET device via a link on the Device List tab.

• In the Device Name column, click on the PROFINET device whose WBM you want to open.

The WBM of the PROFINET device is opened in the web browser in a new tab.

Opening the Device Information view

In the Device Information view, you will find certain general information, the current IP settings as well as diagnostic information for each connected PROFINET device. 

• In the Details column, click on the button.

The Device Information view opens.

From firmware 2022.0 LTS on, the Device Information view additionally contains details on diagnostic information of the modules located in the backplane of the respective PROFINET device. This information is displayed under Channel Diagnosis in the Device Information view (see third example below). 

Update frequency for diagnostic data

Diagnostic data is updated with an update frequency of 1/s. The following information is updated:

• Device List: The Device List can be recomposed, e.g., after changing and updating the PLCnext Engineer project.
• Diagnostic data:
  • Change of connection status of the PROFINET devices
  • Diagnostic state of the PROFINET devices

Fast path to the Tree View

By clicking on the link inside the tree node column it is possible to swiftly change to the Tree View tab. 

Tree View tab

The Tree View tab provides an overview of the configured PROFINET devices. The overview contains the device names of the PROFINET devices, their current IP settings, as well as the diagnostic state of the devices and modules.

Tree View

The PROFINET Tree View contains all the PROFINET devices from the Device List.

• Click [+] or [‒] to open or close the next level of the Tree View.

The following icons provide information on the current diagnostic state of the PROFINET device:

OK	Normal operation state.
Warning	Maintenance is required according to the PROFINET specification.
Urgent Warning	Maintenance is urgently required according to the PROFINET specification.
Error	An error has occurred which needs to be resolved immediately.
AR Deactivated	AR is deactivated, e.g. via function block AR_MGT in PLCnext Engineer (from firmware 2022.0 LTS).
Module Difference	There is a physically another module in the backplane than in the configuration of the project (see Module difference).
No Connection	AR could not be established.
No Information	In case of a deactivated or not established AR there is no information available of the actual physical configuration in the backplane of the respective PROFINET device.

The Tree View provides the following information:

Controller level

The following information is available on the PROFINET controller level:

• Controller designation
• IP Address of the controller
• Number of PROFINET devices

By clicking on the controller icon you can access the Device Information view.

Station level

The following information on the PROFINET devices is available on Station level:

• Station name
• IP address
• Number of connected modules

If you click on the station icon, a Device Information window will open, containing further information. In this example there is power fail of module, visualized by the error code and the corresponding plain text in the Channel Diagnosis section.

If the GSDML (or FDCML) file does not contain a plain text for the corresponding error code, a following message "Manufacturer specific” (3400(hex)) would be displayed.

If the GSDML (or FDCML) file contains a vendor-specific help text in addition to the plain text, that vendor-specific help text will be displayed in the Status Details as in the following example:

Module level

The following information is available on the PROFINET device module level:

• Module designation
• Number of submodules

If you click on the module icon, a Module Information window will open containing information on the upper-level PROFINET device the module is configured to, slot number, module type and number of submodules/channels. If applicable, an error code with corresponding plain text of the channel diagnosis will be displayed as well.

Submodule level

The following information is available on the submodule level of the PROFINET device modules:

• Submodule designation

Module difference

If there is physically another module in the backplane than in the project configuration, a specific diagnosis is displayed in the WBM.

In this case, the Tree view will display the following:

In case of a wrong module, the Submodule Information view displays the following:

In case a module is configured in PLCnext Engineer but is physically not available in the backplane, the Module Information view displays the following:

With firmware version 2022.6 or newer:

In case a module is configured in PLCnext Engineer but physically a different module is installed, the Module Information view displays Wrong Module and the module ID of the physically installed module:

 

PROFINET diagnostic code reference

Available from firmware 2019.6

The PROFINET page in the WBM Diagnostics area of your controller is used to view information about the controller and the connected PROFINET devices, as well as information about their Axioline F local bus devices. The displayed diagnostic code consists of several bits that are evaluated individually.

The diagnostic state (OK, warning, error) as well as the corresponding diagnostic text are based on an evaluation of the diagnostic bits. The following section is an excerpt from the AutomationRuntimePlatform/Source/Arp/Io/ProfinetStack/Controller/Services/DiagnosticInfo.hpp firmware file. It contains the bit description of the diagnostic code:

The controller may show the error as a hexadecimal code which you need to convert to a binary and read the set bits from there.

Meanings and recommendations for action

Bit	Bit is set if...	Meaning and recommendation for action
0	not connected	The PROFINET controller could not establish a connection with the PROFINET device or the Application Relation (AR) was deactivated. Please check the Ethernet connection and the PROFINET device name (e.g. with PLCnext Engineer  PROFINET Online Devices) In addition, check if the AR has been deactivated in the PROFINET device settings.
1	data invalid	The PROFINET device is connected to the PROFINET controller, but the device has marked the process data as invalid due to a fault. The process data are not transferred to the process image. Please check the diagnostics of the PROFINET device and contact the manufacturer of the PROFINET device if necessary.
2	diagnosis is available	The PROFINET device reports a diagnosis. Please check the diagnostics of the PROFINET device and contact the manufacturer of the PROFINET device if necessary.
3	module difference is available in case of configuration difference	During the initialization of the PROFINET connection, a deviation between the target and actual configuration was detected. Please check the configuration of the PROFINET device. In the default setting of PLCnext Engineer, the connection remains established in the event of a difference in configuration.
4	AR is deactivated	The PROFINET device is configured in the project, but the AR (Application Relation) has been deactivated. Check the Profinet device settings and activate the AR.
5	neighborhood information is not available	No neighborhood information is available in the network used. This is usually due to the use of components that are not at least PROFINET Conformance Class-B (CC-B) compatible. For a stable PROFINET network, Phoenix Contact only recommends using CC-B or CC-C compliant PROFINET devices.
6	neighborhood information not unique	In the network used, neighbourhood information is available but not unique. This means that more than two PROFINET devices can be detected on one port of at least one switch. This is not permitted and may result in the automatic device exchange not functioning reliably. This is usually due to the use of components that are not at least PROFINET Conformance Class-B (CC-B) compatible (e.g. unmanaged switches).
7	identify.cnf on alias received, but name of the device is already - configured in another AR	A DCP Identify (Alias) Request was sent to the network. However, the alias name of a device being searched is already in use by an AR. This information is only an indication that the control program is probably trying to establish a connection with a device although a connection is still active.
8	"Maintenance Required" information is available	The PROFINET device has transmitted a maintenance request (maintenance alarm). Please check the diagnostics of the PROFINET device and contact the manufacturer of the PROFINET device if necessary.
9	"Maintenance Demanded" information is available	The PROFINET device has transmitted an urgent maintenance request (maintenance alarm). Please check the diagnostics of the PROFINET device and contact the manufacturer of the PROFINET device if necessary.
10	"Channel or Manufacturer Specific Diagnosis" information is available	Optional and manufacturer-specific information is available. Please check the diagnostics of the PROFINET device and contact the manufacturer of the PROFINET device if necessary.
11 to 15	reserved	Should always be 0.

Tutorial video

 

• Published/reviewed: 2025-02-17  ☃  Revision 077 •