PBMaster:Introduction
From PBMasterWiki
Contents |
[edit] Motivation
Profibus is a fieldbus that can be used in equal measure in production automation and process automation and which has become a global market leader. Worldwide, over 28 million Profibus devices have been installed by the end of 2008.
Although the Profibus was initially standardized in the late 1980s it is not easy to find any material to help design and system engineers develop new products. Nowadays Profibus still seems to be a domain of professional applications and commercial solutions. The main reason is probably based on the high price of all Profibus products, whether hardware or software solutions.
This is the place where PBMaster comes with its solution in the field of this popular industrial bus. The project is still under an extensive development, but aims to offer a cheap solution that will make it possible to use Profibus not only in commercial applications, but also in universities, homes and low-cost applications. The key to achieving these objectives is in using common inexpensive hardware and open source software.
The following picture shows an integration of PBMaster in the Profibus network.
[edit] Current features (version 0.4.0 and higher)
- Operating system (x86): Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux with Real-Time extension (RT-PREEMPT patches)
- Architecture: x86, Embedded ARM (LPC 21xx by NXP Semiconductors), Atmel AT91 (ARM7/ARM9)
- Software implementation of: Profibus FDL Master, Profibus FDL Slave, Profibus FDL/DP Analyzer, UART Bit/Byte Analyzer
- Supported Hardware and Speed
- Graphical Analyzer
- FDL API
- TCP/IP Server for remote access to the Profibus network
- Live Linux CD with PBMaster (plug in the hardware and run Profibus, no need of software installation)
- A set of examples and free Profibus documentation
- Utilities, BSPs (Board Support Package)
- A few open hardware solutions
[edit] Future objectives - TODO list
- Profibus DP layer (under development).
- Improving the FDL API.
- Improving the graphical Analyzer and Monitor.
- Tracking bugs and testing on more extensive bus.
- Complete the documentation.
- Support for new hardware (under development).
- Unofficial certification of the master (under development).
- Porting to Windows NT/2000/XP
[edit] More information
- Wiki Pages
- Example applications
- Real-Time Linux Workshops 2009 - Paper
- Real-Time Linux Workshops 2009 - Display & Poster
- Embedded World 2009 - Display & Poster
[edit] Avantages and Disadvantages
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| * Cross-platform (Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux+RT, System-less embedded ARM7/ARM9) | * Not fully deterministic on common OS (can be solved by using Real-Time OS) |
| * Modularity | * Software implementation (no hardware support, no oscilloscope mode, no signal analyzing) |
| * High performance | * Not officially certified |
| * No ASIC, no proprietary software. Software only implementation. | |
| * Usable for any application based on UART and RS-485, wide range of hardware | |
| * Open-source | |
| * Coding style |
