China names Profibus standard

Profibus and Profinet received a boost in China, as they were recently named among national standards for networking platforms there. These standards provide a critical degree of official preference, which will influence end-users as they select products for domestic applications, say Profibus-related network organizations.

By Staff January 1, 2007

Profibus and Profinet received a boost in China, as they were recently named among national standards for networking platforms there. These standards provide a critical degree of official preference, which will influence end-users as they select products for domestic applications, say Profibus-related network organizations.

These standards are issued by the China Technical Committee of Industrial Process Measurement & Control, and the China Association for Mechatronics Technology & Application. The groups have created a hierarchy of standards, each establishing a level of preference and requiring specific participation from the vendor. Profibus has standard GB/T 20540-2006, said to be the highest classification for this type of product. Profinet now holds standard GB/Z 20541-2006, which is a level lower. As products gain acceptance and the support network grows, they can move up in classification. Profibus received its first classification in 2001 and now claims 1.5 million installed nodes in China, about 10% of the worldwide total. These standards are not exclusive, and other network platforms have also received various classifications.

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