EtherNet/IP and CIP

EtherNet/IP stands for “Ethernet Industrial Protocol” (often also called EIP) and defines an open industry standard that extends classic Ethernet to include an industrial protocol. This standard was developed jointly by ControlNet International (CI) and the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA) and supported by the Industrial Ethernet Association (IEA).

EtherNet/IP is one of the leading industrial Ethernet fieldbus systems in the US. It adapts the “Common Industrial Protocol” (CIP), familiar from classic fieldbuses, to standard Ethernet and has become a standard in many industrial automation applications.

EtherNet/IP is based on the TCP/IP protocol family. It incorporates the lower four layers of the OSI-7 layer model unchanged, so all standard Ethernet components, such as PC interface cards, cables, connectors, hubs, switches etc., can also be used with EtherNet/IP. The “Encapsulation Protocol,” with which the CIP extends TCP/IP and UDP/IP, is found above the transport layer.

CIP is already used as a large network-independent standard for ControlNet and DeviceNet. The data exchange is based on an object model. ControlNet, DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP all have the same application protocol and can therefore use common device profiles and object libraries. The objects allow plug-and-play interoperability between complex devices from different manufacturers.

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More information on EtherNet/IP

More information about the EtherNet/IP/CIP standard can be found, among other places, on the ODVA website at http://www.odva.org. There you can find an overview of CIP (section 2) and EtherNet/IP (section 3.3) in the document PUB00123R1_Common-Industrial_Protocol_and_Family_of_CIP_Networks.pdf.

Relevant standards and specifications can also be found in the following publications:
• Volume 1 “Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) Specification” addresses common aspects of CIP that apply to all network adjustments, e.g., the common object library, the device profile library and a general description of the communication model, device configuration and CIP data management.
• Volume 2 “EtherNet/IP Adaptation of CIP” describes the adaptation of CIP to the TCP/IP and UDP/IP transport layers, as well as other EtherNet/IP-specific adaptations.