<s>
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
communications	O
protocol	O
used	O
to	O
transmit	O
information	O
that	O
is	O
crucial	O
for	O
the	O
safe	O
operation	O
of	O
machinery	O
in	O
manufacturing	O
lines	O
,	O
process	O
plants	O
,	O
or	O
similar	O
industrial	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
traditional	O
safety	O
solutions	O
rely	O
on	O
dedicated	O
communication	O
lines	O
connecting	O
machinery	O
and	O
control	O
systems	O
via	O
special	O
relays	O
,	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
does	O
not	O
need	O
any	O
extra	O
cables	O
reserved	O
for	O
safety-related	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
bus-based	O
protocol	O
that	O
allows	O
for	O
passing	O
on	O
safety	O
data	O
over	O
existing	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
connections	O
between	O
end	O
devices	O
and	O
higher-level	O
automation	O
systems	O
–	O
connections	O
principally	O
established	O
and	O
used	O
for	O
regular	O
monitoring	O
and	O
control	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
bus-based	O
safety	O
protocols	O
that	O
are	O
suitable	O
for	O
use	O
only	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
or	O
a	O
few	O
specific	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
implementations	O
and	O
are	O
incompatible	O
with	O
other	O
systems	O
,	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
works	O
with	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
different	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
is	O
certified	O
according	O
to	O
IEC	O
61508	O
and	O
meets	O
the	O
requirements	O
of	O
SIL	O
3	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
supports	O
functional	O
features	O
to	O
enable	O
fast	O
data	O
transfer	O
such	O
as	O
direct	O
communication	O
between	O
nodes	O
on	O
a	O
network	O
(	O
cross-traffic	O
)	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
measures	O
needed	O
to	O
ensure	O
data	O
integrity	O
and	O
accuracy	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
particularly	O
notable	O
characteristic	O
is	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
's	O
encapsulation	O
of	O
safety	O
data	O
within	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
frame	O
:	O
two	O
subframes	O
,	O
each	O
being	O
an	O
identical	O
duplicate	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
,	O
are	O
combined	O
to	O
form	O
the	O
full	O
safety	O
frame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
all	O
other	O
bus-based	O
safety	O
solutions	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
created	O
to	O
complement	O
a	O
specific	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
protocol	O
or	O
family	O
of	O
bus	O
systems	O
,	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
was	O
designed	O
for	O
general	O
interoperability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
was	O
conceived	O
by	O
the	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
POWERLINK	I-Protocol
Standardization	O
Group	O
(	O
EPSG	O
)	O
and	O
originally	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
safety	O
companion	O
to	O
that	O
organization	O
’s	O
own	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
variant	O
,	O
POWERLINK	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
safety	O
protocol	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
bound	O
to	O
POWERLINK	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
various	O
major	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
implementations	O
,	O
namely	O
PROFINET	B-Protocol
,	O
SERCOS	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
,	O
EtherNet/IP	B-Protocol
,	O
Modbus-TCP	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
POWERLINK	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
broad	O
compatibility	O
with	O
about	O
90%	O
of	O
the	O
installed	O
base	O
of	O
Industrial	B-Protocol
Ethernet	I-Protocol
installations	O
in	O
2010	O
is	O
achieved	O
because	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
operates	O
only	O
on	O
the	O
topmost	O
(	O
application	O
)	O
layer	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
where	O
safety	O
data	O
can	O
be	O
trafficked	O
irrespective	O
of	O
specific	O
network	O
characteristics	O
that	O
may	O
differ	O
from	O
one	O
underlying	O
bus	O
system	O
to	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
is	O
commonly	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
black	O
channel	O
"	O
operation	O
in	O
communication	O
protocol	B-General_Concept
engineering	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
relatively	O
late	O
arrival	O
on	O
the	O
scene	O
,	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
its	O
immediate	O
precursor	O
technology	O
,	O
POWERLINK	B-Protocol
Safety	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
originally	O
launched	O
in	O
2007	O
.	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
won	O
broad	O
public	O
attention	O
in	O
April	O
2010	O
,	O
when	O
a	O
presentation	O
at	O
the	O
Hannover	O
Messe	O
trade	O
show	O
in	O
Germany	O
showcased	O
four	O
different	O
implementations	O
of	O
the	O
safety	O
solution	O
running	O
in	O
SERCOS	B-Protocol
III	I-Protocol
,	O
Modbus	B-Protocol
TCP	O
,	O
EtherNet/IP	B-Protocol
and	O
POWERLINK	B-Protocol
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
major	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
presentation	O
in	O
Hanover	O
,	O
proponents	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
solution	O
gave	O
lectures	O
at	O
other	O
industry	O
events	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
B&R	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
co-creator	O
and	O
major	O
advocate	O
of	O
openSAFETY	B-Protocol
,	O
provided	O
an	O
introduction	O
to	O
key	O
characteristics	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
