1394AP: a protocol for deterministic industrial communication via IEEE 1394

In this contribution we present an application layer called 1394AP (1394 automation protocol) for the industrial use of the IEEE 1394 "FireWire" standard which is favorable for factory automation because of its inherently deterministic network behavior. Starting from an analysis of industrial communication requirements and an overview of the principles of IEEE 1394, it will be shown that also other advantages make IEEE 1394 a promising network for industrial use. The following sections describe the 1394AP protocol in detail and explain how to implement the necessary hardware and software based on general purpose architecture of an IEEE 1394 embedded node. The paper will conclude with an outlook on the next steps in the ongoing specification process of 1394AP