SYSTEC Electronic has released Open Source POWERLINK software for Linux.
Systec is a systems house for distributed automation solutions and a member of the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardisation Group.
The software contains the protocol stack for the Managing Node and for the Controlled Nodes. This allows Linux computers with standard on-board Ethernet controllers to reach cycle times up to 0.5ms while ensuring high synchronicity.
The BSD Open Source license under which the software has been released allows anyone to use, distribute and modify the software and to add development enhancements free of charge.
According to the software distributors, the package will allow both users and manufacturers to analyse the Ethernet-based real-time protocol and to adapt it to their own applications without license obstacles.