Decision makers who are expected to opt for or against a product, technology, or specific technical solution need to base their vote on vital, elementary information. Which purpose will the object of their decision serve? How will they benefit as users? Are there alternative solutions? Next, decision makers need to learn how a product actually works – in principle, not in detail, since technical experts may then handle the specifics later. However, those in charge will certainly want to know enough about the scope of a product's functions, its extension and expansion options, and the outlook for future improvements and ongoing development.


The following pages will try to provide you with key basic expertise of this kind on POWERLINK technology. Navigating through the site in top-to-bottom order will facilitate your understanding of the matter, since that trail will take you from general aspects first to details that are more specific later. This first section of the site provides a general overview for decision makers. The second and third section will give product managers and, of course, all others interested in the matter information on Ethernet basics, and will point out how POWERLINK uses that technology standard to meet the specific requirements of industrial applications. The fourth section, which describes the user organization, addresses both groups of site visitors.