PROFINET Monitoring Center – 24/7 Network Monitoring
PROFINET is running. Be sure it is healthy – and have the data when something changes.
The PROFINET Monitoring Centre is FOXON’s proprietary solution for central supervision of PROFINET networks across the entire factory. It continuously monitors their condition, records alarms, network events and changes, and provides maintenance teams with the history required to identify the actual cause of an outage more quickly.
You do not have to wait for the first major production stoppage to find out what is really happening in your industrial network.
Because a problem usually begins before production stops
A PROFINET network can operate for a long time without any visible problem. At the same time, minor errors, brief device outages or changes may gradually appear in the network without stopping production on their own. A critical situation may only arise when several of them occur together.
Detects gradual deterioration
It monitors error trends, communication and device status. Maintenance can therefore address an emerging problem during planned downtime rather than under pressure after production has stopped.
Retains the history of intermittent events
When a line stops for only a few seconds and runs again after a restart, important data often disappears. The Monitoring Centre records it for later analysis.
Helps identify the actual cause
Technicians do not have to replace cables, switches, PLCs or I/O modules blindly. The timeline and network data show where the problem arose and what should be checked.
You are not paying for the number of faults. You are paying for control, history and preparedness.
The purpose of the Monitoring Centre is not to prove its value through frequent outages. Its value is that throughout the year you know the condition of critical production networks, what has changed in them, and that you do not begin troubleshooting an incident without data.
- continuously verify the condition of all connected networks,
- retain alarms, events and their exact timing,
- see which network, device or port requires attention,
- compare the condition before and after an intervention,
- give maintenance teams evidence for faster decisions,
- involve FOXON specialists in the analysis when required.
The PROFINET Monitoring Centre cannot guarantee that a network will never fail. It does ensure that you are not left without essential data when an outage occurs.
No monitoring system can guarantee that a device will never fail, a cable will never be damaged, power will never be lost, a configuration error will never occur or another problem will never arise. Permanent monitoring does, however, make it possible to continuously observe network behaviour and retain the information required to identify the exact cause of an outage.
What cannot be guaranteed
- that a component or device will never fail,
- that a cable, connector or switch port will never be damaged,
- that no error will be introduced by a technician or supplier,
- that power or communication will never be interrupted,
- that every outage can be prevented in advance.
What the PROFINET Monitoring Centre provides
- the exact time and sequence of events before an outage,
- the status of communicating devices and network ports,
- network alarms, telegrams and packets related to the event,
- information about port, connection and cabling faults,
- an overview of communication load and network changes,
- evidence for identifying the cause and defining corrective action.
PLC diagnostics show the event. The Monitoring Centre adds the context from the entire network.
PLC diagnostics may show that a specific device stopped communicating, disconnected or reported a fault. The PLC alone, however, often does not show why it happened. The PROFINET Monitoring Centre supplements diagnostic events with the network context required to identify the actual cause.
The key question is not whether PROFINET is failing today. It is what a failure would cause.
The PROFINET Monitoring Centre is not necessary for every small network. It delivers the greatest value where production availability depends on industrial communication and where finding the cause without stored data would take too long.
We particularly recommend the PROFINET Monitoring Centre when:
- critical production lines depend on PROFINET availability,
- you operate multiple networks or a large manufacturing plant,
- an hour of downtime represents a significant financial loss,
- several departments or external suppliers work on the networks,
- you experience brief and difficult-to-reproduce outages,
- you do not have an in-house PROFINET diagnostics specialist.
Diagnostics may be sufficient for a simple, non-critical network
If you operate one small network, an outage has no major impact and your technicians can check it quickly, regular or one-off professional diagnostics may be a more suitable option.
We will openly help you select a solution that matches the criticality of your production and the scope of your networks.
View PROFINET network diagnostics →What happens during an intermittent outage
Without permanent monitoring
- The line runs again after a restart and important network data is no longer available.
- The PLC shows that a device was lost but may not explain the actual cause.
- Maintenance does not know whether the problem originated in a device, port, cable or communication.
- Components are inspected and replaced by trial and error.
- The cause may remain unknown and the same problem may recur later.
With the PROFINET Monitoring Centre
- The event has an exact timestamp and remains stored in the history.
- The technician sees related alarms, packets, port states and communication conditions.
- It is possible to compare what happened in different parts of the network at the same moment.
- The actual cause of the outage can be identified much more accurately.
- Corrective action can be taken based on the identified cause to prevent recurrence.
What if none of the networks fails for an entire year?
The result is confirmed stability, a complete history and preparedness for the next period – not zero value.
- You know whether the networks remained stable or their condition gradually changed.
- You have a record of brief events that may not have stopped production.
- You can document the condition before modifications, line extensions or supplier interventions.
- By continuing monitoring, you preserve the history that becomes most valuable during a future incident.
How much time must the Monitoring Centre help save to pay for itself?
The value of permanent monitoring is not determined by the number of alarms recorded, but by the impact of potential downtime. On a critical production line, a single incident resolved more quickly or an emerging fault corrected during planned maintenance may be enough to justify the investment.
The benefit also includes technician time, fewer unnecessary component replacements and faster confirmation or exclusion of PROFINET as the cause of a problem.
Permanent supervision from individual networks to the central Monitoring Centre
Analyzer in the network
An analyzer is installed in each monitored network and continuously collects diagnostic and network data.
Central data collection
Data from all analyzers is sent to a shared Monitoring Centre hosted on an on-premises server or in the cloud.
Evaluation and alarms
The system evaluates network condition and provides alerts about faults, events and important changes.
Data for root-cause analysis
When an outage occurs, technicians have information from before, during and after the problem.
From the overall dashboard to a specific device, port and alarm
The Monitoring Centre lets you move quickly from an overview of the whole network to detailed events, live values, alarms and topology.
Show more PROFINET Monitoring Centre screenshots
From permanent monitoring to an intelligent diagnostic assistant
The PROFINET Monitoring Centre stores long-term information about alarms, network packets, port states, communication, devices and the development of individual networks. This history is not only important for retrospective diagnostics. It also creates the data foundation for future use of artificial intelligence.
Our aim is not only to show that a problem has occurred in a PROFINET network. We want to explain to the technician, in clear language, where it probably originated, what may have caused it and how to proceed when resolving it.
- continuous monitoring of network condition,
- alarms and notifications about important events,
- history of trends and intermittent problems,
- network data, port states and topology,
- evidence for identifying the actual cause of an outage.
Recognise relationships
Assess whether several minor alarms, changes and communication errors are related.
Identify the risk area
Help the technician determine which device, port, cable or network section should be checked first.
Explain the probable cause
Convert technical data into a clear explanation, including for technicians who are not PROFINET specialists.
Recommend the next step
Suggest a specific check, measurement or intervention to verify and resolve the problem and prevent its recurrence.
The PROFINET Monitoring Centre was not created as a software project alone. It is based on many years of experience in finding the actual causes of industrial network failures.
Built around real maintenance and automation challenges
FOXON diagnoses industrial networks, trains technicians and continuously monitors tens of thousands of PROFINET devices. This gives us a clear understanding of the information technicians actually need during an intermittent outage and how to present it so that it supports faster decisions.
- practical experience from more than 6,500 diagnostics,
- in-house industrial network specialists,
- support in identifying the actual cause of complex incidents,
- corrective-action proposals that help prevent recurrence,
- continued development based on manufacturing plant requirements.
What customers ask before deployment
Why should we monitor PROFINET when we do not have a problem?
The purpose is not to wait for a problem, but to continuously confirm the condition of a critical network and retain a history for an intermittent incident. A network may be operating reliably without monitoring, but its actual condition and development may not be recorded anywhere.
Does the PROFINET Monitoring Centre guarantee that the network will never fail?
No. No permanent monitoring system can guarantee that a device, cable, power supply or another part of the system will never fail. The Monitoring Centre does, however, retain the network data required to identify the actual cause of an outage. This makes it possible to take the correct corrective action and reduce the risk of the same problem recurring.
Are PLC diagnostics not sufficient?
PLC diagnostics are important and may show which device stopped communicating or reported a fault. They often show the consequence rather than the cause. The PROFINET Monitoring Centre supplements these events with network information such as related packets and telegrams, port states, connection errors, cabling quality, communication load, topology and precise timing relationships.
Do we have to monitor the entire factory from the beginning?
No. Deployment can begin on selected critical networks or production lines. Once the benefit has been verified, monitoring can be expanded gradually to other parts of the plant.
Is AI diagnostics already part of the current solution?
The current version of the Monitoring Centre provides permanent monitoring, alarms, history storage and an overview of diagnostic and network data. The use of artificial intelligence to explain probable causes and recommend next steps is a planned direction for further development.
Where is the Monitoring Centre data hosted?
Depending on the selected architecture, the central Monitoring Centre can run on the customer’s own server or in the cloud. We design the architecture according to the network scope, IT requirements and the plant’s cybersecurity rules.
Start with the most critical PROFINET networks in your plant
Tell us the number of networks or production lines, their approximate size and the impact of potential downtime. We will assess the benefits of permanent monitoring and propose a suitable deployment scope.
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