Abstract: A communications network and method for operating the communications network that includes ring devices that are networked to one another in a ring topology, where the ring devices participate in a ring redundancy process in which an administrating ring device regularly sends test packets over the communications network, which received in sequence by other ring devices and successively forwarded by these devices back to the administrating ring device so as to detect faults in the communications network, where a transmission delay of a test packet along the ring topology because of interfering packets within the ring topology is prevented by synchronizing the ring devices and processing at least parts of a data traffic schedule in accordance with the 802.1Qbv standard in the ring redundancy process applied, and where transmission of the test packets is scheduled and controlled such that the packets are forwarded to the ring devices substantially without delay.

Abstract: Method for operating an industrial automation system communication network that includes a plurality of communication devices, and control unit, wherein at least one control unit controls functions of a plurality of assigned communication devices and is assigned to at least one partition of the communication network in order to operate an industrial automation system communication network comprising a plurality of communication devices, where partitions each include predefinable parts of communication devices assigned to system resources for predefinable resource periods of use, access periods and repetition cycles for transmit queues are set by the control unit according to the resource periods of use for the partitions in the assigned communication devices, where possible partitions are determined for the path reservation requests based on matching classifications of access periods and repetition cycles, and where the particular path reservation request is assigned to a determined partition when sufficient

Abstract: A communications network and method for operating the communications network that includes ring devices that are networked to one another in a ring topology, where the ring devices participate in a ring redundancy process in which an administrating ring device regularly sends test packets over the communications network, which received in sequence by other ring devices and successively forwarded by these devices back to the administrating ring device so as to detect faults in the communications network, where a transmission delay of a test packet along the ring topology because of interfering packets within the ring topology is prevented by synchronizing the ring devices and processing at least parts of a data traffic schedule in accordance with the 802.1Qbv standard in the ring redundancy process applied, and where transmission of the test packets is scheduled and controlled such that the packets are forwarded to the ring devices substantially without delay.

Abstract: Method for operating an industrial automation system communication network that includes a plurality of communication devices, and control unit, wherein at least one control unit controls functions of a plurality of assigned communication devices and is assigned to at least one partition of the communication network in order to operate an industrial automation system communication network comprising a plurality of communication devices, where partitions each include predefinable parts of communication devices assigned to system resources for predefinable resource periods of use, access periods and repetition cycles for transmit queues are set by the control unit according to the resource periods of use for the partitions in the assigned communication devices, where possible partitions are determined for the path reservation requests based on matching classifications of access periods and repetition cycles, and where the particular path reservation request is assigned to a determined partition when sufficient