FLIR AX8 User Manual page 114

EtherNet/IP Electronic Data Sheets Files
Electronic Data Sheets (EDS) are simply ASCII files that describe how a device can be used on an EtherNet/IP network. It describes the
objects, attributes and services available in the device.
At the minimum, an EDS file conveys the identity information required for a network tool to recognize the device. For EtherNet/IP Scanners,
the EDS File conveys information on the EtherNet/IP Adapters I/O messages. It details the specifics of the Input Message produced by the
EtherNet/IP Adapter and the Output message consumed by the Adapter.
The amount of information stored in an EDS file varies from device to device. Some manufacturers store the minimum amount of information
in the EDS file while other devices store all the details of every object and attribute in the device.
EDS files are sometimes shipped with a device in some media format like a CD or made available on the device manufacturers website. Some
devices with extended data storage contain the EDS file internally within the device.
EDS File Structure
 File Section – Administers the EDS file. Sometimes the URL keyword provides a link to a website where the latest version of the EDS
can be found.
 Device Section – Provides keying information that matches the EDS to a particular revision of a device. The first three attributes of
the Identity Object (Object #1) are used by network tools to verify that this EDS file (Vendor, Model,...etc) plus the device revision
matches the information found in the device. The network tool will not connect to a device unless all four Identity Object Parameters
match. Some people mistakenly believe that the Minor Revision number is included in this match but that is not true.
 Device Classification Section – Classifies the EDS for an EtherNet/IP network. The Device Classification Section is required for all
EtherNet/IP devices.
 Connection Manager Section – Identifies the CIP connections that are available in the device. This section indicates to the EtherNet/IP
Scanner the Triggers and Transports available in the device. If a device supports multiple connections then every connection must be
detailed in this section. Only connections that are specified in this section can be used in an EDS-based configuration tool.
 Assembly, Params and ParamClass section – These sections are filled in as needed. For values that are limited to a limited to a defined
set of values, Enumeration can be used to specify those values. Value ranges can be specified here also for Configurable parameters.
 Capacity Section – This section indicates the number of connections available in the device and the connection speeds
 Port Section – This section describes the Ethernet port. It is only applicable to devices that perform CIP routing. It is unnecessary for
devices containing a single CIP port.
©Real Time Automation, Inc.
FLIR Systems Object Model version 1.22
09/15/2009