EtherCAT Slave Implementation Guide

2.4.4 EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool for Debugging
2 - EtherCAT Slave Implementation
Besides of basic software and hardware debugging, in-house EtherCAT conformance testing is
mandatory to verify that the device meets the EtherCAT communication requirements. Meeting this
requirement is a minimum condition to sell the product as the EtherCAT compatible product. In-house
EtherCAT conformance testing is done with the EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool (CTT).
Application Note: To build a conformance test environment, the following items should be prepared.
• Windows PC + network card (100Mbit, full duplex and auto negotiation must be supported)
• CTT, (ET9400) available from Beckhoff (see chapter 2.2.3).
NOTE: Download and install the latest CTT version. The CTT is updated periodically; therefore
you need to purchase a one-year license to be always up to date. When a CTT update is
available, Beckhoff will send a notification with account information and the download URL to all
CTT licensees.
• The device which is to test (DuT)
• Device description file (ESI)
• Packet analysing software (e.g. Wireshark)
The ETG.7000.2 Conformance Test Record is a guideline for testing. Basically, proceed as follows.
• Install the CTT on the Windows PC
• Copy the ESI to the device descriptions folder in the local installation folder of the CTT
• Link the device to the Windows PC, start CTT and scan for the device to load it into the CTT
• Perform the tests provided by the CTT
• Update firmware, ESI, SII and everything else until all errors are gone. The CTT test logs help to
understand where updates are necessary; see Figure 22 and the CTT documentation (Help file).
Figure 22: Testing with the Conformance Test Tool
Conformance and interoperability are very important factors for the success of a communication
technology. Conformance of the technology implementation with the specifications is the pre-requisite
of interoperability, which means that devices of different manufacturers co-operate in the same
networked application.
The conformance testing rules and policies according to the Vendor ID agreement are covered by the
ETG.7000 Conformance Test Policy, available on the ETG website.
ETG.2200 EtherCAT Slave Implementation Guide V2.0.0 I-36