I am trying to implement a profibus network and am a newbie in the automation and communication industry.
what are the components required for the setup of the whole network?
i am confused as to what can be used as a master or what is needed to connect if use a normal microcontroller to connect to the network (a port or a dedicated module or something else)?
do i only need an ASIC to connect the slaves to the network and which kind should i use and what will be the additional hardware or software i will need to implement it?
Are ASIC the remote I/O mentioned on multiple websites?
do you need license to use or develop profibus ?
which software or firmware is used to setup the whole network? Is it installed on the PLC or i need to connect a pc to configure the whole network?
It will be great if someone can suggest me some site which has description for the question but please don't directly mention profibus.com as i was only able to get preliminary information from there?

 

Buying off-the-shelf automation components is the simplest way to implement a Profibus network. The PLC is the master and IO, drives, etc are the slaves. The PLC programming software is used to setup the whole network within the hardware configuration, this is then downloaded to the PLC.

 

There's an inexpensive book that covers the basics of Profibus, Catching the Process Fieldbus: An Introduction to Profibus for Process Automation. by James Powell.

Profibus installations should use Profibus cabling and connectors because their designed for the hardware layer operation.

Profibus PA is common for instruments that need to run intrinsically safe in a hazardous area. It runs at lower baud rate.
Profibus DP is higher speed comm for PLC-PLC comm. There's a gateway that will connect DP to PA.

Be sure that the PLC has Profibus functionality, which might require optional cards/module.