Q: How does CANopen® compare to DeviceNet?

A: As both these protocols are based on CAN, the basic communication features are very similar.

Here are some of the biggest differences:

• DeviceNet allows for up to 64 nodes in a network segment, where CANopen® allows for 127.
• DeviceNet has a much stricter specification for the physical layout, this support a higher-level of off-the-shelf and plug-and-play support. DeviceNet components from very different manufacturers can easily be integrated into a complete system.
• CANopen® on the other hand is much more flexible on both the physical implementation, but also on the communication features supported. CANopen® is "open" and allows a high level of customization and optimization towards a specific application, to achieve best possible communication performance.