CIP Safety
ODVA's functional safety extension to CIP, which carries safety data between safety devices over standard networks, wired or wireless, under the black channel principle.
The network analogy
An end-to-end integrity and freshness layer stacked on CIP: time stamps for age, device identifiers for identity, and CRCs for integrity, regardless of what carries the packets.
Why it matters for wireless
ODVA lists Wi-Fi among the media CIP Safety can run over, but every safety connection still enforces its reaction time limit. The roam and retry worst case has to fit inside it.
ODVA states CIP Safety supports applications up to SIL 3 according to IEC 615081 and is certified as a black channel protocol whose safety integrity does not depend on the physical media, naming Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) among supported wireless systems. Safety data is time-stamped to mark its age, and a network failure sends safety devices to a known state.
ODVA’s wireless paper is direct about the cost: missed or delayed packets can lead to the safety function being activated, so it calls for the frequent, small CIP Safety packets to be prioritized over other traffic. On the receiving device, the limit that counts is the connection reaction time limit.
About this page
Built from 3 sources: 3 protocol owners and alliances. Researched and drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and approved by Ben Rutter on . How pages are made
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Cite this page
Plain
Ben Rutter. "CIP Safety." OT Wireless, published October 5, 2026. https://otwireless.com/glossary/cip-safety/
APA 7
Rutter, B. (2026, October 5). CIP Safety. OT Wireless. https://otwireless.com/glossary/cip-safety/
BibTeX
@misc{rutter2026cipsafety,
author = {Rutter, Ben},
title = {{CIP Safety}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://otwireless.com/glossary/cip-safety/}},
organization = {OT Wireless},
}