Glossary · Industrial communication
GSDML file
Also known as: GSD file, General Station Description, GSDML
German: GSDML-Datei
In PROFINET, a GSDML file is the XML device description, written in the General Station Description Markup Language defined by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, that tells engineering tools which modules, submodules, I/O data, parameters, diagnostics and communication features an IO device has.
- Industrial communication
- Standards
- Technical documentation
In one sentence
A GSDML file is the XML device description of a PROFINET IO device: modules, I/O data, parameters, diagnostics and supported features.
Example
Before configuring a new case packer, the integrator imports the GSDML file of its valve terminal into the PLC engineering tool, which then offers the terminal's modules in the hardware catalog.
How it applies
- Engineering: The engineering tool reads the GSDML file to build the device's configuration. The file name contains the GSDML schema version, the vendor, the device family and a date, so different versions can be told apart.
- Versioning: A firmware update can add modules or features that only a newer GSDML file describes. Using an older file than the device firmware may hide functions; using a newer one than the firmware supports can cause configuration errors.
- Commissioning: The same GSDML file (or a compatible version) must be available wherever the project is opened, for example at the integrator and at the plant.
- Documentation: The documentation team states which GSDML file belongs to which firmware version, where it can be downloaded and which modules and parameters it contains. The GSDML file describes the device to the tool; it doesn't replace the manual.
GSDML file vs. ESI file
Both are XML device descriptions for engineering tools: GSDML for PROFINET, EtherCAT Slave Information (ESI) for EtherCAT. The older text-based GSD files serve the same purpose for PROFIBUS.