The ProtocolType ObjectType and its subtypes are used to specify a specific communication (e.g., FieldBus) protocol that is supported by a Device (respectively by its ConnectionPoint) or Network. The BrowseName of each instance of a ProtocolType shall define the Communication Profile (see Figure 18).

Figure 18 shows the ProtocolType including some specific types and instances that represent Communication Profiles of that type. It is formally defined in Table 39.

Figure 18 – Example of a ProtocolType hierarchy with instancesthat represent specific communication profiles

Table 39 – ProtocolType definition

Attribute	Value
BrowseName	ProtocolType
IsAbstract	False
References	NodeClass	BrowseName	DataType	TypeDefinition	Other
Subtype of the 0:BaseObjectType defined in OPC 10000-5
Conformance Units
DI Network
DI Protocol