The ECS200 Ethercat slave module from Bachmann makes it possible to connect M1 controllers as slaves to a higher-level Ethercat network. The current connection status of the slave to the Ethercat master is visible in the program as a variable. This allows the slave to execute any programmable reaction to a network interruption. The M1 application programs have full access to all incoming and outgoing cyclical process data via the MIO, SVI and process image interfaces. They can also be synchronized with the external Ethercat bus. This means that the applications continue to run automatically at the same interval even in the event of a network fault. The slave module is configured in Bachmann's "SolutionCenter", where the number, size and direction of the process data to be transferred via Ethercat can be defined and transmitted to the master as an ESI file. As the controller is a 'module device' with a static object directory, no further configuration is required. LEDs on both Ethercat ports facilitate on-site diagnostics.