observing the safety network protocol 54 with standard components observing only the standard network protocol devices may support multiple connections in which case multiple configuration data specific to each connection will be used generally the configuration data include data i e a safety configuration consistency value sccv uniquely identifying the particular device of the input module 14 the controller 12 and the output module 16 holding the configuration data and particularly the serial number of that device the serial number is a unique and immutable part of the physical devices and thus together with an internal address of the logical devices within the physical device which may establish independent connections the serial number provides each connection with a unique identity eliminating the possibility of crossed connections between different devices once the configuration data is properly disseminated to augment the serial number the configuration data may also include a vendor identification number a device code a product code major revision minor revision as well as network data including the logical physical address of the device all known in the art and identifying the particular device similarly the configuration data within a device may include the serial number of the device to which it is connected as mentioned the connection data may also include data necessary for the implementation of the other aspects of the safety protocol as are yet to be described including variables of u201c periodic time interval u201d u201c reply timer interval u201d u201c filter count u201d and u201c retry limit u201d the configuration data also includes the safety.