Operating method for a distributed control system, - wherein the control system comprises a plurality of peripheral modules embodied as sensor modules and a plurality of peripheral modules embodied as motor modules, - wherein the peripheral modules are connected to a control facility directly or indirectly via a connection network by way of interfaces which are ready-made in a uniform manner and arranged on the peripheral modules, - wherein the control facility, during normal operation of the control system, receives input variables from peripheral modules embodied as sensor modules by way of the respective ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module, assigns the input variables to the respective control task, ascertains output variables as a function of the input variables assigned to the respective control task by processing the respective control task and transmits the ascertained respective output variables to at least one peripheral module assigned to the respective control task and embodied as a motor module by way of the respective ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module - wherein, before a commissioning phase of the distributed control system, a string is written into a first storage area of a remanent storage device of the respective peripheral module by way of the ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module, and wherein the content stored in the remanent storage device then also remains intact when the respective peripheral module is disconnected from an energy supply, wherein the string is designed as an alphanumeric character string, and wherein the string is defined by a user, and - wherein the peripheral modules, as part of a commissioning phase of the control system preceding the normal operation, read out the string from the first storage area of the remanent storage device of the respective peripheral module and transmit this to the control facility and - wherein the control facility autonomously ascertains the assignment of the peripheral modules to the respective control task on the basis of the transmitted string. - wherein the control system comprises a plurality of peripheral modules embodied as sensor modules and a plurality of peripheral modules embodied as motor modules, - wherein the peripheral modules are connected to a control facility directly or indirectly via a connection network by way of interfaces which are ready-made in a uniform manner and arranged on the peripheral modules, - wherein the control facility, during normal operation of the control system, receives input variables from peripheral modules embodied as sensor modules by way of the respective ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module, assigns the input variables to the respective control task, ascertains output variables as a function of the input variables assigned to the respective control task by processing the respective control task and transmits the ascertained respective output variables to at least one peripheral module assigned to the respective control task and embodied as a motor module by way of the respective ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module - wherein, before a commissioning phase of the distributed control system, a string is written into a first storage area of a remanent storage device of the respective peripheral module by way of the ready-made interface of the respective peripheral module, and wherein the content stored in the remanent storage device then also remains intact when the respective peripheral module is disconnected from an energy supply, wherein the string is designed as an alphanumeric character string, and wherein the string is defined by a user, and - wherein the peripheral modules, as part of a commissioning phase of the control system preceding the normal operation, read out the string from the first storage area of the remanent storage device of the respective peripheral module and transmit this to the control facility and - wherein the control facility autonomously ascertains the assignment of the peripheral modules to the respective control task on the basis of the transmitted string.