A system, method and apparatus for the automatic configuration of a factory automation device is described. The automatic configuration involves the identification of the device's network address, then involves the search for a configuration server. The configuration server contains the configuration record to download to the automation device, and may contain configuration records for a number of devices. As a result, a search must be made within the configuration server for the configuration record of the specific device. Once found, the configuration is downloaded from the configuration server to the automation device.