ETHERNET Driver “ABB TCP/IP Level 2 AC”

As of version V1.2, the driver “ABB TCP/IP Level 2 AC” is available for programming AC500 controllers with internal and/or external ETHERNET Communication Module via ETHERNET. This driver provides the following functions:

  • Online operation of the PLC with the Control Builder
  • OPC connection with OPC server, as of version V1.3
  • Parallel operation of Control Builder and OPC server
  • Parallel operation of Control Builder instances with several PLCs
  • Online operation of PLCs connected via ARCNET. One PLC equipped with ETHERNET Communication Module and one PLC with ARCNET Communication Module (Routing ETHERNET -> ARCNET), as of version V2.x

To define a new gateway channel for the ETHERNET interface, select “Online/Communication Parameters” and press the button “New” in the “Communication Parameters” window. In the appearing window, enter a name for the channel (for example ETH 169.254.145.200) and select the driver “ABB Tcp/Ip Level 2 AC” from the device list.

../_images/9015ca5ee38c43c90a33139000eba54e

The following communication parameters can be set for the ETHERNET driver “ABB TCP/IP Level 2 AC”:

../_images/65c956dbe38c44170a33139000eba54e
Parameter Possible values Meaning
Address 0.0.0.0 IP address or hostname of the PLC
Port 1200 Port 1200
Timeout (ms) >= 2000 Timeout [ms] for response
Routing levels 0…2 Routing levels (0 = none)
Communication Module (Level 1) 0, line 0…line 4 Communication Module for level 1
Channel (Level 1) 0…19 Channel on Communication Module level 1
Address (Level 1) 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 (max. 5 bytes) Address in target Communication Module level 1
Communication Module (Level 2) 0, line 0…line 4 Communication Module for level 2
Channel (Level 2) 0…19 Channel on Communication Module level 2
Address (Level 2) 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 (max. 5 bytes) Address in target Communication Module level 2
Block size 1430 (128…1430) Bytes per telegram (unallowed 227..245)
Motorola byteorder Yes (Yes/No) Motorola or Intel byteorder (=Yes for AC500)

If you want to use the ETHERNET driver to directly access the PLC, set all routing parameters (parameter Routing levels and following parameters listed in the table above) to 0.

The “Address” parameter sets the IP address or hostname of the PLC. To be able to use hostnames, the names have to be added to the file “Hosts”. Under Win2000, this file is located in the directory “WINNT\System32\drivers\etc”.

../_images/1f6fa846e38c46190a33139000eba54e

If you have changed the “Hosts” file accordingly, you can enter the symbolic name for the “Address” parameter instead of the IP address. In the following figure, the IP address “169.254.34.38” is replaced by the hostname “SPS_2”.

../_images/59d6e932e38c46770a33139000eba54e