Description

Ethernet Industrial Protocol (EtherNet/IP) is an open industrial networking standard introduced by Rockwell Automation that supports both real-time I/O transfer and message exchange. EtherNet/IP uses TCP/IP for general messaging / information exchange services and UDP/IP for I/O messaging services for control applications.

The EtherNet/IP interface is a driver which enables ibaPDA to read data from Rockwell controllers over TCP/IP. ibaPDacts as a server and awaits connections from the client. The controller (Rockwell PLC) acts as a client and requests connections to the ibaPDA driver.

The EtherNet/IP interface can also be used for output signals. The interface is also available in the outputs area of the I/O configuration.

EtherNet/IP can be connected to the following controllers:

  • Rockwell/Allen-Bradley

    • CompactLogix

    • FlexLogix

    • ControlLogix

    • SoftLogix 5800

  • Schneider Electric

    • M580 ePAC

Up to 64 connections can be used per interface license. By purchasing up to 3 one-step-up licenses, the number of connections can be increased up to 256.
Interface configuration

Network interfaces

Using this drop-down list, you can select which network adapters on your computer are used for this interface. The sockets will be opened for communication only on the selected network adapters. In case a network adapter has multiple IP addresses configured, a socket will be opened for all of these IP addresses. At least one network adapter should be selected to get the interface configuration validated. If you select None, an error message will be displayed when validating the I/O configuration. By default, the option All is selected.

Base multicast address

This setting only applies to multicast communication. The base multicast address is used as the destination address to which ibaPDA will respond. The last part of the address is replaced by the assembly instance number automatically. In general, you can keep the default address given by ibaPDA unless it is already being used or changes are required due to router or firewall settings.

Multicast TTL

The TTL (Time to Live) parameter is set to 1 by default. Each router between the PLC and ibaPDA gradually reduces the TTL value by 1 when a multicast package arrives. A router discards a package when the TTL value reaches 0 (zero). You only need to set a value greater than 1 when the PLC is behind one or more routers.

In addition to Multicast, ibaPDA also supports Unicast connections. A Unicast connection is automatically detected by ibaPDA when arranging the connection with the PLC.

Allow ports through firewall

When installing ibaPDA, the default port numbers of the used protocols are automatically entered in the firewall. If you change the port number or enable the interface subsequently, you have to enable this port in the firewall with this button.
Connection table

IP address

This is the IP address of the connected Rockwell controller.
Available modules

EtherNet/IP I/O module

Can be used in the input and output direction.
Product name

ibaPDA-Interface-Ethernet-IP (Art. no. 31.001005)