Installing the TCP/IP Network Protocol

Transcription

1 Tech Note 120 Configuring the GEHCS I/O Server for Windows NT All Tech Notes and KBCD documents and software are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. See the Terms of Use for more information. Topic#: C reated: October 1998 This Tech Note shows how to configure the Wonderware GE Fanuc Host Communications (GEHCS) I/O Server under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. Although your system may not be set up exactly as shown here, this Tech Note is a good starting point for a configuration that will work. If you are running Windows for Workgroups, see Configuring the GEHCS I/O Server Using MS TCP/IP Installing the TCP/IP Network Protocol The TCP/IP network protocol must be installed before the GEHCS I/O Server can communicate with a PLC. Follow the steps below to install the TCP/IP network protocol. Or, if you have already installed the TCP/IP network protocol, then go to Configuring the GEHCS I/O Server. Note This Tech Note describes how to set up a simple TCP/IP network consisting of a single node and PLC. Depending on your network topology, the configuration of the TCP/IP protocol may slightly differ from what s shown here. Step 1 Double- click the Network icon under the Windows Control Panel. From the Network dialog box, click the Protocols tab as shown in figure 1. If the TCP/IP protocol is missing, click the Add button to add it. (You may need to contact your network administrator for an IP address and additional information on adding the TCP/IP protocol to your network.) 1/7

2 FIGURE 1. TCP/IP NETWORK PROTOCOL Step 2 Highlight the TCP/IP protocol as shown in figure 1 and click the Properties button. The Microsoft TCP/IP Properties dialog box should appear as shown in figure 2. Click the IP Address tab on the dialog box and enter the IP address for the computer that you are working on in the IP Address listbox. (Contact your network administrator if you do not know the computer s IP address.) Enter in the Subnet Mask listbox. Enter the computer s IP address again in the Default Gateway listbox. Click the Apply button. (Note that the IP address is an example and your IP address will differ.) 2/7

3 FIGURE 2. CONFIGURING IP ADDRESS FOR THE TCP/IP NETWORK PROTOCOL Step 3 Click the DNS tab in the Microsoft TCP/IP Properties dialog box and enter the computer s host name (that is, node name) in the Host Name listbox as shown in figure 3. (Example, garya3.) Click the Apply button, then the OK button. 3/7

4 FIGURE 3. ADDING THE HOST NAME FOR THE TCP/IP NETWORK PROTOCOL Step 4 Click the OK button in the Microsoft TCP/IP Properties dialog box. Then, click the OK button in the Network dialog box. The TCP/IP network protocol is now configured on your computer. Configuring the GEHCS I/O Server Follow these steps to configure the GEHCS I/O server: Step 1 The Windows NT 4.0 version of the GEHCS I/O Server allows you three ways to resolve the PLC s IP address: 1) The I/O Server uses the IP address directly; 2) The I/O Server references the Hosts file for the IP address; or 3) The I/O Server references the Gef_cfg.ini file for the IP address. Use the first or second option if this is a new installation of the I/O Server. The third option is provided for downward compatibility with older versions of the GEHCS I/O Server that use the Gef_cfg.ini file to resolve the PLC name. Option 1: Enter the PLC s IP Address in the I/O Serv er You may do this by starting up the GEHCS I/O Server and entering the PLC s IP address in the PLC Address listbox in the Topic Definition dialog box. 4/7

5 Option 2: Enter the PLC s IP Address in the Hosts File Use a text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad, and create a new text file called Hosts.txt in the directory C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\Etc. Enter the IP address for each PLC that you wish to connect to, followed by the node name of the PLC, as shown in figure 4. (Example, for the PLC "GEPLC".) Each IP address should be entered on a separate line. Save the file and exit the text editor. FIGURE 4. EXAMPLE HOSTS FILE WITH THE PLC S IP ADDRESS Rename the Hosts.txt file to Hosts without the.txt extension by opening a Command Prompt window and entering this at the prompt: RENAME HOSTS.TXT HOSTS. Note Do not use the Windows Explorer window to rename the file to Hosts because Explorer will automatically add the file extension.txt to the file name. Option 3: Enter the PLC s IP Address in the Gef_cfg.ini File Use this option if you would like to use the Gef_cfg.ini file to resolve the PLC name. Use a text editor and edit the file Gef_cfg.ini under the directory C:\Winnt. For each PLC that the I/O Server connects to, enter a device definition. For example, here is a Gef_cfg.ini file that contains the IP address for the PLC host name "GEPLC": [GEPLC] IP_ADDR = Step 2 Start up the GEHCS I/O Server and select Configure/Topic Definition from the I/O Server s menu. Click the New button to add a new topic. The GEHCS Topic Definition dialog box will appear as shown in figure /7

6 FIGURE 5. ADDING A NEW TOPIC IN THE GEHCS I/O SERVER Step 3 Enter the Topic Name as shown in figure 5 (example, PLC9070). If you used Option1 in step 1 by entering the PLC s IP address directly in the I/O Server, enter the same IP address in the PLC Address listbox. If you instead used Option 2 or 3 in step 1 by referencing the PLC s IP address in the Hosts file or the Gef_cfg.ini file, then enter the PLC s host name in the PLC Address listbox. Complete the configuration by entering the appropriate values in the remaining listboxes in the GEHCS Topic Definition dialog box. (See the Wonderware GEHCS I/O Server User s Guide for further information.) Then click the OK button, then click the Done button on the Topic Definition dialog box. Testing the Configuration After you configure the TCP/IP network protocol and the GEHCS I/O Server, you should test the communication between the PLC(s) and the I/O Server. To do this, open a Command prompt window and enter a Ping command to "ping" the PLC either by its IP address (if you used option 1 or 3 in step 1), or by its host name (if you used option 2 in step 1). Here are some example Ping operations and their outcomes. Example 1 This example shows a successful Ping operation: > PING <Node_Name> Reply From bytes=xx time=xxms TTL = xx (This may repeat more than one time.) Where <Node_Name> is either the PLC s IP address (if you used option 1 or 3 in step 1) or the PLC s host name (if you used option 2 in step 1). Note that the format of the reply to the Ping 6/7

7 command may vary, depending on the Ping utility that you use. Example 2 This example shows an unsuccessful Ping operation: > PING <Node_Name> Bad IP Address nodename If you used option 2 in step 1, this error is usually caused by one of the following situations: The PLC s <Node_Name> is not defined in the Hosts file. The Hosts file is missing. The Hosts file is named something other than "Hosts." (Remember that it cannot be named Hosts.txt.) Example 3 This example shows another unsuccessful PING operation: > PING <Node_Name> Request Timed Out This error usually means there is a network problem. You should check for problems in the network cabling, the computer, the PLC, the network terminations and the network card. Completing the Test To complete the test, find a suitable client, such as Microsoft Excel, Wonderware InTouch or the Knowledge Base s WWClient utility, and see if you can advise one of the registers in the PLC (examples, "TIME" or "R1" ). Gary Alldredge The Tech Note is published occasionally by Wonderware Technical Support. Editors: Sabrina Abercromby and Kelly Hauser; Publisher: Wonderware C orporation, 100 Technology Drive, Irvine C A There is also technical information on our software products at Wonderware Technical Support, our WonderFax fax-ondemand system at (949) , and the C omprehensive Support Knowledge Base. For technical support questions, send an to [email protected]. back to top 2013 Wonderware C orporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use. 7/7