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| Tutorial |
Traditional Ethernet Distributed System |
| Ethernet requires infrastructure equipment such as switches for connecting a variety of different devices to the network. This is unlike most field-bus automation networks that use a daisy-chain topology, which presents a bit of a problem for Ethernet automation applications since when connecting to Ethernet, meters and gauges must be formed in a "star" configuration. The ioLogik E1200 series provides an alternative to spending the time and money needed to figure out the best way to hook up your Ethernet switches. Since each E1200 unit has two built-in Ethernet switches, the E1200 solution is tailor-made for a daisy-chain type configuration. |
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How Daisy-chain Ethernet I/O Optimizes a Distributed System |
| Change of the topology and additional device connectivity |
| A new daisy-chained Ethernet I/O concept is now available. The ioLogik E1200 industrial remote Ethernet I/O has two embedded Ethernet switch ports that allow information to flow to another local Ethernet device or connect to the next ioLogik in the daisy-chain. Applications such as factory automation, security and surveillance systems, and tunnel monitoring, can make use of daisy-chained Ethernet for building multi-drop I/O networks over standard Ethernet cables. Many industrial automation users are familiar with the multi-drop configuration typically used in fieldbus applications. The daisy-chain function on the remote Ethernet I/O ioLogik E1200 not only increases the connection between machines and panels, but also lowers the cost of buying separate Ethernet switches, and at the same time reduces labor fees and cabling by a large percentage. |
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| The
ioLogik E1200's built-in Ethernet switch ports can
also be cascaded to another Ethernet device at the
same location. Remote sites typically have a few sensors,
some devices, and Internet connectivity. The traditional
approach requires an additional switch or hub to connect
the Ethernet I/O product to another device, which
increaases the cost and number of failure points for
the system. |
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| Seamlessly
and efficiently connect to SCADA systems |
| free push-based Active OPC Server Lite package |
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| Active
OPC Server Lite is a free software package provided
by Moxa that operates as an OPC driver for an HMI
or SCADA system. General OPC servers typically use
a "poll/response" (or so-called "pull")
architecture to connect to Ethernet I/O devices. This
involves an HMI/SCADA system continuously sending
out commands to collect relevant data. Moxa's Active
OPC Server Lite, with its non-polling SCADA architecture,
supports the standard OPC protocol, but also offers
active (or "push") communication with Moxa's
ioLogik series of Ethernet I/O products to HMI/SCADA
systems, providing instant I/O status reports with
"Active Tags." The event-driven active tags
result in an I/O response time that is 7 times faster
than other OPC Server packages, and results in an
apparent 80% reduction in network traffic. |
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| Dynamic IP/WAN Connection |
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| Active OPC Server Lite and ioLogik products provide the flexibility of configuring the ioLogik E1200 to use dynamic IP addresses. The ioLogik E1200 connects directly to the Active OPC Server Lite instead of being polled, which makes dynamic IP addressing and WAN Access to the Ethernet I/O device possible, and adds even greater flexibility by allowing connections across firewalls. I/O devices for traditional data acquisition applications are not capable of using this approach. |
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| Patented Automatic Tag Generation |
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| Patented "Auto Tag Generation" eliminates the headache of specifying target IP addresses, I/O channels, and data formats one by one, or editing and importing configuration text files since Active OPC Server Lite creates the tags for the target ioLogik automatically. One of the biggest payoffs is that users will no longer need to be trained to install and configure your OPC system, since setting up Active OPC Server Lite is done automatically with a single click of the mouse. |
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| Painless
upgrading shortens implementation time |
To
control an input or output channel of a remote Ethernet
I/O device running the most general Modbus/TCP protocol
requires specifying the Modbus address of those
input and output channels. This can take quite a
bit of effort since you may need to look up the
address and data type in the user's manual for address
mapping, and can also cause problems once the I/O
channels change or a device is replaced. The ioLogik
E1200's user-defined Modbus addressing offers the
flexibility to make the Modbus address dynamic,
and the address can be configured to be compatible
with other Modbus devices. When a system is being
replicated, or the field I/O is being replaced,
the user-defined Modbus eliminates the effort of
reconfiguring the PC control software or field controller.
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