Assigning IP addresses with a Nano-10

[mccengineering]

Hello:

I am in the process of programming Nano-10s which will be communicating on an ethernet network.  There will be one main module which will be doing most of the work.
It will:
() assign unique parameters to each remote device from user input
() give the user an interface via an alphanumeric display over the RS485 port
() send sensor data to each remote device
() assign the IP address to each remote device

Each of the remote modules will have to have IDENTICAL programming which means that once they are shipped they will all have the same IP address.  I need to find a way the user can program the IP for a remote module via the alphanumeric display connected to the main module.

The modules can be plugged in one at a time so there doesn?t need to be any time when there would be duplicate (default) IP addresses on the network.  The first three octets of the default IP will be the same as the main module but the last octet will be the same so they will start on the same network.  The user should only have the option to change the last octet.

Is this possible?  Is this easy?


mccengineering

[support]

We provide a stand alone Ethernet and ADC configuration software which is meant for configuring the PLC's IP address etc via RS485 port. The software is a free download but requires U-485 (USB to RS485 adapter) in order to communicate with the Nano-10 PLC via RS485 port. Please check Chapter 2 of your Nano-10 user's manual to find the download link. Besides setting the IP address you can also set the gateway address, SMTP or DNS server address etc and you can calibrate the ADC and DAC channels as well.

[mccengineering]

I understand.  

Is the stand-alone software freely distributable?  Most of the customers/users will be not be at the high end of computer literacy so I would like to provide a step-by-step instruction manual so that a user can program each IP address with only the Nano-10, a power source, a computer and an ethernet cable.

I suspect none of them will have RS485 adapters or wish to buy one.  Changing their IP address will be enough of a challenge for them even if they have simple instructions with pictures.

[support]

Yes, the Ethernet configuration software can be freely distributed to your customers who are using equipment that are built with TRi's PLCs.

The Ethernet configuration software uses only the serial port to communicate with the PLC. This is to avoid the complication of trying to configure an Ethernet port without knowing its Ethernet parameters in the first place.

This program runs on native Windows and does not require Java to run. However, it does require a serial port adapter. This can be either a USB-to-RS232 converters (on FMD and F-series PLC) or USB to RS485 adapter (useable on Nano, FMD and F-series PLCs).  These adapters are quite low cost and is something that is always convenient to have around.

If your customer is not comfortable with setting Ethernet paramters using our dedicated software, I suspect it may be an even  greater challenge to try to set so many parameters (gateway IP, DNS, SMTP, IP address, port number) via a HMI interface.

[mccengineering]

Thank you for all your help.
I see what you mean about programming all that information with an HMI, that would be cumbersome for the customer as well as programming on my part.  A 4x20 display is only able to be navigated for so long before it becomes frustrating.

Since the RS485 adapter is a one-time purchase it will have to be included with the main module, which won't need it, but the user will need it for all subsequent purchases of remote modules.

I look forward to seeing this project move forward, thank you again for your expertise.