Appendix A.1. General Notes

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Appendix A. Advanced Topics

The connection type does not need to be specified in the Server side Map Descriptor, but must be stipulated on the Client side of the driver.

Data_Table_Read as a service can only be used when creating an explicit connection.

Appendix A.2. FieldServer as an Adapter and Scanner.

It is possible for the FieldServer to act as a scanner and an adapter at the same time so long as the scanner and adapter are configured on different ports. Consequently this functionality is not possible on an FS-X20 platform.

Appendix A.3. Common Paths

Device	Typical Path
Direct AB	1 0

AB ENI module	3 1

AB ControlLogix 1756-L55 (With network card 1756-ENBT/A)	1 1 or 1 0

CompactLogix ENI (1769-L31 using the 1761-NET-ENI)	3 1

CompactLogix Direct Connection (P/N 1769-L35E)	1 1 or 1 0

Appendix A.4. Setting the Data Type for stored data.

The default Data Type of stored data is determined by the Data Type of the Data Array. It is possible to configure the driver to store the data as a different type. This can be achieved by specifying the data type under the parameter EIP_Data_Type.

Note that the EIP_DATA_TYPE parameter has meaning only for DATA_TABLE_WRITE where the FieldServer is the Client and for DATA_TABLE_READ where the FieldServer is the Server.

Appendix A.5. Configuring a PLC to read and write data to and from FieldServer

This example makes use of the Data Table Read/Write method for passing data between the FieldServer and an Allen Bradley PLC. The example shows configuration of a ControlLogix PLC, but all Rockwell PLC’s that support Ethernet IP communications and Data Table Read/Write operations in Message blocks should be able to communicate this way. The Map Descriptors create an explicit connection to the Server and then transfer data in the data table format. The EIP_Tag_Name field contains the tag name polled from the client. DATA_TABLE_READ and DATA_TABLE_WRITE are the only legal values for EIP_SERVICE.

Note that this is by far the preferred method for communicating with Allen Bradley PLC’s due to its ease of configuration, quantity of data that can be transferred and speed of transfer.

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FS-8704-14 specifications

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