New properties for Ethernet components

Beckhoff’s Ethernet products have already proven their value in many branches of automation engineering. Building automation and logistics centers are two examples. The introduction of new firmware is extending the properties of the Ethernet components, giving the products even greater power. Extended facilities for IP address allocation, and the sending of e-mail or SMS messages by the BC9000 Bus Terminal Controller are particularly worth mentioning here. Event-driven transmission with the BC9000 is a further innovation.
Event-controlled transmission with the BC9000 Bus Terminal Controller
importance for communication in an Ethernet network. This implies a fast reaction to events. It is no longer necessary for the Ethernet Bus Terminal Controllers to be interrogated by a master; they only now need to transmit data when an event that requires a message has occurred. This reduces the quantity of network communication, avoiding unnecessary loading on the Ethernet network. This makes lateral communication between a number of BC9000 Bus Terminal Controllers possible. An IEC 61131-3 function block implements this functionality for the ADS and Open ModbusTCP protocols. Lateral communication with the ADS Solution: This makes it very easy to send or receive data within the Beckhoff environment. BC9000 Bus Terminal Controllers can exchange data between themselves, or send data to a PC, or communicate with a BK9000 Bus Coupler. A BC9000 can handle up to four IP sockets at the same time. This means that a BC9000 can communicate with four other devices simultaneously. The IP sockets can also be opened and closed at runtime, in order to communicate with new devices. Lateral communication with Open ModbusTCP: The second implemented solution set is based on an open solution for ModbusTCP. Rather like the ADS solution, it is also possible here to open a Modbus channel by means of a function block, and to communicate actively with other Ethernet nodes. There are, again, up to four IP sockets available.

The BC9000 includes three process image regions for data communication with an input process image of 512 bytes. Ethernet can only access this for reading. A watchdog triggers the output process image. This means that after a selectable time the outputs will be changed to a safe state unless a new telegram has been received from a node within this watchdog time. Only one device has write access at any one time; all other devices only have read access to the output process image. The third area is the flags process image. In the case of a BC9000 this is 4 kbyte large, and offers extremely versatile facilities for transmitting or receiving data. Because of its size, the flags process image provides sufficient room for lateral communication. There is no watchdog, so data can be sent to the Bus Terminal Controller when the application requires it, whether this is after seconds or after days.

BC9000 sends e-mail or SMS
An e-mail function block has been implemented as an additional property in the BC9000 Bus Terminal Controller. This function is based on the SMTP protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). In combination with an e-mail server, it is now possible to send e-mails in order to report errors, diagnostic information, warnings or any other information. The SMTP protocol is an open standard within the TCP/IP protocol. It is also possible to send SMS messages. A function block can be used, in combination with a GSM modem and a KL6001 Bus Terminal acting as a RS232 gateway, to send an SMS in the event of fault directly to the mobile phone of the plant operator or service technician.

Extended facilities for IP address allocation
For Ethernet devices, as for other fieldbus modules, two basic settings must be made for communication: baud rate and node address. The Beckhoff Ethernet devices automatically detect baud rate. In Ethernet networks, the IP address serves as the node address. There are four different ways in which it can be set or assigned. The Bus Couplers and Bus Terminal Controllers support all the normal methods for IP address assignment: via configuration software and DIP switch setting by DHCP server, by BOOTP server, by ARP message. No configuration software is necessary if methods 2-4 are chosen, as the job is simply done by a DIP switch. The four methods of setting the IP address will be briefly explained further below.
Methods of setting the IP address
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