maniacdavid
Joined on 05-20-2005
Posts 4
ioControl with only a SNAP ethernet brain
I’ve looked at a the forum and I don’t think I came across this question. From what I can gather by reading the manual,it isn’t possible to control a the SNAP Ethernet I/O brain directly from the computer? IOControl has to go to a controller first? Sorry for the elementary questions. Thanks
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05-28-2005, 5:18 PM
maniacdavid
Joined on 05-20-2005
Posts 4
Re: ioControl with only a SNAP ethernet brain
I should add, is this possible with a PC running all the time? I know I can’t load anything to the actual unit(like what you can do with Ultimate, LCM,etc.)
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05-30-2005, 2:12 AM
gmitchell
Joined on 12-01-2003
Optomation Systems, Madrid, Spain
Posts 153
Re: ioControl with only a SNAP ethernet brain
Not such an elementary question, here’s some interesting information for you to experiment with. You are right in assuming that ioProject requires a control engine, but that does not mean that you cannot use Ethernet brain hardware independently for control applications directly with a PC. You can use IOManager to create .otg configuration files for all types of SNAP Ethernet brains [File>Open>Opto Tag Database]. The otg file can then be used by OPC Server software, allowing any third party software running on the PC to access the Opto22 hardware. The use of the configuration file is completely independent of ioControl and the use of a SNAP control engine (UP1 or LCE), although it may be imported into a ioControl strategy at a later date. Besides basic I/O tag data, you can also configure PID loops and contents of the brains memory map addresses, which are then also loaded as part of the brains configuration file. All of the configurable functionality of the Ethernet brain is accessible through the memory map, including event/reactions, analog alarm trips, PID, communications, etc. Once configured, the functionality runs independently of the PC, complementing host based control. Don’t forget that unless saved to flash, the configured functionality will need reloading from the PC in the case of power loss to the brain. SNAP Ethernet hardware can be used to directly connect to any OPC client software, including HMIs and SCADAs. You can also develop your own software application and visual interfaces, using any of the Software Developer Kits available on the Opto22 website. Once understanding what functionality can be configured directly in the Ethernet I/O Unit, its up to you to decide how much you want to unload the PC of basic real-time control tasks.