Routing using Ethernet Powerlink

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For this example was used X20CP1584 and X20CP1382 processors and there were connected with Ethernet Powerlink. Hereinafter I will refer to them as managing node and controlled node.

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  1. In the Ethernet configuration of the managing node, change the Port number in the INA parameters to an unused value (e.g. the original is 11159 and the new one will be 11158).

  2. In the PowerLink configuration on the managing node, in the POWERLINK parameters section, we check that the Mode is set in the state of the managing node, and that the Cycle time is identical to that in the controlled node. In Ethernet parameters, we set the IP address to, for example, 192.168.200.1 and the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0. In the ANSL parameter, we activate online communication.

  3. In the controlled node, set POWERLINK parameters → Mode to controlled node. For Ethernet parameters, add IP address, for example, to 192.168.200.2 and Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 and enable online communication in ANSL parameters.

  4. In the configuration of the cpu controlled node in Ethernet parameters → Static routing → Route 1, set Internet address destination 1 to 10.42.30.0, Subnet mask 1 to 255.255.255.0 and Gateway 1 to 192.168.200.1.

  5. We upload the configurations to the processors.

  6. Start Windows Command Prompt in administrator mode and type

route add 192.168.200.0 mask 255.255.255.0 10.42.30.113

(10.42.30.113 = Ethernet IP address of the managing node) and press Enter. It should appear OK!

  1. In Online Settings, just create a new connection and enter the IP address from the Powerlink Ethernet controlled node (example 192.168.200.2) and now you can connect directly via PowerLink without having to be connected via Ethernet in exactly the same way as if you were connected directly via Ethernet.

  2. After the work is finished, you can remove the route using the

route delete 192.168.200.0

command in the Windows Command Prompt in administrator mode.

In addition I want to mention, that this does not only allows a Automation Studio Online-Connection, since it’s IP routing it could also be used for any other TCP/IP or UDP/IP based communication to the controller connected via POWERLINK like SDM, Ping, and so on.

Note: Topic description is based on original source from my colleague + comment from community channel question.

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Great write-up. I have some additional notes on the guide:

  1. In step 1, since you are using IP routing you shouldn’t have to change the INA port number. The Managing Node won’t see itself as the endpoint of the AS communication request, so shouldn’t look at the port number. Additionally, INA is rarely used for communication to modern PLCs (ANSL is required for PLC transfers in AR 4.33+).

  2. The routing command listed doesn’t include the persist flag (-p), so the redirection is volatile (will be forgotten during a reboot). So, a restart/shutdown of your PC will also remove the routing. For most instances, I don’t recommend using the persist flag because it can affect your laptop months/years later when you don’t remember adding the route.

  3. It’s important to use internal/private IP addresses for your networks, which this guide does well. See the Wikipedia article on private networks. The issue with using non-private IP address ranges is that you can interfere with generic internet access to a web page that happens to be hosted at a similar public IP address.

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