The DF1 IO Server supports polling data from PLC 5, SLC 50x, and MicroLogix PLCs from Rockwell. It also permits polling DH+ devices using a ControlLogix gateway.

For Ewon devices including serial ports, the DF1 IO Server also allows the Ewon device to act as an Ethernet to serial gateway for remote maintenance of the PLCs.

To poll data from ControlLogix, CompactLogix, or FlexLogix PLCs, see the ABLOGIX IO server page.

Communication Setup (Serial Only)

The COM Setup portion of the IO server setup screen only appears if your hardware configuration includes a serial port. In the PLC configuration, the serial port must be configured in DF1 Full Duplex mode. This is the standard setting for the PLC interface when used for programming maintenance.

The serial port on the Ewon device must be in RS232 mode.
For the FLA 3301 – 2 Serial Port Extension card:

• Port S2 is fixed RS232 mode.
• Port S1 is configurable with dip switches.

Additional configuration may also be required through the web interface in the Serial ports page.

COM Port

Physical COM port allocated to the DF1 IO server. The numbering of the serial COM ports starts with the serial port of the Base Unit (if available) and then continues with the upper port of the first Extension Module starting from the left.

Set the COM Port to the port to which the PLC is connected.

Baudrate

Select the baudrate from 1200 to 38400 bauds.

Set the baudrate as required to match the settings in your PLC.

Parity

The parity to apply: none / odd / even.

Set the parity as required to match the settings in your PLC.

Stop Bit(s)

Number of stop bits.

Set the stop bit as required to match the settings in your PLC.

Frame Error Detection

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) or Block Check Character (BCC).

Set the frame error detections as required to match the settings in your PLC.

HW mode

Set the Hardware Mode to Full Duplex NO Handshaking.

Master Response Timeout

Maximum time the Ewon device will wait for a valid message from the DF1 master.

This value can be critical for a correct operation, depending on the responsiveness of the master. A value of 1000 should be selected to guarantee correct operations.

Rx message timeout (MSEC)

Maximum time between a request is posted and the response is received.

Tx message timeout (MSEC)

Maximum time for a request to be sent.

Ewon DF1 address

The device address of your Ewon devices on the DF1 link.

When the Ewon device acts as a DF1 slave, it will respond to 2 consecutive link addresses; doing this improves the throughput of data across the Ewon device when acting as a gateway (Ewon DF1 address and Ewon DF1 address +1).

Destination DF1 address

Device address of destination on DF1 link when EIP is used.

Bridge EIP connection

When bridging is configured, EIP connections requests are forwarded to the PLC on the DF1 interface (mandatory for Logix family).

This is the default configuration. When not configured, connection requests are canceled by the Ewon device.

Uncheck Bridge EIP Connection when polling PLC 5, SLC family, or Micrologix devices.

An IO server can only poll on one serial line. Similarly, multiple IO servers cannot poll on the same serial line.

Topic Configuration (Serial and Ethernet)

Topics give common properties to groups of DF1 tags such as whether polling is enabled or disabled for these tags, their poll rate, and the destination device type and address.

Global Device Address

The global device address is a global parameter that identifies the device to be polled.

If an address is specified here, it will replace (overload) the address defined at the tag level.

Clicking in this field will enable an address helper to assist with selecting the appropriate address syntax for your device.

• For SLC500 and PLC5 PLCs, enter the PLC type followed by the DF1 node address or IP address.
• For MicroLogix PLCs, simply enter the DF1 node address or IP address.

When the address entered is a valid syntax, the contents of the field will appear green. When the syntax is invalid, the contents of the field will appear in red.

Poll rate

Defines the refresh rate of the tag name.

Enter the refresh rate in ms (milliseconds) for the tags associated with this topic. The default value is 2000 ms (2 seconds).

More detailed information about polling tags from Allen-Bradley PLCs is available for serial devices and for Ethernet devices.