FactoryLink 7

Version 7.0
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Device Interface Guide

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

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© Copyright 2000 United States Data Corporation. All rights reserved.

NOTICE:

The information contained in this document (and other media provided herewith) constitutes confidential
information of United States Data Corporation (“USDATA”) and is protected by copyright laws and
international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Such information is
not to be disclosed, used or copied by, or transferred to, any individual, corporation, company or other entity,
in any form, by any means or for any purpose, without the express written permission of USDATA.

The information contained in this document and related media constitutes documentation relating to a
software product and is being provided solely for use with such software product. The software product was
provided pursuant to a separate license or other agreement and such information is subject to the restrictions
and other terms and conditions of such license or other agreement.

The information contained in this document and related media is subject to change without notice and does
not represent a commitment on the part of USDATA. Except for warranties, if any, set forth in the separate
license or other agreement relating to the applicable software product, USDATA makes no warranty, express
or implied, with respect to such information or such software product.

USDATA and FactoryLink are registered trademarks of United States Data Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. Open Software Bus is a registered trademark licensed to United States Data
Corporation. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.
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Part I External Device Interface

Chapter 1 External Device Interface Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Communications Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Communicating with Multiple Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Communicating with Multiple Protocol Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Device Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Serial Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
DigiBoard Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Ethernet Board Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Combination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Components of a Communication Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Retrieving and Transferring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Triggered Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Unsolicited Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Write Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Tag Naming Considerations for EDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Triggering Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
How Shared Memory Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
How to Avoid Filling Up Shared Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Configuration Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Triggered Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Unsolicited Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Write Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Triggering Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Optimization Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
The Cable Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Chapter 2 Tag Definition Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 3 Setting Operating System Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Windows NT Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 4 Setting Up Serial Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Electrical Interface Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 3

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RS-232 Mechanical Interface Standard Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Cable Description and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Worksheet for Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Using ComWiz to Configure Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Chapter 5 Configuring Communication Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Completing the Logical Station Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Creating the Logical Port Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Sample External Device Definition Table Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Creating Logical Station Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Modicon Modbus Plus Logical Station Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Sample Logical Station Table Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Table Entries for Sample Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 6 Reading Data from a Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Triggered Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Unsolicited Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Defining the Table Type and Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Triggered Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Unsolicited Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Combination Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Read Holding or Input Register, Store in Analog Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Read Holding or Input Register, Store in Digital Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Read Holding Register, Store in Floating-Point or Long Analog Element . . . . . . . 106
Read Holding Register, Store in Message Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Read Coil or Input Status Register, Store in Digital Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Read Memory Register, Store in Analog Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Read Statistics Word, Store in Analog Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Read Global Data Word, Store in Analog Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Sample Read Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Sample Triggered Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Sample Unsolicited Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

4 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 7 Writing Data to a Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Block Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exception Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Defining the Table Type and Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Block Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Exception Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Combination Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Write Analog Element Value to Holding Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Write Digital Element Value to Holding Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Set Bits in Holding Register Using Mask Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Write Floating-Point or Long Analog Element Value to Holding Register . . . . . . . 143
Write Message Element Value to Holding Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Write Digital Element Value to Coil Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Write Analog Element Value to Memory Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Write Analog Element Value to Global Data Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Sample Write Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Sample Triggered Block Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Sample Exception Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Sample Combination Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Chapter 8 Application Design Tips and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Grouping of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Processing of Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Processing of Write Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Read and Write Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Specifying Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Overtriggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Efficient Triggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Timed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Cascaded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Self-Triggered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Chapter 9 Testing and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

EDI Flowcharts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 5

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Basic Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Common Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Testing Your Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Verifying Proper Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Chapter 10 Messages and Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Message Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
EDI Run-Time Manager Line Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Tag Message Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
EDI Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Startup Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Chapter 11 Allen-Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Allen-Bradley Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Conversion of Data Types for Read Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Digital Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Analog Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Floating-Point Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Longana Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Message Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Conversion of Elements for Write Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Digital Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Analog Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Floating-Point Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Longana Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Message Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Allen-Bradley Address Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
PLC-2 Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
PLC-3 Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Examples (Symbolic File Addressing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
PLC-5 Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

6 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 PLC 5-250 Native Mode Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Allen-Bradley Switch Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
1770-KF2 Series B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
1771-KA2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
1771-KE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
1771-KG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
1785-KA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Single-Digit Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Double-Digit Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Chapter 12 General Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
ER:xxxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Single-Digit Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Double-Digit Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Chapter 13 General Purpose Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Application Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Capabilities, Limitations, and Trade-Offs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Trade-Offs and Compromises in Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Accessing the Configuration Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
GPI Command/Response Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Command Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Response Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Flexibility and Design of the GPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Formatting an Outgoing Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

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Format and Sources of Information in the Outgoing Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Sample Information Panel for a Command Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Debugging Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Status/Debug Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
RAW VALUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
STAT_TAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Summary of Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
GPI Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Principles of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Defining the Outgoing Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Formatting the Incoming Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Associating an Outgoing Message with an Incoming Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Specifying Methods to Detect an End-of-Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Non-Printable or “Don’t Care” Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Initiating a Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Putting the Protocol Module in Unsolicited Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Reporting Message Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Converting a Field’s Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Using Process Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Associating a Digital Element to a Bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Determining the Sources of Field Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Modifying a Previously Defined Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
GPI Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Configuration Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Command/Response Information Panel Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Defining the Outgoing Message to the GPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Defining Response Termination and Status Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Defining the Incoming Response to the GPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Using Process Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Process Functions Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Using Conversion Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Sample Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Response Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Command Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Network Response Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Network Command Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
GPI Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

8 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 14 Modicon Modbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Run-Time Manager Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
In Message Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Chapter 15 Modicon Modbus Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Modbus Plus Cable Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Run-Time Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Chapter 16 OMRON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Technical Notes: Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
OMRON Data Types and PLC Data Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
OMRON Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Chapter 17 Siemens CP525 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Siemens CP525 Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Siemens CP525 Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

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Chapter 18 Siemens H1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Siemens H1 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Types of Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Defining a TSAP Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
TSAP IDs and ASCII Equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Accessing the Siemens H1 Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Logical Station Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Activate/Deactivate Station Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Set Remote Parameters Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Set Logical Station Variables Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Cable Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Thick Net Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Thin Net Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Siemens H1 Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Siemens H1 Adapter Display Utility (H1MPDISP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Run-Time Logical Station Command Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

Chapter 19 Square D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Cable Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
SQRD8023 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
SQRDRCOM and SQRDSCOM Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
SQRDRCOM, SQRDSCOM and SQRDENET Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Chapter 20 Texas Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Texas Instruments Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
DIP Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

10 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 Baud Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
DIP Switches for TIWAY NIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Accessing the Texas Instruments Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Configuring the Unilink Setup Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Loop Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Configuring Tables for Loop Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Additional Parameters for TI Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
DCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
LRDS, LRRC, LRST, and LSDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Computations for 5TI Sequencer Ladder Logic Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Diagram A: Bit Layout for 16-bit Sequencer Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Diagram B: Binary Weight Tables for Bits 10-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Diagram C: Sample Computations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Decoding ER: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Case 1: EDI Task or Protocol Module Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Case 2: TIWAY Serial Unilink Network or Point-to-Point TI PLC Errors . . . . . . . 572
Texas Instruments Message Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

Part II KTDTL and NetDTL

KTDTL and NetDTL at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Chapter 21 KTDTL and NetDTL Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

Offlink Addressing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592
KTDTL Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
NetDTL Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

Chapter 22 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Configuring the System Configuration Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Optimizing Task Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

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Chapter 23 Configuring Communication Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Logical Station Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Creating Logical Station Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
Sample Logical Station Table Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
Path and Address Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Logical Station Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640

Chapter 24 Reading and Writing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

Reading Data from a Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
Writing Data to a Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Configuration Tips and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
Verifying Proper Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
Choosing Operation Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
Choosing Effective Triggering Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
Configuring Read and Write Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
Filling Out the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
Filling Out the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Configuring an Unsolicited Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
Unsolicited Read Operation Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
Filling Out the Unsolicited Read Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Filling Out the Unsolicited Read Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Sample Read and Write Table Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Sample Triggered Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Sample Unsolicited Read Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
Sample Block Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Sample Exception Write Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
Techniques for Improving Communication Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688
Specifying Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688
Overtriggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Efficient Triggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Chapter 25 Allen-Bradley Data Types and Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695

Supported Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Address Specification Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
PLC-2 Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

12 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 PLC-3, PLC-5, and PLC-5/250 Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
PLC-3 File Type Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
Subelements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
PLC-5 File Type Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Subelements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
PLC-5/250 File Type Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
Subelements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
SLC 500 File Type Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Subelements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718

Chapter 26 Messages and Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

Status Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Shutdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
Shutdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
Allen-Bradley Return Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

Part III Telemecanique

Chapter 27 Telemecanique PLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

PLC Interface Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Principles of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Configuration Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731
External Device Definition Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733

Chapter 28 Telemecanique Configuration Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Configuring the External Device Definition Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
Telemecanique Logical Station Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 13

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Telemecanique Read/Write Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746

Chapter 29 System Configuration Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755

Chapter 30 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759

Connecting to XWAY Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
Configuring Telemecanique Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
Configuring the Slaves and the TW7 Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
First and Last Slave Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
TW7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
Network Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
Data Type Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
Conversion Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
Telemecanique PLC Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
Unsolicited Data Configuration Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778

Chapter 31 Telemecanique Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

Part IV RAPD Drivers

Chapter 32 External Device Interface for AB_RAPD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
How to Use This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
AB__RAPD at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
Accessing the AB_RAPD Configuration Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
Configuring the AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
Configuring the I/O Translator Definition Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
Configuring the AB RSLinx Port Definition Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
Configuring the AB RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Technical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813

14 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 33 MODBUS Ethernet Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
PURPOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
AUDIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
STRUCTURE OF THE MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER SOFTWARE GUIDE . . . . 815
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
. . . at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
Example Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Modbus ethernet driver at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
Installation of the FactoryLink Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
I/O Translator and Protocol Driver Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823
DATASETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823
BLOCK READ AND WRITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823
UNSOLICITED RECEIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823
EXCEPTION WRITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824
ENCODED WRITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824
FACTORYLINK DOMAIN SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
Configuring Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826
MAILBOX PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826
DEFINITION PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827
DRIVER DEVICE DEFINITION PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
DATASET DEFINITION PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
Statistics Data Access Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833
HOLDING REGISTER MANIPULATIONS IN THE I/O TRANSLATOR . . . . . . . . . 836
UNSOLITICTED DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836
Error Codes and Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838
Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838

Part V Semiconductor Drivers

Chapter 34 External Device Interface for Gem80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845
How to Use This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845
Gem80 at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 15

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Accessing the Gem80 Configuration Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 852
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
Technical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Reads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Writes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Block Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
Run-Time Manager Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870

Chapter 35 External Device Interface for SECS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
SDRV Communications at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
Accessing the SDRV Communications Configuration Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875
Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
Configuring the Logical Device Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886
Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891
Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892
Technical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897
Application Specific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897
System Specific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901
Run-Time Application Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903

16 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Part I
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External Device
Interface
The External Device Interface (EDI) task allows you to configure FactoryLink to
communicate with remote devices that monitor and control processes. These
devices include programmable controllers and remote terminal units. Virtually all
industries from the production of goods at a factory to the movement of liquid or
gas down a pipeline and the periodic collection of data use these remote devices.

By sending messages to remote devices through the FactoryLink EDI task, you
can automate tasks associated with processes, such as when valves are opened or
closed, when machines are turned on or off, or when data such as temperature or
pressure is collected. Each remote device uses a specific communication protocol.
The protocol used varies by device type; therefore, FactoryLink translates the
protocol to ensure an accurate exchange of data with the device.

FactoryLink supplies a set of protocol-specific modules to address the protocol

translation needs. Each protocol module translates messages sent from
FactoryLink into a format understood by the supported device type and translates
messages sent from the device to a format understood by FactoryLink.

Part I introduces the concepts you must understand to configure communications

between FactoryLink and a remote device. This section covers the EDI task and
the FactoryLink core EDI protocol drivers. Supplemental EDI protocol driver
manuals can be found on the documentation CD.

17
Chapter 1

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External Device
Interface Overview 1

External Device
Interface
The External Device Interface (EDI) task allows you to configure FactoryLink to
communicate with remote devices. Remote devices, such as programmable
controllers and remote terminal units, are used in virtually every type of industry
to monitor and control processes, such as the production of goods at a factory, the
movement of liquid or gas down a pipeline, or the periodic collection of data.

By sending messages to remote devices via the EDI task, you can use FactoryLink
to automate tasks associated with processes, such as when valves are opened or
closed, when machines are turned on or off, or when data such as temperature or
pressure is collected.

Each remote device uses a specific communication protocol. The protocol used by a
device varies from one device type to another; therefore, FactoryLink must be able
to translate a particular device’s protocol to ensure an accurate exchange of data
with the device. A set of protocol-specific modules is supplied with FactoryLink to
address these protocol translation needs. Each protocol module translates
messages sent from FactoryLink into a format understood by the supported device
type and translates messages sent from the device to a format understood by
FactoryLink.

This chapter introduces the concepts you need to understand to configure

communications between FactoryLink and a remote device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 19

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Communications Methodology
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C OMMUNICATIONS M ETHODOLOGY
FactoryLink can retrieve (or read) data from a remote device and send (or write)
data to a device. Below and on the next page are two sequential lists and
illustrations of events explaining FactoryLink’s process for retrieving and sending
device data.
Figure 1-1 Retrieving Data from a Remote Device

Open
0 ö
1
Closed ì
ú
ó
÷
€
ø

í 1 0 1 0 1 0

€ EDI sends a message requesting data from a

remote device.

ó A protocol module translates the message to a

format the device understands.

ì The protocol module sends the translated

message to the device.

ö The device processes the message.

ú The device returns a message to the protocol

module containing the requested data.

÷ The protocol module translates the response to a

format FactoryLink understands.

ø The protocol module sends the device’s

translated response message to EDI.

í EDI stores the received data as elements in

FactoryLink’s real-time database.

20 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Communications Methodology

Figure 1-2 Sending Data to a Remote Device

1
ö
A

MTR

External Device
SOL
ì

Interface
ó
€

1 0 1 0 1 0

€ EDI sends a message containing data that

can be interpreted as instructions, such as to
open or close a valve or to start a motor.

ó A protocol module translates this message

into a format the device understands.

ì The protocol module sends the translated

message to the device.

ö The device performs the instruction contained in

the message.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 21

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Communicating with Multiple Devices
•
•
C OMMUNICATING WITH M ULTIPLE D EVICES
FactoryLink communicates with multiple devices of the same or different
communication protocols concurrently.

Through one communications port, FactoryLink communicates with multiple

devices that share the same communications protocol.
Figure 1-3 One Port, One Protocol, Multiple Devices

FactoryLink
Computer
Port

Using an additional port, FactoryLink can communicate with devices that share
another communications protocol.
Figure 1-4 Multiple Ports, Multiple Protocols

FactoryLink
Computer Port

Port

Each communications port supports one type of protocol. This means only one
protocol module can be used per port. The number of supported devices per port
depends on your hardware configuration. See “Device Topologies” on page 27 for
descriptions of various types of hardware configurations.

22 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Communicating with Multiple Protocol Modules

C OMMUNICATING WITH M ULTIPLE P ROTOCOL M ODULES

1
EDI is the interface to FactoryLink and the protocol module is the interface to the
device.

External Device
Figure 1-5 Interface Topology

Interface
A FactoryLink application requires only one EDI task running to communicate
with multiple devices. EDI, however, can provide a common interface to the
real-time database for one or more instances of the same protocol module or one or
more unique modules that support devices of varying manufacturers and types.

Use more than one protocol module when you need to communicate with different
types of devices through separate ports, as shown in Figure 1-6 and Figure 1-9.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 23

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Communicating with Multiple Protocol Modules
•
•
Figure 1-6 illustrates EDI communicating through one port with a protocol
module for a group of devices that controls and monitors a particular process, and
at the same time communicating through a different port with another protocol
module that controls and monitors a different process.
Figure 1-6 Communicating with Different Protocols

FactoryLink
Port Computer

Port

EDI and one protocol module can communicate with devices that share the same
protocol. Figure 1-7 illustrates FactoryLink communicating with three devices out
of one port.
Figure 1-7 Communication Through One Protocol Module

Note

These examples are for network or multi-drop communications.

24 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Communicating with Multiple Protocol Modules

EDI and multiple instances of one protocol module can communicate with devices
that share the same communication protocol. Figure 1-8 illustrates FactoryLink 1
communicating with devices via three different ports. When you use instances of a
protocol module, the distribution of system resources allows better throughput,
thus speeding up communications. This type of configuration is typical in

External Device
point-to-point communications, discussed in “Device Topologies” on page 27.

Interface
Figure 1-8 Communication Through Multiple Instances of One Protocol Module

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 25

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Communicating with Multiple Protocol Modules
•
•
EDI and multiple unique protocol modules can communicate with devices that
support the different communication protocols. Figure 1-9 illustrates FactoryLink
communicating with the devices via three different ports.
Figure 1-9 Communication Through Multiple Unique Protocol Modules

Note

Regardless of the number of protocol modules in use and whether

they are alike or different, FactoryLink can only communicate
with as many devices as your hardware configuration will support.

26 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Device Topologies

D EVICE TOPOLOGIES
1
The diagrams in this section illustrate some possible ways FactoryLink
communicates with devices. For information about communications with devices
using specific protocol modules, refer to the table on page 30.

External Device
Interface
Serial Port
For a serial system unit communications (COM) port connection, FactoryLink can
communicate with devices in two ways: directly (one point to one point) as shown
in Figure 1-10, or through a network interface module as shown in Figure 1-11. An
interface module can be an RS232-to-RS422 external converter or a device that
bridges an RS232 communications link to a proprietary network.
Figure 1-10 Point-To-Point Connection

FactoryLink
COM
Computer
Port
COM
Port

Figure 1-11 Interface Module Connection

RS422 or
FactoryLink proprietary
Computer RS232 network
COM
Port

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 27

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Device Topologies
•
•
DigiBoard Port
FactoryLink can communicate through a DigiBoard intelligent or nonintelligent
serial communications board located in an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
slot in the computer’s chassis. A DigiBoard provides additional asynchronous
serial ports through which FactoryLink can communicate with devices. The PC/Xe
and PC/Xem models are supported on Windows NT; only the PC/Xe model is
supported on Windows 95.
Figure 1-12 DigiBoard Connection

FactoryLink
Computer

DigiBoard

Ethernet Board Port

FactoryLink can communicate with devices across an Ethernet network through
an Ethernet adapter board.
Figure 1-13 Ethernet Connection

FactoryLink
Computer

Ethernet
Board
Port

28 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Device Topologies

Combination
1
Topologies can be combined. The way in which you successfully combine topologies
depends on a combination of limitations in hardware, system resources, and
FactoryLink.

External Device
Figure 1-14 illustrates simultaneous communications with four devices: three are

Interface
linked via a network through an RS232-to-RS422 converter and one device is
connected directly to a COM port.
Figure 1-14 Point-To-Point and Network Module Connection

RS232 RS422
FactoryLinkCOM
Computer Port

COM
Port

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 29

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Device Topologies
•
•
The following table lists the ECS device interface protocol module base set and the
ports supported by each.

Table 1-1 Supported Ports

Ports
Protocol Module
Serial DigiBoard Ethernet

Allen-Bradley ✔ ✔

General Electric Fanuc ✔ ✔

General Purpose Interface ✔ ✔

Modicon Modbus™ ✔ ✔

Modicon Modbus Plus™ ✔

OMRON™ Host Link Protocol ✔ ✔

Siemens CP525® ✔ ✔

Siemens Sinec H1 ✔

Square D ✔ ✔ ✔

Texas Instruments™
✔ ✔
TIWAY/Point-to-Point

30 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Components of a Communication Path

C OMPONENTS OF A C OMMUNICATION P ATH

1
The communication path to each device is identified to FactoryLink by its
components.

External Device
For a COM port connection, the two components are the device and the COM port
to which it is connected.

Interface
Figure 1-15 Two Components of a COM Port Connection

FactoryLink
COM
Computer
Port
Port Device

For a DigiBoard port connection, the two components of a communication path are
the device and the board port to which it is connected.
Figure 1-16 Two Components of a DigiBoard Port Connection

FactoryLink
Computer

DigiBoard Device
Port

Port

For an Ethernet board port connection, the two components are the device and the
board port to which it is connected.
Figure 1-17 Two Components of an Ethernet Port Connection

FactoryLink
Computer

Ethernet
Board Device
Port
Port

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 31

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Components of a Communication Path
•
•
Each component and its attributes must be uniquely identified. Every device that
communicates with FactoryLink must be assigned a unique logical number.
Likewise, every COM or board port on the computer through which a device
communicates must be assigned a unique logical number.

For purposes of this discussion, devices are referred to interchangeably as

“stations.” When you begin configuring the communication path, the number you
assign to each device is called a “logical station number.” The number you assign
to each port is called a “logical port number.”

Some examples of possible numbering schemas are illustrated in the next two
diagrams.
Figure 1-18 Point-To-Point Connection
Logical Port 0
Logical
FactoryLink
COM
Station 0
Computer Logical
Port
Station 1
COM
Port
Logical Port 1

Figure 1-19 Interface Module Connection with RS-232 to RS-422 Converter

Logical
Logical Port 1 Station 1
FactoryLink Logical
Computer
COM Station 2
Port
Logical
Station 3

Three more schemas are illustrated on the next page.

32 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Components of a Communication Path

Figure 1-20 DigiBoard Connection

Logical
1
Station 1
Logical

External Device
Station 2
Logical

Interface
Station 3
FactoryLink Logical
Computer Station 4

DigiBoard

Logical Port 4
Logical Port 3
Logical Port 2
Logical Port 1

Figure 1-21 Ethernet Connection

Logical
Station 1 Logical
Station 2 Logical
Station 3

FactoryLink
Computer

Ethernet
Board
Port
Logical Port 1

Figure 1-22 Point-To-Point and Interface Module Connection

Logical
Station 1
Logical
Logical Port 1 Station 2
Logical
FactoryLinkCOM Station 3
Computer Port

COM
Port
Logical Port 2
Logical
Station 4

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 33

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Components of a Communication Path
•
•
These arbitrary logical numbers can match physical or configurable numbers, but
this correspondence is not required. Thus, a logical station number assigned to
represent a device can differ from the configured address for the device. For
example, a device with a network address of 10 can be logical station 1. In the
same way, a number assigned to represent a port need not correspond to the
actual physical port number. COM2, for example, can be logical port 1.

The number you assign to a device (the logical station number) is tied to the
number you assign to represent the port through which communications with the
device occurs (the logical port number). No logical station number assigned to a
device can match the station number of another device for a given protocol type.
The logical port number you assign to represent a port can match a logical station
number assigned to a device (you can have logical port 1 and logical station 1), but
device numbers for a given protocol type must be unique (you cannot assign
logical station number 1 to two different devices).
Figure 1-23 Logical Port Numbers Tied to Logical Device Numbers

First Device, Logical Port 1

is Logical Station 1
Second Device, Logical Port 1
Logical Port 1 is Logical Station 2
Third Device, Logical Port 1
FactoryLinkCOM is Logical Station 3
Computer Port
First Device, Logical
COM Port 2 is Logical
Port Station 4
Logical Port 2

34 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Retrieving and Transferring Data

R ETRIEVING AND TRANSFERRING D ATA

1
EDI uses read and write operations to retrieve and transfer data between
FactoryLink and devices for which a communication path has been established.
You configure requests for read and write operations in one device

External Device
protocol-specific configuration table designed for defining both types of operations.

Interface
Each protocol module in the FactoryLink 6.6.0 device interface base set supports
triggered read operations and write operations. Selected protocol modules support
unsolicited read operations. Refer to Table 1-2 on page 38 for protocol-specific read
and write information.

Triggered Read Operations

In a triggered read operation, data is retrieved from a device and transferred to
the real-time database. First, FactoryLink requests data from specific locations
(registers or addresses) in a device. Next, the data is read, then stored in
FactoryLink as database elements.
Figure 1-24 Triggered Read Operation

€ FactoryLink requests
data from a device.

ó The device returns the

requested data to
FactoryLink.

ì FactoryLink stores the data as

elements in the real-time database.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 35

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Retrieving and Transferring Data
•
•
EDI triggered read operations occur based on either timed intervals or events. In
both types of operations, a change in the value of a trigger element prompts
FactoryLink to read data in specific locations in a device.
• Timed-Interval Read—A read request based on a timed interval instructs
FactoryLink to collect data at defined intervals, such as several times a minute
or at a given time each day.
• Event-Driven Read—A read request based on an event instructs FactoryLink to
collect data only when a defined event occurs, such as when an operator selects
a new graphic window or when an alarm condition occurs.

Unsolicited Read Operations

FactoryLink does not initiate the reading of data in an unsolicited read operation.
Instead, it accepts certain types of data from specified locations in a device, then
stores the data in the real-time database. FactoryLink recognizes the device data
because its starting address and length match an identical address and expected
data length configured in FactoryLink.
Figure 1-25 Unsolicited Read Operation

€ The device sends data

to FactoryLink.

ó FactoryLink ensures the

incoming data matches
configuration parameters.

ì FactoryLink stores the

data in the realtime
database.

36 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Retrieving and Transferring Data

Write Operations
1
In a write operation, data is retrieved from the real-time database and transferred
to a device. FactoryLink reads the values of real-time database elements, then
writes them to specific locations in a device.

External Device
Figure 1-26 Write Operation

Interface
€ FactoryLink reads
database elements
and sends their
values to a device.

ó The device stores the values.

Two types of EDI write operations can occur: block and exception.
• Block Write—In a block write request, a change in the value of a trigger element
prompts FactoryLink to write one or more database element values to specific
device locations.
• Exception Write—In an exception write request, a change in the value of an
element prompts FactoryLink to write that value to a specific device location.

The difference in these two operations is the way each is triggered. Both
operations write data from FactoryLink to the device when a trigger is activated.
For a block write, the trigger is an element defined specifically for prompting a
write operation. For an exception write, the trigger is the change in status of the
element to be written.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 37

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Retrieving and Transferring Data
•
•
The following table lists the read and write operations available for each
protocol-specific module in the base set.

Table 1-2 Supported Read and Write Operations

Read
Operations Write
Protocol Module
Operations
Triggered Unsolicited

Allen-Bradley ✔ ✔ ✔

General Electric Fanuc ✔ ✔

General Purpose Interface ✔ ✔ ✔

Modicon Modbus™ ✔ ✔

Modicon Modbus Plus™ ✔ ✔ ✔

OMRON™ Host Link Protocol ✔ ✔

Siemens CP525® ✔ ✔ ✔

Siemens Sinec H1 ✔ ✔ ✔

Square D ✔ ✔ ✔

Texas Instruments™
✔ ✔
TIWAY/Point-to-Point

38 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Tag Naming Considerations for EDI

TAG N AMING C ONSIDERATIONS FOR EDI

1
Tag names for elements in EDI are essentially the same as in any other
FactoryLink task. The one difference is EDI does not recognize brackets ([ ]) in tag
names as FactoryLink array specifiers. Brackets can be used, however. An array

External Device
is a FactoryLink tag name assigned to a group of elements.

Interface
See FactoryLink ECS Fundamentals for more information about working with
FactoryLink tags.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 39

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Triggering Considerations
•
•
TRIGGERING C ONSIDERATIONS
The way in which read and write operations are triggered can determine the
success or failure of an application. The success of the application can depend on
triggering rates because of the way these operations are processed.

Read and write operations use a limited area of the computer’s system memory
shared by a protocol module and the EDI module. If your configuration includes
more than one protocol module, a separate area of shared memory is associated
with each module.

Figure 1-27 and subsequent diagrams in this section depict shared memory as a
mailbox. Mail can go into and be retrieved from a mailbox. In the same way,
outgoing messages from EDI and incoming responses from a device are filtered
through shared memory.
Figure 1-27 Shared Memory with Each Protocol Module

40 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Triggering Considerations

The concept of shared memory is significant for two reasons:

• Since a shared memory area is associated with each protocol module or instance 1
of a protocol module, you can run multiple protocol modules simultaneously
with a certain amount of independence. “Communicating with Multiple
Devices” on page 22 provides details about how this works.

External Device
• Because the capacity of a shared memory area is limited (like a mailbox), when

Interface
the memory fills up, nothing more can be added to it. A shared memory area
fills up when the protocol module does not process data as fast as EDI requests
it, or when the protocol module sends requested data to EDI faster than EDI
can process it.

This discussion focuses on how the filling up of shared memory affects triggering
rates in your application. When you understand how shared memory works, you
can apply this knowledge and use work-around triggering schemes (these are
described later on) that result in an efficiently operating application.

How Shared Memory Works

Figure 1-28 shows how EDI and a protocol module use shared memory when
sending commands to and receiving responses from a device. Steps 1 through 5
are defined further on the following pages.
Figure 1-28 Function of Shared Memory in Read and Write Operations

ó
ì

€ EDI puts command into shared memory

ö
ó Protocol module gets command, sends to
device, and command is cleared from memory

ì Device returns acknowledgment and data €

ö Protocol module puts data into shared memory
ú EDI gets data, writes it to FactoryLink, and
response is cleared from memory ú

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 41

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Triggering Considerations
•
•
EDI puts a data transfer command into shared memory. This command could
contain a request to read data in the device and write it to FactoryLink or to write
data stored in FactoryLink to the device. As EDI puts data into shared memory, it
begins to fill up.
Figure 1-29 EDI Puts Command into Shared Memory

The protocol module, which constantly monitors shared memory for

communications from EDI, gets the command from shared memory and sends it to
the device. The command and any associated data, once the protocol module
retrieves it, is cleared from shared memory.
Figure 1-30 Protocol Module Gets Command and Sends to Device

If the operation is successful, the device returns:

• The requested data to the protocol module (if the command is for a read
operation)
• An acknowledgment the command was received and processed (if the command
is for a write operation)

If the operation is not successful, the device returns an error message. If the
device does not respond, the protocol module will indicate a time-out error.

42 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Triggering Considerations

Figure 1-31 Device Returns Requested Data or Acknowledgment

1

External Device
Interface
The protocol module matches the incoming data to the command and puts the
requested data, acknowledgment, or error message into shared memory.
Figure 1-32 Protocol Module Puts Data into Shared Memory

When EDI finds a response to the data transfer command in shared memory, it
retrieves the data, writes it to the real-time database, then clears the device’s
response from memory.
Figure 1-33 EDI Gets Data, Writes It to FactoryLink, Clears Data and Command

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 43

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Triggering Considerations
•
•
How to Avoid Filling Up Shared Memory
When numerous commands for read or write operations are being sent to a device
within the same time frame (as can happen when an application is configured to
trigger data too frequently), shared memory fills up. Likewise, when a device
sends blocks of data requested by EDI back to FactoryLink in intervals too close
together, shared memory fills up.
Figure 1-34 Process of Retrieving and Returning Data

If shared memory fills up with messages to

or from a device, no room is left in shared
memory for other messages that might
need to use the shared memory area.

To avoid filling up shared memory (overtriggering), define read and write

operations using two specific methods. One involves daisy chaining the operations
by assigning identical tag names for two types of digital elements (a trigger and a
state element) in the protocol-specific configuration table for the operation. The
other method is similar, but identical elements are defined across tables to create
a “self-triggering” effect. See “Efficient Triggering” on page 172 for more
information.

44 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Configuration Considerations

C ONFIGURATION C ONSIDERATIONS
1
Following are guidelines and examples to help you determine which types of read
and write operations work best for specific situations and how to configure these
operations to optimize FactoryLink’s performance.

External Device
Interface
Triggered Read Operations
A triggered read operation is the best choice for reading data that changes
frequently and at regular intervals. Use the following types of triggered read
operations under the described circumstances.
Interval If an application does not require all data to be collected at the
same time, you can increase FactoryLink’s efficiency by
configuring several read tables, each reading at a different
interval and only as often as necessary. For example, configure a
table with timed reads that occur every five seconds for elements
with values that change frequently, and every thirty seconds for
elements with values that change less frequently.
Event If events occur infrequently, you can reduce the number of
requests sent between FactoryLink and the device and increase
overall efficiency by configuring several read tables, each
triggered by a different event. For example, If a graphic screen
contains a large number of variables that are only useful on that
screen (that is, they are not alarm points and are not being
trended), you could configure a separate read table containing
only these variables. FactoryLink will only read the elements on
that screen when the operator triggers this read table by
selecting the graphic screen for viewing. Using this technique can
reduce traffic between FactoryLink and the device when an
application has a large number of graphic screens.
As another example of an event-driven read operation, you could
configure FactoryLink to trigger a particular read table only if an
alarm condition occurs. The element that detects the alarm
condition can trigger EDI to collect additional information from
the device about the status of related processes.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 45

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Configuration Considerations
•
•
Unsolicited Read Operations
An unsolicited read operation, if supported by the protocol module, is the best
choice for reading values that change infrequently and at unspecified intervals.
For example, you might design an application to notify FactoryLink whenever an
unexpected event occurs, such as an electrical unit power surge of a specified
magnitude. When defining unsolicited read operations, consider the frequency in
which unsolicited read operations are expected to execute. Unsolicited reads
occurring too frequently and at irregular intervals can cause excessive traffic
leading to a jam on the communication link.

Refer to Table 1-2 on page 38 to determine whether unsolicited read operations

are supported by the protocol module you are using.

Write Operations
Use the following types of write operations under the described circumstances.
Block If an application writes values of real-time database elements
that change frequently to the device, use a block write operation
because FactoryLink sends the minimum number of write
commands necessary to write the specified data. A block write is
most efficient when your application writes a group of elements
at one time to the device (for example, when the application
requires a new recipe).
Exception If an application writes values of real-time database elements
that change infrequently to the device or if the application only
needs to change one value at a time (for example, a new
user-entered setpoint), use an exception write operation. For each
exception write, EDI sends one packet of data per tag. See the
discussion of data organization in “Optimization Guidelines” on
page 48 for more information about data packets.

46 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Configuration Considerations

Triggering Guidelines
1
With the discussion of read and write configuration considerations beginning on
page 45 in mind, consider the following triggering guidelines:
• Only Trigger When Data is Needed—How often you choose to trigger data to be

External Device
read or written depends on several factors, including how often the data

Interface
changes and whether the changes occur regularly, the timing of the events in
the application, and the types of reads and write operations the device supports.
• Only Trigger When on Specific Screens—Trigger data needed more often at
faster rates while slowing down other requests.
• Daisy Chain Tables—Link or daisy chain tables together in several loops by
defining elements in such a way that the completion of one task triggers the
beginning of another. The discussion of cascaded tables in “Efficient Triggering”
on page 172 provides additional details.
• Combine Unsolicited Read Operations—If each item in a list of data is being
read from a device as an unsolicited read operation, consider merging the data
into a block read request. You can then trigger the block read operation with an
unsolicited forced write of a digital element to the device. If each item on the list
is configured as an unsolicited read, a separate data packet is sent for each
item. If each list item is combined and put into a block read, however, fewer
data packets are required and the transmission time is quicker.

Note

Refer to Table 1-2 on page 38 to determine whether the protocol

module you are using supports unsolicited read operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 47

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• Configuration Considerations
•
•
Optimization Guidelines
Consider the following guidelines for configuring read and write operations to
make the most efficient use of EDI’s capabilities.

Tip

Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” provides

more information about some of these guidelines plus other
information not covered here.

• Program the Device for Efficiency—Careful planning in the programming of the

devices in your configuration can enhance the performance of your application
and optimize transmission speed. Refer to the device manufacturer’s
documentation for device programming guidelines.
• Logically Group Table Entries—FactoryLink creates messages to send to a
device based on entries in a read or write table. Table entries are grouped
according to the following criteria: logical station number, FactoryLink data
type, device data type, and address. The messages FactoryLink creates are
based on the results of the grouped table entries. For maximum efficiency,
therefore, you should attempt to group read and write table entries the same
way in which FactoryLink internally groups them.
Another benefit of organizing table entries as FactoryLink does is it makes
debugging your application easier. If an error occurs in table processing, you
can readily identify the source of the error.
• Keep Addresses Contiguous—Whenever possible, keep addresses contiguous to
reduce the number of messages FactoryLink must generate to process a table.
For a discussion and examples of how FactoryLink groups data being read from
or written to contiguous addresses into messages, see “Grouping of Data” on
page 164.
• Recognize Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations—FactoryLink
processes data being read differently than it processes data being written. In a
read table, when you specify selected addresses of like data type to be read that
are close in proximity and configure tag names for like elements in which to
store the data read from these addresses, FactoryLink actually reads the entire
range of addresses (even ones you do not specifically define). Only the data
FactoryLink is configured to store is saved. In a write table, on the other hand,
when you specify tag names for elements to be written to selected addresses,
only the specified data is written.

48 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Configuration Considerations

For a discussion and examples of the differences in read and write table
processing, see “Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations” on page 1
166.
• Define Multiple Operations in a Single Table—Because the EDI task can process
multiple messages destined for a single device simultaneously, you can define

External Device
several read or write operations (within reason and based on the architecture of

Interface
the application) in a single table for maximum throughput. Each additional
table you define results in more messages the task must generate. The more
messages generated, the longer the read or write operation takes to complete.
• Keep Disabled Messages Together—Put entries that might need to be disabled
periodically in their own table, separate from entries that will not be disabled.
• Prioritize read and write operations—The priority of read and write operations
can affect the speed and performance of an application. EDI places each read
and write table you define into a user-specified priority queue. You can assign a
high priority to the most critical data to be read or written. EDI gives
preference to high priority read and write tables if it receives more than one
table at a time. For more information about how you can use priority queues to
improve an application’s performance, see “Specifying Priority” on page 171.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 49

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE OVERVIEW
• The Cable Connection
•
•
T HE C ABLE C ONNECTION
Remember, the signals in the cable supplied with the device might differ from
those required by FactoryLink. While the device might communicate with your
computer without a problem using the supplied cable, once FactoryLink
communications are attempted, the communications can fail.

The reason for this failure is in most instances (unless a leased-line modem is
being used), handshaking signals need to be “tied back.” This can be effectively
done using a modem eliminator, also called a null modem cable, which contains
handshaking tie-backs.

See Chapter 4, “Setting Up Serial Communications,” for more information about

cable connections as well as serial communications reference material.

50 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 2

•
•
•
•
Tag Definition Dialog
2

External Device
Interface
Read and write operations for each device protocol module except the General
Purpose Interface (GPI) can be configured using the Tag Definition dialog in the
Application Editor.

Once you establish a communication path to a device (described in Chapter 5,

“Configuring Communication Paths”) and define a table name and any needed
trigger elements (described in Chapter 6, “Reading Data from a Device,” and
Chapter 7, “Writing Data to a Device”), you can use the Tag Definition dialog to
define the addresses and data to be read or written.

The dialog for Modicon Modbus Plus is shown below:

Figure 2-1 Tag Definition Dialog Box

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 51

• TAG DEFINITION DIALOG
•
•
•
Refer to the Application Editor guide and to this manual’s protocol-specific
description of the Read/Write Information panel for Tag Definition dialog field
descriptions.

In all EDI drivers there is a 255 character limit on the length of message tags. If
any message tags are defined larger than 255, the excess data is truncated.

52 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 3

•
•
•
•
Setting Operating
System Parameters 3

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information for setting up the Windows NT Ethernet
operating system environment for FactoryLink communications.

W INDOWS NT E THERNET
Setting up a Windows NT Ethernet environment for FactoryLink EDI
communications involves adding the DLC Protocol to the network.

Note: The ethernet adapter used must be fully IEEE 802.3

compliant.

Perform the following steps to add the DLC Protocol:

Choose the Control Panel icon from the Windows NT menu.

Choose the Network icon from the Control Panel.

Click on Add Software in the Network Software and Adapter Cards box in the
Network Settings window.

Choose DLC Protocol from the list of options in the Add Network Software window
and click on Continue.

Enter the full path name in the Windows NT Setup window identifying the
location of the DLC Protocol files. Windows NT loads the software and then
redisplays the Network Settings window.

Click on OK in the Network Settings window. When configuration is complete, the

Network Settings Change window is displayed. Click on Restart Now.

Open the Network Settings window again (steps and above) after Windows NT
reboots.

Check to see whether DLC Protocol is displayed in the Installed Network

Software list in the Network Settings window to verify software installation.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 53

• SETTING OPERATING SYSTEM PARAMETERS
• Windows NT Ethernet
•
•
Click on Bindings...to view related software connections in the Network Settings
window. A line similar to the following one should be displayed in the list of
installed software:
DLC Protocol -> 3Com Etherlink II Adapter Device -> [1]
Etherlink II Adapter

54 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 4

•
•
•
•
Setting Up Serial
Communications 4

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains reference information to help you set up serial system unit
COM port communications between FactoryLink and your devices.
• “Electrical Interface Signals” on page 56 contains a table describing general
information about the electrical modem interface control signals the device
interface hardware and software configuration uses to establish and maintain
communication.
• “RS-232 Mechanical Interface Standard Reference” on page 57 describes RS-232
standard signal names and their corresponding pin settings for 25-pin and 9-pin
connectors.
• “Cable Description and Diagrams” on page 59 includes diagrams of two common
types of cabling scenarios used in device communications with FactoryLink.
Additional cable information, when available, is provided in the protocol-specific
reference chapters.
• “Worksheet for Cable Connections” on page 62 provides a worksheet and sample
pin-out diagrams designed to help you connect a device to a host computer’s
COM port.
• “Using ComWiz to Configure Ports” on page 64 provides information about the
different com port control signals and also gives you some hints on how to use
COMWiz.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 55

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Electrical Interface Signals
•
•
E LECTRICAL I NTERFACE S IGNALS
The following table provides general information about the electrical modem
interface control signals that the device interface hardware and software
configurations use to establish and maintain communication.

Before proceeding to the table, know that data terminal equipment is a generic
term used to describe terminals, computers, and printers. In this discussion, DTE
refers to the FactoryLink computer. Data communications equipment provides all
the functions needed to establish, maintain, and terminate a connection. In this
discussion, DCE refers to the external device.

Table 4-1 Modem Control Signals

Signal Description

RTS Request to send. When the data terminal equipment (DTE) has
something to transmit, it sends an RTS to the data
communications equipment (DCE). For FactoryLink
communications with devices other than modems, RTS and CTS
must be tied together.

CTS Clear to send. CTS is a response to an RTS. After the DTE sends
the RTS to the DCE, the DCE returns a CTS to the DTE,
indicating the DTE device can begin transmitting. Before
FactoryLink can receive data from a device, the device must first
transmit a CTS signal to FactoryLink.

CD Carrier detect (CD) is also referred to as DCD or received line

signal detect (RLSD). When the DCE receives a signal from a
remote modem, it sends a CD signal to notify the DTE. This CD
signal indicating the DCE has received a signal from a remote
modem is required by FactoryLink. Before data can be received
or transmitted, the DCE must first set the CD signal high in the
DTE.

DSR Data set ready. When the DCE is powered on, it sends this signal
to the DTE to indicate it is ready to transmit.

DTR Data terminal ready. When the DTE is powered on, it sends this
signal to the DCE. If the port is open, this signal remains set
high.

56 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
RS-232 Mechanical Interface Standard Reference

RS-232 M ECHANICAL I NTERFACE STANDARD R EFERENCE

4
The following tables and pin reference diagrams describe the RS-232 mechanical
interface standard. Use this information to determine the correct connections for
the device. See “Electrical Interface Signals” on page 56 for descriptions of the

External Device
referenced signal names.

Interface
Table 4-2 DB-25 Pin Reference for RS-232 Standard

DB-25 Description Signal Name

2 Transmit Data TxD

3 Receive Data RxD

4 Request to Send RTS

5 Clear to Send CTS

6 Dataset Ready DSR

7 Signal Ground SG

8 Carrier Detect CD

20 Data Terminal Ready DTR

Figure 4-1 Location of 25-Pin Signals

2 TxD (Transmitted Data)

3 RxD (Received data)
4 RTS (Request to send)
5 CTS (Clear to send)
6 DSR (Data set ready)
7 SG (Signal ground)
8 CD (Carrier detect) or RLSD (Receive line signal detector)
20 DTR (Data terminal ready)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 57

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• RS-232 Mechanical Interface Standard Reference
•
•
Table 4-3 DB-9 Pin Reference for RS-232 Standard

DB-9 Description Signal Name

3 Transmit Data TxD

2 Receive Data RxD

7 Request to Send RTS

8 Clear to Send CTS

6 Dataset Ready DSR

5 Signal Ground SG

1 Carrier Detect DCD

4 Data Terminal Ready DTR

Figure 4-2 Location of 9-Pin Signals

1 RLSD (Receive line signal detector) or CD (Carrier detect)

2 RxD (Received data)
3 TxD (Transmitted data)
4 DTR (Data terminal ready)
5 SG (Signal ground)
6 DSR (Data set ready)
7 RTS (Request to send)
8 CTS (Clear to send)
9 Ring indicator

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

58 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Cable Description and Diagrams

C ABLE D ESCRIPTION AND D IAGRAMS

4
The FactoryLink connector’s TxD signal must be connected to the device
connector’s RxD signal and vice versa. The current (pre 6.6.0) configuration
requires that the RTS signal be tied back to the CTS signal for FactoryLink and the

External Device
device connectors. DSR, CD, and DTR must also be tied back to both connectors.

Interface
Figure 4-3 illustrates a current (pre 6.6.0) RS-232 cable connection. Because
handshaking signals are tied back, this cable does not rely on the device for proper
signal manipulation.
Figure 4-3 RS-232 Cable to Device

FactoryLink Port Device

Shield

TxD TxD
RxD RxD
SG SG
RTS RTS
CTS CTS
Device-Dependent
DSR DSR Signals
CD CD
DTR DTR

Using COMWiz the port can be configured to not need handshaking signals,
allowing the use of a standard null modem cable as shown in Figure 4-4 or a
minimum 3-wire cable as shown in Figure 4-4, if the external device supports it.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 59

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Cable Description and Diagrams
•
•
Figure 4-4 RS-232 Cable to Device (Null modem type)

FactoryLink Port Device

Shield
TxD TxD
RxD RxD
SG SG
RTS RTS
CTS CTS

DSR DSR
CD CD

DTR DTR

Figure 4-5 RS-232 Cable to Device (Null modem type)

FactoryLink Port Device

Shield

TxD TxD
RxD RxD
SG SG
RTS RTS
CTS CTS
Device-Dependent
DSR DSR Signals
CD CD
DTR DTR

60 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Cable Description and Diagrams

Figure 4-6 illustrates an RS-422 cable connection between the FactoryLink

computer’s serial port and a device. The RS-422 is an electrical rather than a 4
mechanical interface standard and specifies no pin assignments.

Figure 4-6 RS-422 Cable to Device

External Device
Interface
FactoryLink Port Device
Shield

TxD+ TxD+
TxD- TxD-

RxD+ RxD+
RxD- RxD-

COM COM

Figure 4-7 illustrates an RS-485 two wire cable connection between the
FactoryLink computer’s serial port and a device. The RS-485 is an electrical
rather than a mechanical interface standard and specifies no pin assignments.

Figure 4-7 RS-485 Two Wire Cable to Device

FactoryLink Port Device

Shield

TxD+ +
TxD- -

RxD+
RxD-

COM COM

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 61

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Worksheet for Cable Connections
•
•
W ORKSHEET FOR C ABLE C ONNECTIONS
Use the following worksheet when establishing cable connections for the devices.
Complete a worksheet for each device in the configuration.

Table 4-4 Worksheet for Pin Connections

FactoryLink Port_____ Device Port_____

Pin Signal Signal Pin

___ TxD RxD ___

___ RxD TxD ___

___ RTS RTS ___

___ CTS CTS ___

___ SG SG ___

___ DSR DSR ___

___ DCD DCD ___

To complete the worksheet, perform the following steps:

Note

Some examples of worksheet entries are provided for your

reference. Pin numbers can vary, however, and the ones shown in
these examples will not necessarily match the numbers in your
FactoryLink and device hardware configuration.

Note the number of pins on the cable connectors for the FactoryLink station port
and the device port. Record this information in the blanks next to FactoryLink Port
and Device Port at the top of the worksheet. For example, write 25-pin next to
FactoryLink Port and 9-pin next to Device Port.

62 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Worksheet for Cable Connections

Record the pin numbers corresponding to the cable on the FactoryLink side of the
configuration in the blanks next to the appropriate signals on the worksheet. For 4
example, write 2 in the first row of the first Pin column to indicate the
FactoryLink TXD is 2.

External Device
Enter the pin numbers corresponding to the cable on the device side of the
configuration in the blanks next to the appropriate signals. For example, write 2

Interface
in first row of the second Pin column to indicate the device RxD is 2.

Create the cable from the resulting configuration.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 63

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Using ComWiz to Configure Ports
•
•
U SING C OM W IZ TO C ONFIGURE P ORTS
ComWiz is a utility that allows you to configure your serial communications to
allow a variety of handshaking and interface options for serial communications
with your external device. It can be accessed by selecting the ‘Com Port ‘Setup in
FLCM.

If you are converting an application that was created on a version of FactoryLink

prior to 6.6 or if you want to use the standard FactoryLink cable shown in Figure
4-3, then you do not need to use COMWiz. The default settings for COMWiz are
for use with this cable.

Any changes that you make while using COMWiz are stored in your application
(FLAPP) and are saved with this application. When your saved application file is
restored, the serial options that you selected are restored with it. If at anytime
during the configuration you want to change the settings back to default, click the
Standard button on the COMPort Extended Setup and the settings for the
standard cable will be restored.

Note

COMWiz was designed to allow you the freedom to configure the

type of handshaking that allows you to use various cable
connections and RS-422/485 ports. You must keep in mind the
communication requirements for the external devices with which
FactoryLink will be communicating. Not all external devices
support all types of communication options that are available; you
should research and test all applications before committing to a
specific setup.

The FactoryLink COMPort Extended Setup Dialog Menu, which is shown in

Figure 4-8 and Figure 4-9, allows you to configure each serial port on your
FactoryLink station. Most of the options are described at the end of this section.
The pull-down menu that is labeled PLC enables you to select recommended
configurations for specific PLC types. Not all of the PLCs supported by
FactoryLink are in this menu. More PLC type will be added in future releases.

The extended com setup dialog will be invoked from FLCM - Main Menu.

64 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Using ComWiz to Configure Ports

Figure 4-8 FactoryLink COMPort Extended Setup—Handshaking Choices

4
Application Directory

External Device
Interface
Choices for Handshaking

This button refers to

pre-FactoryLink 6.6.0 cable
configurations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 65

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Using ComWiz to Configure Ports
•
•
Figure 4-9 FactoryLink COMPort Extended Setup—Selecting a Driver

You can select a driver and

the setup tool automatically
selects the recommended
port configuration for that
driver.

66 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
Using ComWiz to Configure Ports

Table 4-5 lists each COMWiz parameter, its value(s), and describes how the
parameter works. 4
Table 4-5 COMWiz Parameters

External Device
Parameter Values Description

Interface
cts_out On Specifies whether the clear-to-send (CTS) signal
Off is monitored for output flow control. If this
member is TRUE and CTS is turned off, the
output is suspended until CTS is re-resent.

dsr_out On Specifies whether the data-set-ready (DSR)

Off signal is monitored for output flow control. If
this member is TRUE and DSR is turned off,
output is suspended until DSR is re-sent.

dsr_in On Specifies whether the communications driver is

Off sensitive to the state of the DSR signal. If the
member is TRUE, the driver ignores any bytes
received, unless the DSR modem input line is
high.

dtr_control None Disables the DTR line when the device is opened
and leaves it disabled.

Enabled Enables the DTR line when the device is opened

and leaves it on.

Hand Shake Enables DTR handshaking.

rts_control None Disables the RTS line when the device is opened
and leaves it disabled.

Enabled Enables the RTS line when the device is opened

and leaves it on.

Hand Shake Enables RTS handshaking. The driver raises the

RTS line when the “type-ahead” (input) buffer is
less than one-half full and lowers the RTS line
when the buffer is more than three-quarters full.

Toggle Specifies that the RTS line will be high if bytes

are available for transmission. After all buffered
bytes have been sent, the RTS line will be low.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 67

• SETTING UP SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS
• Using ComWiz to Configure Ports
•
•
Table 4-5 COMWiz Parameters (Continued)

Parameter Values Description

x_out On Specifies whether to use xon/xoff flow control on

Off output.

x_in On Specifies whether to use xon/xoff flow control on

Off output.

x_on Numeric value (decimal) of character to send for

XON. Typical is 17 (decimal)

x_off Numeric value (decimal) of character to send for

XOFF. Typical is 19 (decimal)

x_on_lim Specifies the minimum number of bytes allowed

in the input buffer before the XON character is
sent.

x_off_lim Specifies the maximum number of bytes allowed

in the input buffer before the XOFF character is
sent. The maximum number of bytes allowed is
calculated by subtracting this value from the
size, in bytes, of the input buffer. Typical settings
are x_off when the buffer is 75% full and x_on
when the buffer is 25% empty.

68 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 5

•
•
•
•
Configuring Communication
Paths 5

External Device
Interface
Once each device is connected properly and communicating with the computer running
FactoryLink, you are ready to establish the paths (or routes) over which FactoryLink will
communicate with the devices.

This chapter describes how to establish these communication paths by configuring two tables:
External Device Definition and Logical Station.
• On the External Device Definition table, you identify your device to the FactoryLink system
and define each logical port in your configuration. For a description of the steps involved in
filling out the External Device Definition table, see “Identifying Protocol Types and
Defining Logical Ports” on page 70.
• On the protocol-specific Logical Station table, you define the paths to be used for
communications between the devices and FactoryLink. For a description of the steps
involved in filling out the Logical Station table, see “Creating Logical Station Definitions”
on page 77.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 69

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports
•
•
I DENTIFYING P ROTOCOL TYPES AND D EFINING L OGICAL P ORTS
You configure FactoryLink to recognize the protocol module and each logical port through
which communications will occur by completing the External Device Definition panel,
accessed from the Configuration Manager Main Menu. For FactoryLink to recognize the
protocol module, you specify a protocol-specific identifier. For FactoryLink to recognize each
physical port that is part of the system configuration, you create a logical definition for each
port.
To identify the protocol and define the logical ports, perform the following steps:

If your FactoryLink application will communicate with devices via several different ports,
complete the Logical Station Worksheet. Refer to “Completing the Logical Station Worksheet”
on page 71 for details.

Note

This worksheet can be used with any protocol module in the FactoryLink
6.6.0 base set. It can be especially helpful, however, in documenting
numbering schemes for hardware configurations that not only include
multiple ports but that also use one or more network interface modules to
route communications to devices across a proprietary network.
Allen-Bradley and Square D are examples of protocol modules that provide
this type of support. A sample worksheet is provided on page 72 in which the
Allen-Bradley protocol module is used as an example.

Create the logical port definitions for each physical port. Refer to “Creating the Logical Port
Definitions” on page 73 for details.

70 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports

Completing the Logical Station Worksheet

5
The following worksheet is designed to help you plan, organize, and document the numbering
scheme for the devices and ports that need to be configured for FactoryLink communications.
You will use the completed worksheet when configuring the External Device Definition and

External Device
Logical Station tables. A sample worksheet is provided on page 72.

Interface
Table 5-1 Logical Station Worksheet

Logical Type of Device Configured Logical

Port
Port Communication for Communication Station

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 71

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports
•
•
In the sample worksheet below, five devices are configured to communicate out of four
different ports: two COM ports and two DigiBoard ports.

Table 5-2 Sample Completed Logical Station Worksheet

Logical Type of Device Configured Logical

Port
Port Communication for Communication Station

0 COM1 System unit serial PLC-2 0

1 COM2 System unit serial PLC-3 1

1 PLC-3 2

2 COM5 DigiBoard port 1 PLC-5 3

3 COM6 DigiBoard port 2 PLC-5 4

For the corresponding External Device Definition and Logical Station table entries, see “Table
Entries for Sample Worksheet” on page 87.

72 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports

Creating the Logical Port Definitions

5
The following steps describe the procedure for creating a logical port definition for each port
that is part of the system configuration.

External Device
Ensure the current domain selection is SHARED in the Configuration Manager Domain
Selection box.

Interface
Choose External Device Definition from the Main Menu. The External Device Definition
panel is displayed.

Using the field descriptions provided below, complete a row in the panel for each port to which
a device in the configuration is connected. Sample entries are provided in “Sample External
Device Definition Table Entries” on page 75.
Logical Port Enter a unique number to logically represent each port to which a device is
connected.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Physical Port For each logical port number, enter a number referencing the physical port
to which the device is connected.
Serial Ports—For each logical port, enter the number matching the
physical port to which the device is connected. Be sure to enter an
appropriate number for your hardware configuration. If the system unit
does not contain an expansion card, not all valid port number entries can be
used.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 73

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports
•
•
DigiBoard Ports—For the first logical port number, enter a physical port
number that does not conflict with the configured physical COM ports
existing in your computer system prior to DigiBoard installation. For
example, if the operating system is configured for four ports, COM1
through COM4, a good choice for this physical port number is 5.
For the second and subsequent logical port numbers, enter a different
number for each port. For example, increment each physical port number by
one.
DigiBoard communication port numbers are offset by the total number of
configured COM ports prior to DigiBoard installation. Using the previous
example of four configured ports, COM1 through COM4, installation of an
eight-port DigiBoard would provide eight more ports, COM5 through
COM12.
If more than one DigiBoard is used, assign each board the sequential
number following the number representing the last port on the previous
board. For example, if the ports on the first board are configured as physical
ports 5 through 12, the ports on a second eight-port board would be 13
through 20.
Entry Definition
1 - 32 Windows
Device Name For each logical port, enter the protocol-specific acronym that identifies the
protocol module communicating through the port.
Entry Definition
AB Allen-Bradley
GENE General Electric
ASYN General Purpose Interface
MODP Modbus Plus
MBUS Modicon Modbus
OMRN OMRON Host Link
SIEM Siemens CP525
H1MP Siemens H1
SQRD Square D
TI Texas Instruments TIWAY

74 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports

Function For each logical port, identify the type of communications. For the protocol
modules in the FactoryLink 6.6.0 base set, specify SYSCOM for serial 5
communications (including DigiBoard) or ETHERNET for Ethernet
communications if supported for the protocol module (see page 30).

External Device
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K
Comment Optionally, enter descriptive information about this logical port.

Interface
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 14 characters

When each logical port has been defined, click on Enter to validate the information. Next,
click on Exit to return to the Main Menu.

Create logical station definitions for each logical port. These define the paths to be used for
communications between each device and FactoryLink. For details, see “Creating Logical
Station Definitions” on page 77.

Sample External Device Definition Table Entries

A completed panel for two COM ports might resemble the sample panel below.
Figure 5-1 Sample Panel for Two COM Ports
Logical Port 0

FactoryLink
COM
Computer
Port
COM
Port
Logical Port 1

This sample panel configures two

instances of the Allen-Bradley
protocol module communicating via
two system unit COM ports in a
Windows operating environment.
Logical port 0 identifies COM1 and
Logical port 1 identifies COM2.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 75

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports
•
•
A completed panel for two DigiBoards might resemble the sample panel below.
Figure 5-2 Sample Panel for Two DigiBoards

First
DigiBoard

Second
DigiBoard
Logical Port 4
FactoryLink
Computer
Logical Port 3
Logical Port 2 Logical Port 8
Logical Port 7
Logical Port 1
Logical Port 6
Logical Port 5
This sample panel configures two
DigiBoards with devices connected to four
ports on each board. Logical port 1
identifies the first port on the first board.
Logical ports 2, 3, and 4 identify the
second, third, and fourth ports on the first
board. Logical port 5 identifies the first port
on the second board. Logical ports 6, 7,
and 8 identify the second, third, and fourth
ports on the second board. One instance of
the Allen-Bradley protocol is configured for
each port, meaning eight instances of
Allen-Bradley are configured.

76 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Creating Logical Station Definitions

C REATING L OGICAL S TATION D EFINITIONS

5
To create logical station definitions, you associate the logical ports defined in the External
Device Definition table with the actual physical stations (the devices) to communicate with
FactoryLink. This association defines and initializes the routes over which data will travel

External Device
between the devices and the interface software.

Interface
The logical station definitions identify sources and destinations for the read and write requests
you will configure later in read and write tables, and can include FactoryLink real-time
database elements to which system messages from the EDI task and the device protocol
module will be written.

The Logical Station table, where you create these definitions, consists of two panels, Logical
Station Control and Logical Station Information. These panels are part of the cascading group
of protocol-specific panels displayed from the Main Menu when you choose the option for the
protocol module you are configuring.

The following steps describe how to create logical station definitions for each logical port that
communicates with a device.

Note

To show the correspondence between the External Device Definition table

and the Logical Station table and how the entries you make in these tables
create the logical station definitions, the Modicon Modbus Plus protocol
module is used as an example.

Ensure the current domain selection is SHARED in the Configuration Manager Domain
Selection box.

Choose the option for the protocol module you are configuring from the Main Menu. A
cascaded view of all the configuration panels for that module is displayed.

Display the Logical Station Control panel by clicking on its title bar in the display of all panels.

On the Logical Station Control panel, you define pertinent information about each
communication path to a device so FactoryLink can establish communications with all the
devices. This information varies from one protocol module to another.

In general, however, a definition for a communication path can include (but is not limited to)
the following information:
• The logical port number, to create the association with the External Device Definition table

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 77

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Creating Logical Station Definitions
•
•
• For the port represented by the logical port number, communication protocols (such as baud
rate and parity) that match protocols defined in the device
• The amount of time the protocol module communicating through the port will wait to
receive a device response to a read or write request before timing out
• A particular communication mode, internal data path specified on a proprietary network
card, or other needed protocol-specific parameter for the port
• Message elements to which values can be written to indicate communications errors
associated with the port

Refer to your completed logical station worksheet to help you identify logical ports and
associate them with logical stations. See “Completing the Logical Station Worksheet” on page
71 for details.

Table 5-3 lists references to instructions for creating the logical station definitions for each
protocol-specific module in the base set. To create the definitions for the protocol module your
devices will communicate with, go to the specified page in the appropriate reference.

Note

Before going to the section describing the Logical Station panel entries for
the protocol module you are configuring, you may want to first review the
procedure for creating logical station definitions for Modbus Plus in
“Modicon Modbus Plus Logical Station Table” on page 80. The information
in the sections describing the panel entries for the other protocol modules is
presented in a reference format and will not necessarily show the associations
and results of the entries as the information in this section does.

78 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Creating Logical Station Definitions

Table 5-3 Logical Station Definition Reference

5
Protocol Module Go To

Allen-Bradley “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

External Device
page 196

Interface
General ElectricFanuc “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 238

General Purpose Interface “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

page 263

Modicon Modbus™ “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

page 342

Modicon Modbus Plus™ “Modicon Modbus Plus Logical Station Table” on page
80

OMRON™ Host Link Protocol “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 390

Siemens CP525® “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

page 418

Siemens Sinec H1 “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

page 446

Square D “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on

page 500

Texas Instruments™ Before completing the Logical Station table, you must
TIWAY/Point-to-Point complete the Unilink Setup table. For details, see
“Configuring the Unilink Setup Table” on page 530.
Once the Unilink Setup table is completed, refer to
“Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 534.

When the Logical Station Control panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not defined
elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose the type of data to be stored in the
element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain. Refer to the tag’s field
description for the valid data types.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 79

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Creating Logical Station Definitions
•
•
Select the row for the logical port you are configuring. Click on Next to display the Logical
Station Information panel. The logical port number is displayed in the Logical Port field on the
lower left side of the panel.
On the Logical Station Information panel, you define logical station numbers which identify
the address and device type for each device in the configuration and long analog elements to
which error codes for particular devices (logical stations) will be written. For some protocol
modules, the Logical Station Information panel requires other entries, such as limits or
additional device-specific addressing information.

Complete a row in the panel for each device to communicate through this logical port.

Click on Enter to validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not defined
elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose the type of data to be stored in the
element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain. Refer to the tag’s field
description for the valid data types.

To configure another logical port, click on Prev to return to the Logical Station Control panel
and repeat the steps beginning with step 5.

When you are ready to define the read and write operations expected to occur between this
logical port and the associated Modbus Plus devices configured as logical stations, refer to the
appropriate chapter: Chapter 6, “Reading Data from a Device,” or Chapter 7, “Writing Data to
a Device.”

Modicon Modbus Plus Logical Station Table

The following steps describe the procedure for completing the Modicon Modbus Plus Logical
Station table.

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the Logical Station Control panel for
each logical port defined in the External Device Definition table you want to include in the
communication path. Sample entries are provided in “Sample Logical Station Table Entries”
on page 85.

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 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Creating Logical Station Definitions

Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition table Logical
Port field, to represent a particular communication path to a Modbus Plus 5
device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number

External Device
Interface
The External Device Definition panel
logical port definition identifies the
port to EDI as a designated Modbus
Plus port.

The Logical Station Control panel

logical port definition links with the
EDI port definition to further define
communication parameters.

Adapter Number Enter either 0 or 1 to logically represent the SA85 host adapter. The default
is 0.
In a Windows environment, the Adapter Number entry must match the /n
parameter of the line for the SA85 device assignment (MBHOST.SYS for
Windows) in the CONFIG.SYS file.
Valid Entry: 0, 1
LPORT Status Optionally, enter a tag name for a message element to which a text string
Message Tag will be written to indicate a communications error associated with this
logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message
Data Master Paths Enter a number from 1 to 8 to represent the number of communications
channels to be used for command/response transactions between the SA85
card and the Modbus Plus device this logical port represents. Be sure the
number of master paths you define does not conflict with paths defined for
other software (such as the device programming software) using the card.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 81

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Creating Logical Station Definitions
•
•
Data master paths provide avenues for getting data back and forth between
FactoryLink and Modicon devices. Each additional path you define
increases the throughput of messages to and from a device. When multiple
channels are open to a single device, the transactions required for a read or
write operation can occur simultaneously over several paths rather than one
at a time as they would over only one path.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 1 - 8 (default = 3)
DS1, DS2,... DS8 Define each data slave (DS) path to this logical port over which unsolicited
data can be transmitted from a device to FactoryLink. For instance, to
define six data slave paths, specify YES in six DSn fields. Be sure the
number of slave paths you define does not conflict with paths defined for
other software using the card. For more information about data slave paths,
refer to the Modicon Modbus Plus Network Programming Guide.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default = no)

When the Logical Station Control panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not defined
elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose MESSAGE for Type and accept the
default of SHARED for Domain.

Select the row for the logical port you are configuring. Click on Next to display the Logical
Station Information panel.

82 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Creating Logical Station Definitions

The logical port number is displayed in the Logical Port field on the lower left side of the
panel. 5
On the Logical Station Information panel, you define the following information:
• Long analog elements to which error codes for particular devices (logical stations) will be

External Device
written

Interface
• For each logical port, logical station numbers that identify the device address, network
router address, and the device type for each device in the configuration
• The number of consecutive times FactoryLink will send a read or write command to a
logical station after an unsuccessful transmission attempt, the amount of time FactoryLink
will wait before retrying a transmission attempt, and tag names for elements reporting the
success or failure of these attempts

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each device to
communicate through this logical port.
LSTA Status Optionally, enter a tag name for an analog element to receive
Analog Tag communication error codes associated with this device (logical station).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the information in
(Decimal) this row pertains. A logical station represents the combination of a logical
port with a physical station. Assign a unique number to each device
communicating through this logical port. This number must be unique
among all Modicon devices across all ports.
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write table to
represent the device defined in this row. In a read or write table, this number
will identify the device to or from which data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: unique numeric value from 0 - 999 (default = 0)
PLC Type Define the type of Modbus Plus device to which communications are to be
directed: 984 or 984BITWRITE for devices that support the mask write
function (A120, A130, A141, A145, 685E, 785E, AT4, and VM4).
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K (default = 984)
Physical Station Enter the physical address of the Modbus Plus device. This address must
match the configured address of the equipment.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 64 (default = 0)
Router1... Router4 Define the Modbus Plus network address of each router or bridge to a
logical station. Up to four routers can be defined for each physical station.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 64 (default = 0)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 83

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Creating Logical Station Definitions
•
•
Response Timeout Enter a number between 1 and 300 that defines the length of time, in
0.01 sec hundredths of a second, the protocol module will wait to receive a device
response to a read or write command before timing out. The timeout occurs
after each retry of the transmission attempt (as specified in the Number of
Retries field).
If you specify 300 for Response Timeout 0.01 sec and 3 for Number of
Retries, for example, a three-second timeout occurs after each retry. If the
device does not respond after the third retry, transmission attempts cease for
that command. If all three retries are exhausted, the total duration of the
transmission attempt is nine seconds.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 1 - 300 (default = 1)
Number of Retries Define the maximum number of consecutive times a read or write command
will be sent to a logical station after an unsuccessful first transmission
attempt.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 10 (default = 3)
LSTA Failure Optionally, define a tag name for a digital element to receive the status of
Digital Tag communication attempts for this logical station. If the value of this element
is 0 (OFF), the communication attempt to this logical station was
successful. If the value of this element is 1 (ON), the communication
attempt to this logical station failed. You can also specify this tag name in
the Alarm Supervisor for an alarm element to indicate a communications
failure.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
LSTA Failure Optionally, define a tag name for a message element to receive text
Message Tag describing the status of communication attempts for this logical station.
This tag works in conjunction with the LSTA Failure Digital Tag field to
display a meaningful error message for the operator on the Alarm
Supervisor screen.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message
Comment Optionally, enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 30 characters

Click on Enter to validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not defined
elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose the type of data to be stored in the

84 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Creating Logical Station Definitions

element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain. Refer to the tag’s field
description for the valid data types. 5
To configure another logical port, click on Prev to return to the Logical Station Control panel
and repeat these steps beginning with step on page 80.

External Device
When you are ready to define the read and write operations expected to occur between this

Interface
logical port and the associated Modbus Plus devices configured as logical stations, refer to the
appropriate chapter: Chapter 6, “Reading Data from a Device,” or Chapter 7, “Writing Data to
a Device.”

Sample Logical Station Table Entries

When all Logical Station Control panel information has been specified, the panel should
resemble the following example: l

Continued

Continued

In this example, logical port 0 of the SA85 card configured as 0 in the CONFIG.SYS file has
six allocated data master paths over which command/response transactions for read and write
operations can travel. Four data slave paths are available for transmission of unsolicited data
from any device communicating with FactoryLink through this logical port (in this instance,
logical station 0 defined on the Logical Station Information panel). Additionally, the EDI task
will store communications error messages associated with this logical port in a message
element, MODP_LPORT0_MSG.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 85

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Creating Logical Station Definitions
•
•
When all Logical Station Information panel information has been specified, the panel should
resemble the following example:
Figure 5-3 Sample Logical Station Information Panel

Continued

Continued Continued

Continued

In this example, the analog element MODP_STATION0_STATUS is configured to hold port

errors for logical station 0, which communicates with a Modicon 984 device at address
10.30.31. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to transmit an instruction for a read or write
operation, FactoryLink makes up to three more one-second attempts (three total seconds) then
ceases trying to send the data to the device. All attempts to transmit instructions to the device
are documented in a pair of elements, MODP_LS0_FAIL_DIG and MODP_LS0_FAIL_MSG,
that work together to provide a meaningful operator message for display purposes.

86 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Table Entries for Sample Worksheet

TABLE E NTRIES FOR S AMPLE WORKSHEET

5
The External Device Definition and Logical Station table entries corresponding to the sample
configuration recorded on the logical station worksheet on page 72 are shown in Figure 5-4.

External Device
Figure 5-4 Table Entries Corresponding to Sample Logical Station Worksheet
First, you assign a logical

Interface
port number to each
physical port in the External
Device Definition table.

Then, you further define these

logical ports in the Logical
Station Control panel.

Next, you associate the logical ports with the physical

devices (logical stations) that will communicate
through the ports by completing a Logical Station
Information panel for each logical port.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 87

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Table Entries for Sample Worksheet
•
•

88 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 6

•
•
•
•
Reading Data from a
Device 6

External Device
Interface
After setting up the communication paths in the External Device Definition and
Logical Station configuration tables, the next step is to define information about
the data to be read from and written to the devices.

This chapter describes how to define a request to read locations in a device and
store the information read in FactoryLink database elements. See Chapter 7,
“Writing Data to a Device,” for procedures describing how to define a request to
write the values of FactoryLink database elements to locations in a device.

To define a read request, you configure the Read/Write table which consists of two
panels: Read/Write Control and Read/Write Information. Like the Logical Station
panels, the Read/Write panels are part of the cascading protocol-specific panels
displayed when you choose the option for the protocol module you are configuring
from the Configuration Manager Main Menu.

Note

The Modicon Modbus Plus protocol module is used as an example

throughout this chapter to describe basic read operation concepts.
For protocol-specific information, please refer to the appropriate
reference chapter.

When filling out a read request, you specify in which elements the device data
read during the operation will be stored. For each element, you specify:
• The tag name assigned to the FactoryLink database elements storing the data
• The logical station from which the data will be read
• The register address in that logical station containing the data to be read

Depending on the protocol module used, you can configure two types of read
requests, triggered and unsolicited, or a combination of these. Refer to Table 1-2
on page 38 for supported read functions.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 89

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Triggered Read Request
•
•
TRIGGERED R EAD R EQUEST
In a triggered read request, a digital element you configure in the Read/Write
Control panel as a trigger to initiate a block read operation causes FactoryLink to
read the values at device addresses you specify in the associated Read/Write
Information panel each time the value of the trigger element is forced to 1 (ON).

FactoryLink reads the values read then stores them in real-time database
elements for which you specify tag names in the Read/Write Information panel.
Figure 6-1 How a Triggered Read Operation Works
When the block
read trigger is
forced on,...

The table name

indicates which
request is being
defined.
...the task reads each
defined address...

...then stores the value read

in the element specified to
receive the value.

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Unsolicited Read Request

U NSOLICITED R EAD R EQUEST

6
In an unsolicited read request, you configure FactoryLink to recognize and accept
data of a particular structure. In the Read/Write Control panel, you indicate this
is an unsolicited read. In the Read/Write Information panel, you specify the

External Device
addresses from which data is expected and the type of data expected.

Interface
When FactoryLink receives data from the device that matches this criteria, the
data is stored in real-time database elements for which you specify tag names in
the Read/Write Information panel.
Figure 6-2 How an Unsolicited Read Operation Works

When you enter YES

in the Unsolicited
Read field,...

...the EDI task is prepared to

recognize the data structure of the
value at each defined address
according to its data type.

When FactoryLink receives a value

that matches the criteria, it stores
the value in the specified element.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 91

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
D EFINING THE TABLE TYPE AND TRIGGERS
To begin configuring a read table, you fill out the Read/Write Control panel. Here,
you give the table a name, identify the table type, and define one or more trigger
elements if the table is for a triggered read operation. The following steps describe
how to fill out the Read/Write Control panel.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

If the Logical Station Information panel is currently displayed, click on Next and
go to step . If another protocol-specific panel is currently displayed, go to step .

Choose the protocol module name from the Main Menu. A cascaded view of all the
protocol-specific configuration panels is displayed.
Figure 6-3 Protocol-Specific Configuration Dialog Boxes

To make Read/
Write Control the
active panel, click
on its title bar.

Click on the title bar of the Read/Write Control panel.

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

External Device
Interface
For each read request you want transmitted over a device communication path,
add a panel entry. The information you provide depends on the type of request you
are defining.

Refer to the appropriate section for the type of read request you are defining:
• “Triggered Read Request” below
• “Unsolicited Read Request” on page 96
• “Combination Read Request” on page 97

Triggered Read Request

To fill out a control panel for a triggered read request, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each triggered read
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Triggered Read Request” on page 118.
Table Name Give this read request a name. Define one request (table) per line
and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as many
requests in this panel as available memory allows. Try to make
the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the Block Read Trigger element defined for this table is
forced to 1, or on, the element prompts FactoryLink to process
this read table and any other read table with a Table Name entry
associated with the same trigger.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 93

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
Unsolicited Read For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block read,
accept the default of NO.
Valid Entry: no
Exception Write To indicate this is not an exception write, accept the default of
NO.
Valid Entry: no
Block Read Priority Enter a number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other read operations. The highest priority is 1. This number
influences the order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of
block read requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same
time, it processes the request with the highest priority first.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)
Block Read Trigger Enter a tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of
the register addresses specified in the associated Read/Write
Information panel. When this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
FactoryLink reads the addresses.
A Block Read Trigger is required to prompt FactoryLink to process
this table for a triggered read operation.
The element you use for the Block Read Trigger can also be defined
in another FactoryLink task. For example, you could define a
digital element in the Event or Interval Timer, Math and Logic,
or Application Editor, and assign the same tag name to a Block
Read Trigger element. When the element’s value changes to 1 (as
the result of a math operation or a defined event taking place, for
example), it prompts an EDI task read operation.
For efficient performance in larger applications, you can define a
Block Read Trigger element as a Block Read State element, causing
a daisy-chain effect within one table or across several tables.
When you give identical names to a Block Read State and a Block
Read Trigger element, the completion of one read operation
triggers the start of another. For a description and examples of
how to create a daisy-chain read operation, see Chapter 8,
“Application Design Tips and Techniques.”
For additional information about triggers, see Chapter 1,
“External Device Interface Overview,” and the discussion of using
tags as triggers in the FactoryLink Fundamentals manual.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

Block Read Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element to disable a
Disable block read of the elements specified in this table. When this tag’s 6
value is forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even
when the block read trigger is set.
This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is

External Device
either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering

Interface
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block Read Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Note: If you are defining a Block Read Complete or Block Read State element to be
used for more than one logical port, create a separate table for each port.
Block Read Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element the EDI task
Complete forces to 1 (ON), when it starts up, and each time it receives and
processes a read request from a device protocol module. After the
elements defined in the associated Read/Write Information panel
have been updated in the FactoryLink database, EDI forces the
element to 1 again.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element the EDI task
forces to 1 (ON), when it starts up, and each time it receives and
processes a read request from a device protocol module. During
EDI's transmission of the request, it sets the element to 0 (OFF).
After the elements defined in the associated Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, EDI forces the element back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not
defined elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose DIGITAL for Type
and accept the default of SHARED for Domain.

Define the data to be read and the target addresses in the Read/Write Information
panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It” on page 98.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 95

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
Unsolicited Read Request
To fill out a control panel for an unsolicited read request, perform the following
steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each unsolicited read
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Unsolicited Read Request” on page 121.
Table Name Give this read request a name. Define one request (table) per line
and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as many
requests in this panel as available memory allows. Try to make
the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Unsolicited Read Enter YES. EDI will interpret this operation as an unsolicited
read and emulate the device’s addressing structure based on
entries you make in the Read/Write Information panel.
The data is written to the element specified in the Read/Write
Information panel. The change-status indicator is set only if the
element’s value has changed since the most recent write to the
element. If the current value of the element is equal to the value
being written, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If,
however, the value being written to the element is a new value, it
will overwrite the existing value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
Valid Entry: yes
Exception Write Accept the default of NO, which indicates this is not an exception
write.
Valid Entry: no
Block Read Accept the default of 1. This field is ignored for unsolicited read
Priority operations.
Valid Entry: 1

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

Define the data to be read and the target addresses in the Read/Write Information
panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It” on page 98 for
details.

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

Combination Read Request

6
In some cases, you may want to configure a read operation to execute in two ways:
by a trigger and by unsolicited processing.

External Device
For example, you could configure a combination triggered block read and
unsolicited read table if you want to read a register and write its value to an

Interface
element upon start up and thereafter, only update that element when the register
value changes.

To configure a combination read request, perform the following steps.

Fill out a control panel with the information described in “Triggered Read
Request” on page 93, but enter YES in the Unsolicited Read field instead of NO.

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

Define the data to be read and the target addresses in the Read/Write Information
panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It” on page 98 for
details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 97

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
S PECIFYING W HAT TO R EAD AND W HERE TO S TORE I T
Once the Read/Write Control panel is complete, fill out the Read/Write
Information panel. Here, you indicate what data is transferred from the device to
FactoryLink during the operation, and where the data is stored in the
FactoryLink database.

Each address that will be read from a memory location in a device is represented
by a separate tag name for an element in the FactoryLink database. For a read
request, you add an entry in the Read/Write Information panel for each element to
which data will be written when the operation is executed.

The following steps describe how to fill out the Read/Write Information panel.

On the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the read request you are
defining. Click on Next to display the Read/Write Information panel.

Table Name from

the Read/Write
Control panel

The table name is displayed in the Table Name field on the lower left side of the
panel.

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The information you provide in this panel depends on the type of register to be
accessed and the type of data to be read. Refer to the data type reference table on 6
page 100 to determine where to go for instructions on filling out this panel for
your particular application.

External Device
Each section listed in the table provides sample panel entries for a specific type of
read request. Additional sample entries are provided in “Sample Read Requests”

Interface
on page 118.

When you have finished defining all the register addresses to be read and all the
FactoryLink database tags to which the data is to be written, click on Enter to
validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not
defined elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose the type of data to
be stored in the element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain.
Refer to the tag’s field description for the valid data types.

To configure another read request, click on Prev to return to the Read/Write

Control panel and refer to step on page 93.

When all read requests are complete, either click on Exit to return to the Main
Menu or click on Prev to return to the Read/Write Control panel and define the
write requests required for your application. Refer to Chapter 7, “Writing Data to
a Device,” for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 99

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Table 6-1 Register and FactoryLink Data Type Configuration Reference

Register FactoryLink Where to Go for

Type Data Type Configuration Instructions

Holding Analog “Read Holding or Input Register, Store in

Analog Element” on page 102

Digital “Read Holding or Input Register, Store in

Digital Element” on page 104

Float “Read Holding Register, Store in

Floating-Point or Long Analog Element”
on page 106

Longana “Read Holding Register, Store in

Floating-Point or Long Analog Element”
on page 106

Message “Read Holding Register, Store in

Message Element” on page 108

Input Analog “Read Holding or Input Register, Store in

Analog Element” on page 102

Digital “Read Holding or Input Register, Store in

Digital Element” on page 104

Input Status Digital “Read Coil or Input Status Register,

Store in Digital Element” on page 110

Coil Digital “Read Coil or Input Status Register,

Store in Digital Element” on page 110

Memory Analog “Read Memory Register, Store in Analog

Element” on page 112

Statistics Analog “Read Statistics Word, Store in Analog

Element” on page 114

Global Data Analog “Read Statistics Word, Store in Analog

Element” on page 114

Note: For the maximum number of contiguous registers that can be

included in a single block read message for each supported register type,
see Table 6-2 on page 101.

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 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

A read table should not contain more than the maximum number of contiguous
registers allowed for a single message accessing a type of register. The maximum 6
number allowed varies from one register type to the next.

If more than the maximum number of contiguous register addresses are defined,

External Device
multiple messages are generated for the operation. For example, if a block read
table for a holding register in a 984 device contains entries that access contiguous

Interface
addresses from 100 to 127, two messages are generated. The first message reads
the first 125 addresses (addresses 100 to 124). The second message reads
addresses 125 through 127.

The following table lists the maximum number of contiguous registers included in
a single block read message for each supported register type.

Table 6-2 Maximum Contiguous Registers in a Single Message

Type of Register Maximum Number For Block Read

Coil 2000

Holding 125

Global 32 global data words

Input Status 2000

Input 125

Statistics Word 54 words

Memory 100

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 101

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Holding or Input Register, Store in Analog Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a holding register or an input
register and store the data in an analog element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

102 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Do not include the register address prefix (4 for holding and 3 for
input) or leading zeros. The prefix indicates the register type,
which is specified in the Data Type field. For example, for holding
register address 400001, just enter 1; for input register address
345902, enter 45902.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify the type of register to be read as HREG for holding register
or IREG for input register.
Valid Entry: HREG, IREG

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 103

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Holding or Input Register, Store in Digital Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a holding register or an input
register and store the data in a digital element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a digital element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

104 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Do not include the register address prefix (4 for holding and 3 for
input) or leading zeros. The prefix indicates the register type,
which is specified in the Data Type field. For example, for holding
register address 400001, just enter 1; for input register address
345902, enter 45902.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Specify the bit offset within a register word that contains the
MSG Length value to be read. Bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB) and bit 16
is the least significant bit (LSB).
MSB LSB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Valid Entry: 1 - 16
Data Type Specify the type of register to be read as HREG for holding register
or IREG for input register.
Valid Entry: HREG, IREG

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 105

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Holding Register, Store in Floating-Point or Long Analog Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a holding register and store
the data in a floating-point or long analog element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a floating-point or long analog element in
which FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: float, longana
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

106 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Floating-point or long analog tag types are addressed in pairs.
The first register in the pair contains the high order word; the
second register contains the low order word. Enter the address for
only the starting register in a register pair. The companion
register is implied.
Try to maintain consistency when using register addresses for
floating-point and long analog tag types. Adopt either an odd or
even starting register sequence and maintain that sequence. For
example, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,... or 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,....
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to be read.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 107

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Holding Register, Store in Message Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a holding register and store
the data in a message element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a message element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

108 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Enter the first address in the group of registers containing the
message characters. The number of registers to be read is defined in
the Bit Offset/MSG Length field of this panel.
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Specify the number of bytes in the device’s memory containing
MSG Length the message. These bytes, starting from the location specified in
the previous field, Reg. Address, are read and the values are
stored in the Tag Name message element as raw binary data.
FactoryLink does not perform verification on these bytes to
ensure the data is printable ASCII.
Valid Entry: 1 - 80
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to be read.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 109

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Coil or Input Status Register, Store in Digital Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a coil or input status register
and store the data in a digital element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a digital element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

110 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Do not include the register address prefix (0 for coil and 3 for
input status) or leading zeros. The prefix indicates the register
type, which is specified in the Data Type field. For example, for
coil address 023451, enter 23451; for input status register
address 300001, just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify the type of register to be read as COIL for coil register or
INP for input status register.
Valid Entry: COIL, INP

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 111

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Memory Register, Store in Analog Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a memory register and store
the data in an analog element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

112 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

The Logical Station number 6

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Do not include the register address prefix (6) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for memory address 600001, just
enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify the type of register to be read as XMEMnn where nn is a
numeric value from 1 to 10.
Valid Entry: XMEM1 - XMEM10

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 113

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Statistics Word, Store in Analog Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read the high or low bytes of a
network statistics word and store the data in an analog element, perform the
following steps.

Note

Reference the high and low bytes of a statistics word in one block read
table to ensure the information retrieved for a single word is
synchronized. To access the high and low bytes of a single word,
enter the same register address twice for two separate analog tags.
Specify STATHI in the Data Type field for the first tag and STATLO
for the second tag. To create a single word value, use FactoryLink
Math & Logic to “OR” the words together.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

114 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical 6
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

External Device
Interface
The Logical Station number
defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify STATHI to access a high byte of a statistics word and
STATLO to access a low byte. Refer to the IBM Host Devices
User’s Guide for Modbus Plus network based statistics word
assignments.
Valid Entry: STATHI, STATLO

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 115

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It
•
•
Read Global Data Word, Store in Analog Element
To fill out an information panel for a request to read a global data word and store
the data in an analog element, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element in which
data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read. This number was originally defined in the Logical
Station Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

116 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Specifying What to Read and Where to Store It

6
The Logical Station number
defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

External Device
Interface
...the Logical Station number
defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory where the
value to be stored in this element is located.
The first global data word received is always assumed to be word 1,
the second is word 2, and so on. If you specify a register address
larger than the total number of global data words that will actually be
received, an error is generated.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify GLBL to access a global data word.
Valid Entry: GLBL

Go back to step on page 99.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 117

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Sample Read Requests
•
•
S AMPLE R EAD R EQUESTS
This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for a read request. The panel entries
provided in the following pages illustrate the way in which FactoryLink processes
read requests.

Sample Triggered Read Request

This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for a triggered read request.
Figure 6-4 Sample Read/Write Control Panel for Triggered Read

Continued

Continued

READ is
discussed in
this example.

In this example, the READ table is configured as follows:

• When the value of the digital Block Read Trigger element
MODP_READ_TRIGGER is 1, FactoryLink reads the configured register
address and writes its value to the element configured for this table (in the
Read/Write Information panel). The block read priority, which is set
automatically if you do not enter a value, is set to the default of 1, the highest
priority.

118 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Sample Read Requests

• When the value of the digital element MODP_READ_DISABLE is 1,

FactoryLink disregards the trigger element, MODP_READ_TRIGGER, and 6
does not process the READ table.
• Once FactoryLink reads the data and writes it to the database element defined
to receive it (HOLD_MSG1 in the Read/Write Information panel), FactoryLink

External Device
forces a value of 1 to the digital Block Read State element,

Interface
MODP_READ_STATE, and to the Block Read Complete element,
MODP_READ_COMPLETE. During the read operation, MODP_READ_STATE
is set to 0.

Figure 6-5 Sample Read/Write Information Panel for Triggered Read

In this example, when the READ table is triggered by MODP_READ_TRIGGER,

FactoryLink reads holding registers 200 through 230 in the device configured as
logical station 0, then writes the values read into a message element,
HOLD_MSG1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 119

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Sample Read Requests
•
•
Figure 6-6 How This Triggered Block Read Request Works

When the value of

MODP_READ_TRIGGER is
1, FactoryLink processes the
table, READ.

FactoryLink reads thirty

holding registers beginning
with address 200...

...then stores the values

read in HOLD_MSG1.

120 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
Sample Read Requests

Sample Unsolicited Read Request

6
This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for an unsolicited read request.

External Device
Figure 6-7 Sample Read/Write Control Panel for Unsolicited Read

Interface
Continued

Continued

UNSOL_READ is
discussed in
this example.

In this example, the UNSOL_READ table is configured to accept unsolicited data

of the data type specified on the corresponding Read/Write Information panel from
the specified addresses associated with these entries. The only required user
entries for an unsolicited read request on the Read/Write Control panel are Table
Name and Unsolicited Read. The entries shown in Figure 6-7 for Exception Write,
Block Read Priority, and Block Write Priority are system defaults.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 121

• READING DATA FROM A DEVICE
• Sample Read Requests
•
•
Figure 6-8 Sample Read/Write Information Panel for Unsolicited Read

In this example, FactoryLink reads the incoming data upon its arrival then stores
it in a message element, HOLD_MSG1.
Figure 6-9 How This Unsolicited Read Request Works

When FactoryLink receives

data from holding registers
200 through 230 in the
device configured as
logical station 0, it
processes the table,
UNSOL_READ.

FactoryLink reads the data

then stores it in the message
element, HOLD_MSG1.

122 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 7

•
•
•
•
Writing Data to a
Device 7

External Device
Interface
This chapter describes how to define a request to write the values of FactoryLink
database elements to specified locations in a device. See Chapter 6, “Reading Data
from a Device,” for procedures describing how to define a request to read specified
locations in a device and store the values read in FactoryLink database elements.

To define a write request, you configure the Read/Write table which consists of two
panels: Read/Write Control and Read/Write Information. Like the Logical Station
panels, the Read/Write panels are part of the cascading protocol-specific panels
displayed when you choose the option for the protocol module you are configuring
from the Configuration Manager Main Menu.

Note

The Modicon Modbus Plus protocol module is used as an example

throughout this chapter to describe basic write operation concepts.
For protocol-specific information, please refer to the appropriate
reference chapter.

When filling out a write request, you specify the following basic information:
• The tag name assigned to the FactoryLink database element containing the
data to be written
• The logical station to which the data will be written
• The register address in that logical station to which the data will be written

FactoryLink can write data to a device in two ways: as a block write when
prompted by a digital trigger element, or as an exception write when prompted by
the data changing.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 123

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Block Write Request
•
•
B LOCK WRITE R EQUEST
In a block write request, a digital element you configure in the Read/Write Control
panel as a trigger to initiate a block write operation causes the EDI task to write
element values specified in the Read/Write Information panel to their associated
device addresses each time the value of the element is forced to 1 (ON).
Figure 7-1 How a Block Write Operation Works

Continued

Continued

When the block write

trigger is forced on,...

...the task writes the value of

each defined element...

...to the defined address.

The table name indicates which

request is being defined.

124 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Exception Write Request

E XCEPTION WRITE R EQUEST

7
In an exception write request, when any of the values of the elements defined in
the Read/Write Information panel change, the EDI task writes those values to the
defined device addresses. Optionally, you can define a digital element to disable

External Device
and re-enable an exception write table and a trigger element to update the
equipment once the table is re-enabled. Each defined exception write results in a

Interface
separate write command.
Figure 7-2 How an Exception Write Operation Works

Continued

When the Exception Write field is YES,

the EDI task writes the values of the
elements associated with this table
only when they change.

Continued

A disable trigger disables an exception write

table. Once a table is re-enabled, you can use
a block write trigger to update any values in
the device that changed while the table was
disabled. Neither are required unless you plan
to periodically disable the table, but both are
required if you do plan to disable the table.

When the value of each defined

element changes, the EDI task
writes it...

...to the defined device address.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 125

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
D EFINING THE TABLE TYPE AND TRIGGERS
To begin configuring a write table, you fill out the Read/Write Control panel. Here,
you give the table a name, identify the table type, and define any needed trigger
elements. The following steps describe how to fill out the Read/Write Control
panel.

Ensure the current domain selection is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

If the Logical Station Information panel is currently displayed, click on Next and
go to step 5. If another panel is currently displayed, go to step 4.

Choose the protocol module name from the Main Menu. A cascaded view of all the
protocol-specific configuration panels is displayed.

To make Read/
Write Control the
active panel, click
on its title bar.

Click on the title bar of the Read/Write Control panel.

126 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

External Device
Interface
For each write request you want transmitted over a device communication path,
add a panel entry. The information you provide depends on the type of request you
are defining.

Refer to the appropriate section for the type of write request you are defining:
• “Block write request” on page 127
• “Exception write request” on page 130
• “Combination write request” page 132

Block Write Request

To fill out a control panel for a block write request, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each block write
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Triggered Block Write Request” on page 153.
Table Name Give this write request a name. Define one request (table) per
line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many requests in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the Block Write Trigger element defined for this table is
forced to 1, or on, the element prompts FactoryLink to process
this write table and any other write table with a Table Name entry
associated with the same trigger.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 127

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
Unsolicited Read To indicate this is not an unsolicited read, accept the default of
NO.
Valid Entry: no
Exception Write Specify how the EDI task will write the values of elements
containing information to be transmitted to a device. You define
these elements the task will read from the FactoryLink database
and then write to the device in the Read/Write Information panel.
To indicate this is not an exception write, accept the default of
NO.
Valid Entry: no
Block Write Priority Enter a number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other write operations. The highest priority is 1. This number
influences the order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of
all write requests, block and exception. If EDI receives two
requests at the same time, it processes the request with the
highest priority first.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)
Block Write Trigger Enter a tag name for a digital element to initiate a block write of
the element values specified in the associated Read/Write
Information panel to the register addresses defined to receive the
values. When this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
FactoryLink writes the values.
A Block Write Trigger is required to prompt FactoryLink to process
this table for a write operation.
The element you use for the Block Write Trigger can also be defined
in another FactoryLink task. For example, you could define a
digital element in the Event or Interval Timer, Math and Logic,
or Application Editor, and assign the same tag name to a Block
Write Trigger element. When the element’s value changes to 1 (as
the result of a math operation or a defined event taking place, for
example), it prompts an EDI task write operation.
For efficient performance in larger applications, you can define a
Block Write Trigger element as a Block Write State element, causing
a daisy-chain effect within one table or across several tables.
When you give identical names to a Block Write State and a Block
Write Trigger element, the completion of one write operation
triggers the start of another. For a description and examples of
how to create a daisy-chain write operation, see Chapter 8,
“Application Design Tips and Techniques.”

128 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

For additional information about triggers, see Chapter 1,

“External Device Interface Overview,” and the discussion of using 7
tags as triggers in the FactoryLink Fundamentals manual.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element to disable a

Interface
Disable block write to the device addresses specified in this table. When
this tag’s value is forced to 1, the write operation is not executed,
even when the block write trigger is set.
This element can be used to disable a block write operation that is
either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block Write Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element the EDI task
Complete forces to 1 (ON), when it starts up, and each time it receives and
processes a write request from a protocol module. After the data
has been written to the device, EDI forces the element to 1 again.
If you are defining a Block Write Complete element to be used for
more than one logical port, create a separate table for each port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State Optionally, enter a tag name for a digital element the EDI task
forces to 1 (ON), when it starts up, and each time it receives and
processes a write request from a protocol module. During EDI's
transmission of the request, it sets the element to 0 (OFF). After
the data has been written to the device, EDI force-writes the
element back to 1.
If you are defining a Block Write State element to be used for more
than one logical port, create a separate table for each port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 129

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not
defined elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose DIGITAL for Type
and accept the default of SHARED for Domain.

Define the data to be written and the target addresses in the Read/Write
Information panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It” on
page 133 for details.

Exception Write Request

In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within the element
containing the data to be written prompts the write operation. If an element is
configured for an exception write and EDI recognizes this indicator has been set
since the last scan of the real-time database (indicating the value of the element
has changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.

To fill out a control panel for an exception write request, perform the following
steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each exception write
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Exception Write Request” on page 156.
Table Name Give this write request a name. Define one request (table) per
line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many requests in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the values of the elements you define in the associated
Read/Write Information panel change, FactoryLink processes this
exception write table and any other exception write table with a
Table Name entry associated with the same elements.
Unsolicited Read To indicate this is not an unsolicited read, accept the default of
NO.
Valid Entry: no
Exception Write For the task to write element values only when those values
change, enter YES.
Valid Entry: yes

130 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Defining the Table Type and Triggers

Block Write Priority Accept the default of 1. This field is ignored for exception write
operations. 7
Valid Entry: 1

External Device
Note

Interface
If you plan to periodically disable this table, both a Block Write
Trigger and a Block Write Disable element are required. Refer to the
following field descriptions. If you do not plan to disable this table,
do not define either of these elements.

Block Write Trigger Enter a tag name for a digital element to trigger the table once it
has been disabled then subsequently re-enabled by a Block Write
Disable element.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Enter a tag name for a digital element to temporarily disable this
Disable table. When the value of this element is 1, it disables an exception
write of the defined elements to the device addresses specified in
the Read/Write Information panel. When the tag’s value is set to
0 again, the table is re-enabled.
Once a table has been re-enabled, a Block Write Trigger element
can be used to write any values that changed while the table was
disabled.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not
defined elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose DIGITAL for Type
and accept the default of SHARED for Domain.

Define the data to be written and the target addresses in the Read/Write
Information panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It” on
page 133 for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 131

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Defining the Table Type and Triggers
•
•
Combination Write Request
In some cases, you may want to configure a write operation to execute in two
ways: by a digital trigger element and by exception processing.

For example, you could configure a combination block write and exception write
table if you want to write the current value of an element to a register address in
the device upon start up and thereafter, only write the element’s value to the
device when it changes.

Sample table entries are provided in “Sample Combination Write Request” on

page 159.

To configure a combination write request, perform the following steps.

Fill out a control panel with the information described in“Block Write Request” on
page 127, but enter YES in the Exception Write field instead of NO.

When you have finished filling out the information on this panel, click on Enter.

Define the data to be written and the target addresses in the Read/Write
Information panel. Refer to “Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It” on
page 133 for details.

132 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

S PECIFYING W HAT TO WRITE AND W HERE TO WRITE I T

7
Once the Read/Write Control panel is complete, fill out the Read/Write
Information panel. Here, you indicate the data to be written to the device during
the operation, and to which register addresses it will be written.

External Device
The data to be written is represented by one or more elements in the FactoryLink

Interface
database. For a write request, you add an entry in the Read/Write Information
panel for each element to be written when the operation is executed.

The following steps describe how to fill out the Read/Write Information panel.

On the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the write request you are
defining. Click on Next to display the Read/Write Information panel.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 133

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

Table Name from

the Read/Write
Control panel

The table name is displayed in the Table Name field on the lower left side of the
panel.

The information you provide in this panel depends on the type of register to be
accessed and the type of data to be written. Refer to the data type reference table
on page 135 to determine where to go for instructions on filling out this panel for
your particular application.

Each section listed in the table provides sample panel entries for a specific type of
write request. Additional sample entries are provided in “Sample Write Requests”
on page 153.

When you have finished defining all the FactoryLink database tags and the
register addresses to which their contents are to be written, click on Enter to
validate the data.

The Tag Definition dialog is displayed for each specified tag name that is not
defined elsewhere in FactoryLink. For each tag name, choose the type of data to
be stored in the element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain.
Refer to the tag’s field description for the valid data types.

To configure another write request, click on Prev to return to the Read/Write

Control panel and go back to step on page 127.

When all write requests are complete, click on Exit to return to the Main Menu.

134 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Table 7-1 Register and FactoryLink Data Type Configuration Reference

7
Register FactoryLink Where to Go
Type Data Type for Configuration Instructions

External Device
Holding Analog “Write Analog Element Value to Holding
Register” on page 137

Interface
Digital “Write Digital Element Value to Holding
Register” on page 138

To set or clear bits, “Set Bits in Holding

Register Using Mask Write” on page 141

Floating-point “Write Floating-Point or Long Analog Element

Value to Holding Register” on page 143

Longana “Write Floating-Point or Long Analog Element

Value to Holding Register” on page 143

Message “Write Message Element Value to Holding

Register” on page 145

Coil Digital “Write Digital Element Value to Coil Register”

on page 147

Memory Analog “Write Analog Element Value to Memory

Register” on page 149

Global Analog “Write Analog Element Value to Global Data

Word” on page 151

Note: For the maximum number of contiguous registers that can be included in
a single block write message for each supported register type, see Table 7-2 on
page 136.

A write table should not contain more than the maximum number of contiguous
registers allowed for a single message accessing a type of register. The maximum
number allowed varies from one register type to the next. If more than the
maximum number of contiguous register addresses are defined, multiple
messages are generated for the operation.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 135

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•
The following table lists the maximum number of contiguous registers included in
a single block write message for each supported register type.

Table 7-2 Maximum Contiguous Registers in a Single Message

Type of Maximum Number

Register For Block Write

Coil 800

Holding 100
1 exception write for
mask operation

Global 32 global data words

Statistics 1 exception write for

Word clear statistics
operation; see
“Configuring the
Read/Write
Information Panel”
on page 376

Memory 100

136 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Analog Element Value to Holding Register

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of an analog
element to a holding register, perform the following steps.

External Device
Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the

Interface
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element’s
value will be written. This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 137

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to which the element value
will be written.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 134.

Write Digital Element Value to Holding Register

To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of a digital element
to a holding register, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the
operation executes.

138 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

When a digital tag is written to a holding register, two messages are sent to the
device. The first message reads the entire holding register; the second message 7
writes the new value to the specified bit.

External Device
Interface
Tag Name Specify a tag name for a digital element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element’s
value will be written. This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 139

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Specify the bit offset within a register word to which the element
MSG Length value will be written. Bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB) and
bit 16 the least significant bit (LSB).
MSB LSB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Valid Entry: 1 - 16
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to which the element value
will be written.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 134.

140 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Set Bits in Holding Register Using Mask Write

7
In devices that support this operation, a mask write sets or clears bits within a
holding register. A mask write is sent to the device as an exception write
operation; therefore, it generates a single write message. The following Modicon

External Device
model types support mask write operations: A120, A130, A141, A145, 685E, 785E,
AT4, and VM4.

Interface
To fill out an information panel for a request to send a mask write to a holding
register, perform the following steps.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each for each bit to be
set or cleared when the value of any bit defined in the table changes. Each bit is
referenced by a separate tag name on the Read/Write Information panel.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a digital element containing a value to be
written to the device.
When a digital tag is written to a holding register, two messages
are sent to the device. The first message reads the entire holding
register; the second one writes the new value to the specified bit.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element
value will be written. This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 141

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address of the word containing the bit to be set
or cleared.
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Specify the bit within the register word that will change as a
MSG Length result of the mask write. Bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB)
and 16 the least significant bit (LSB).
MSB LSB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Valid Entry: 1 - 16
Data Type Specify MASK to indicate the type of operation.
Valid Entry: MASK

Go back to step on page 134.

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 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Floating-Point or Long Analog Element Value to Holding Register

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of a floating-point
or long analog element to a holding register, perform the following steps.

External Device
Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the

Interface
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a floating-point or a long analog element
containing a value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: float, longana
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element’s
value will be written. This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 143

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Floating-point or long analog tag types are addressed in pairs.
The first register in the pair contains the high order word; the
second register contains the low order word. Enter the address for
only the starting register in a register pair. The companion
register is implied.
Try to maintain consistency when using register addresses for
floating-point and long analog tag types. Adopt either an odd or
even starting register sequence and maintain that sequence. For
example, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,... or 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,....
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to which the element value
will be written.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 134.

144 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Message Element Value to Holding Register

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of a message
element to a holding register, perform the following steps.

External Device
Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the

Interface
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a message element containing a value to
be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element’s
value will be written.This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 145

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Enter the first address in the group of registers to which the value
will be written. The number of registers to which the data is to be
written is defined in the Bit Offset/MSG Length field of this panel.
Do not include the register address prefix (4) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for holding register address 400001,
just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Specify the number of bytes in the device’s memory to which the
MSG Length element value will be written.
Valid Entry: 1 - 80
Data Type Specify HREG as the type of register to which the element value
will be written.
Valid Entry: HREG

Go back to step on page 134.

146 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Digital Element Value to Coil Register

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of a digital element
to a coil register, perform the following steps.

External Device
Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the

Interface
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for a digital element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the element’s
value will be written.This number was originally defined in the
Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 147

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Do not include the register address prefix (0) or leading zeros.
The prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the
Data Type field. For example, for coil address 023451, enter 23451.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify COIL as the type of register to which the element value
will be written.
Valid Entry: COIL

Go back to step on page 134.

148 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Analog Element Value to Memory Register

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of an analog
element to a memory register, perform the following steps.

External Device
Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the

Interface
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the data in
this element will be written.This number was originally defined
in the Logical Station Information panel for the logical port
through which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 149

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Do not include the register address prefix, 6, or leading zeros. The
prefix indicates the register type, which is specified in the Data
Type field. For example, for memory address 600001, just enter 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 65535
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify the type of register to which the element value will be
written as XMEMnn where nn is a numeric value from 1 to 10.
Valid Entry: XMEM1 - XMEM10

Go back to step on page 134.

150 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It

Write Analog Element Value to Global Data Word

7
To fill out an information panel for a request to write the value of an analog
element to a global data word, perform the following steps.

External Device
Note

Interface
Although global data is considered contiguous in block write
tables, you can define register addresses that do not appear
contiguous on the information panel. For example, if you specify
register address 1, 5, 7, 20, and 25 for a write operation, a message
is generated for registers 1 through 25. A value of 0 is stored for
those registers within the range that do not appear in the
read/write information table.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each element to be
written and define the register addresses to receive each element value when the
operation executes.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an analog element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 151

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Specifying What to Write and Where to Write It
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device to which the data in
this element will be written.This number was originally defined
in the Logical Station Information panel for the logical port
through which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

The Logical Station number

defined on the Read/Write
Information panel must match...

...the Logical Station number

defined on the Logical Station
Information panel...

...for this device’s Logical

Port number.

Reg. Address Enter the register address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
The first global data word received is always assumed to be word 1,
the second is word 2, and so on. If you specify a register address
larger than the total number of global data words that will actually be
received, an error is generated.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32
Bit Offset/ Accept the default of 1.
MSG Length
Valid Entry: 1
Data Type Specify GLBL to access a global data word.
Valid Entry: GLBL

Go back to step on page 134.

152 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Sample Write Requests

S AMPLE WRITE R EQUESTS

7
The panel entries provided in the following pages illustrate the way in which
FactoryLink processes write requests.

External Device
Sample Triggered Block Write Request

Interface
This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for a triggered block write request.
Figure 7-3 Read/Write Control Panel for Triggered Block Write

Continued

Continued

WRITE is
discussed in
this example.

In this example, the WRITE table is configured as follows:

• When the value of the digital Block Write Trigger element
MODP_WRITE_TRIGGER is 1, FactoryLink reads the element configured for
this table (in the Read/Write Information panel) and writes its value to the
configured register address. The block write priority, which is set automatically
if you do not enter a value, is set to the default of 1, the highest priority.
• When the value of the digital element MODP_WRITE_DISABLE is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger element, MODP_WRITE_TRIGGER, and
does not process the WRITE table.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 153

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Sample Write Requests
•
•
• Once FactoryLink writes the element values, it forces a value of 1 to the digital
Block Write State element, MODP_WRITE_STATE, and to the Block Write
Complete element, MODP_WRITE_COMPLETE. During the read operation,
MODP_WRITE_STATE is set to 0.

Figure 7-4 Read/Write Information Panel for Triggered Block Write

In this example, when the WRITE block write table is triggered by

MODP_WRITE_TRIGGER, FactoryLink writes the value of a message element,
HOLD_MSG1, to holding registers 200 through 230 in the device configured as
logical station 0.

154 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Sample Write Requests

Figure 7-5 How This Triggered Block Write Request Works

7
Continued

External Device
Interface
Continued

When the value of

MODP_WRITE_TRIGGER
is 1, FactoryLink processes
the table, WRITE.

FactoryLink writes the

value of HOLD_MSG1...
...into 30 holding
registers beginning with
address 200.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 155

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Sample Write Requests
•
•
Sample Exception Write Request
This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for an exception write request.
Figure 7-6 Read/Write Control Panel for Exception Write

Continued

Continued

EXCEPTION is
discussed in
this example.

In this example, the EXCEPTION table is configured to read the element

configured for this table (in the Read/Write Information panel) and write its value
to the configured register address. FactoryLink, however, will only perform this
operation when the element’s value changes.

The table is disabled when the Block Write Disable element,

MODP_EXCEPTION_DISABLE, is 1 and the Block Write Trigger element,
MODP_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER is 0. The table is re-enabled when
MODP_EXCEPTION_DISABLE is 0.

156 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Sample Write Requests

Figure 7-7 Read/Write Information Panel for Exception Write

7

External Device
Interface
In this example, whenever the value of the digital element HOLD_DIG1 changes,
FactoryLink processes the EXCEPTION table. This table writes the value of
HOLD_DIG1 to holding register 140 in the device configured as logical station 0.
If the table is disabled then re-enabled and MODP_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER is set
to 1, holding register 140 is updated with the value of HOLD_DIG1 if the value
has changed since the table was disabled.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 157

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Sample Write Requests
•
•
Figure 7-8 How This Exception Write Request Works
When the value of
MODP_EXCEPTION
Continued
_DISABLE is 1,
FactoryLink does not
process the table,
EXCEPTION.

Continued

When the value of

MODP_EXCEPTION_
TRIGGER is 1 and the
table has been
disabled, FactoryLink
writes the value of
Because this is an HOLD_DIG1 if it has
exception write table, changed since the
when the value of table was disabled.
HOLD_DIG1
changes...
...FactoryLink writes
its value into holding
register address 140.

158 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Sample Write Requests

Sample Combination Write Request

7
This section provides descriptions of some possible Read/Write Control and
Read/Write Information panel entries for a combination write request.

External Device
Figure 7-9 Read/Write Control Panel for Combination Write

Interface
Continued

Continued

EXCEPTION is
discussed in
this example.

In this example, the EXCEPTION table is configured as follows:

• When FactoryLink starts up, MODP_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER will trigger
FactoryLink to read the element configured for this table (in the Read/Write
Information panel) and write its value to the configured register address. (The
Block Write Disable element, MODP_EXCEPTION_DISABLE, is not used in this
table; therefore, its value remains 0.)
• After startup, FactoryLink only writes the element’s value to the device when it
changes.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 159

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Sample Write Requests
•
•
Figure 7-10 Read/Write Information Panel for Combination Write

In this example, when FactoryLink starts up and whenever the value of the
analog element HOLD_ANA1 changes, FactoryLink processes the EXCEPTION
table. This table writes the value of HOLD_ANA1 to holding register address 200
in the device configured as logical station 0.

160 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
Sample Write Requests

Figure 7-11 How This Combination Write Request Works

Because a block write trigger is 7
defined, when FactoryLink starts
Continued
up and forces
MODP_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER

External Device
to 1, it writes the value of
HOLD_ANA1 to the device.

Interface
Continued

Because this is an
exception write
table...
... whenever the value
of HOLD_ANA1
changes...
...FactoryLink writes
its value into holding
register address 200.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 161

• WRITING DATA TO A DEVICE
• Sample Write Requests
•
•

162 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 8

•
•
•
•
Application Design Tips and
Techniques 8

External Device
Interface
This chapter describes application tips and techniques that can improve the throughput and
efficiency of data communications between the EDI task and the devices in your configuration.
These techniques involve the order in which you specify read and write table entries,
specification of the priority in which the task processes read and write operations, and methods
of triggering the tables and tags defined in the Read/Write Control panel.

Note

Many of the configuration panels used in the examples throughout this

section are for the Modicon Modbus Plus protocol module; others are for a
fictitious protocol module called Widget. The concepts discussed, however,
apply to all the protocol modules in the FactoryLink 6.6.0 base set.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 163

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Grouping of Data
•
•
G ROUPING OF D ATA
Carefully consider the way in which you group data in a read or write table because it can
determine the number of messages or packets of data FactoryLink needs to generate to
complete the operation. The fewer messages FactoryLink must generate to process a table, the
faster the table is processed.

When grouping table entries, keep the following types of information together:
• Logical Stations—Keep data being read from or written to a particular logical station
together; that is, for best results, do not define more than one logical station in a table.
• Data Types—Keep like data types (FactoryLink and protocol-specific) together. Any break
in data type results in the generation of an additional packet.
• Contiguous Addresses—Keep data being read from or written to contiguous or near
contiguous addresses together.

For example, if the following conditions are met, FactoryLink can process a table in one
message:

The table only contains data of an amount not exceeding the maximum size the device can
handle for one transmission.
The data is stored in elements of the same FactoryLink data type.

The data is of the same protocol-specific data type.

The data is read from or written to contiguous addresses.

The figures on page 165 illustrate tables in which all or some of these conditions are met.

Tip

Naturally, all conditions cannot be met for each table you define. If your goal
is to minimize the number of messages generated, however, you should
attempt to group read and write table entries the same way in which
FactoryLink internally groups and processes them.

164 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Grouping of Data

All four conditions are met in the following read table:

Figure 8-1 Read Operation Completed in One Message
8
FactoryLink would
only need to

External Device
generate one
message to process

Interface
this table because
conditions 1 through
4 are met.

In the read table illustrated in Figure 8-2, only conditions 1, 2, and 4 are met. To process this
table, FactoryLink must generate two messages.
Figure 8-2 Read Operation Completed in Two Messages
FactoryLink would
need to generate two
messages to
process this table:
one to read the
specified holding
registers and
another to read the
memory registers.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 165

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations
•
•
P ROCESSING D IFFERENCES IN R EAD AND WRITE O PERATIONS
FactoryLink processes data being read differently than it processes data being written. The
difference is in how FactoryLink handles the range of addresses specified for a single
transmission.

Processing of Read Operations

Addresses defined in a read table that contain the same data type are read based on the
specified range. FactoryLink reads the data at all addresses in the range (provided the range is
within the limit for a single transmission) but only stores the data it needs.

For example, the table illustrated in Figure 8-3 reads all addresses in the range 201 to 208 but
only stores values read from addresses 201 and 208.
Figure 8-3 Table That Reads an Address Range but Stores Selected Values

FactoryLink generates one message to process this table. All data at addresses ranging from
201 to 208 are read, but only the values at addresses 201 and 208 are stored in database
elements.

166 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations

Note the differences in the tables shown in Figure 8-1Figure 8-1Figure 8-1Figure 8-1 and in
Figure 8-3 (see Figure 8-4). The data FactoryLink reads is identical. Each table results in 8
FactoryLink reading addresses 201 through 208. The difference in the two tables is the data
FactoryLink stores in database elements. The first table stores eight of the values read. The
second table stores only two values.

External Device
Figure 8-4 Both Tables Read the Same Addresses

Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 167

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations
•
•
Processing of Write Operations
In a write table, addresses to which FactoryLink data is to be written are not accessed based on
range unless the addresses are contiguous.

If the same entries made in the read table shown in Figure 8-3 are made in a write table, each
row generates a separate message resulting in two messages being sent to the device (see the
first panel in Figure 8-5). To send a message to write to addresses 201 through 208, you would
need to define each address separately (see the second panel in Figure 8-5). Only contiguous
groups of data (up to the maximum allowed by the device) are put in one message for a write
operation.
Figure 8-5 Table That Sends Four Messages to Four Addresses
FactoryLink
generates two
messages to
process this table.

FactoryLink
generates one
message to process
this table.

168 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations

Read and Write Examples

8
This section contains examples illustrating various ways in which FactoryLink groups table
entries into messages. The number of messages generated and the dividing line between each
message is indicated in the illustrations.

External Device
Figure 8-6 Messages Generated for Read and Write Table

Interface
Continued

Continued

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ó
ì

€
ó
ì
ö
ú

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 169

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations
•
•
Figure 8-7 Messages Generated for Exception Write and Unsolicited Read Table

Continued

Continued

€
ó
ì
ö

€
ó
ì

170 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Specifying Priority

S PECIFYING P RIORITY
8
The Read/Write Control panel contains two columns for specifying the priority of block reads
and block or exception writes: Block Read Priority and Block Write Priority. The priority of an
operation can range from 1 to 4. These values correspond to four first-in/first-out (FIFO)

External Device
priority queues which are set up in order of importance. Priority queue 1 has the highest
priority.

Interface
The queues are polled for tables according to the rank of the priority. The priority 1 queue is
polled the most frequently and the priority 4 queue is polled the least frequently. Every table is
eventually processed but the ones in the priority 4 queue are not processed as often as the
tables in the priority 1 queue.

All tables are placed by default in the priority 1 queue, which is appropriate in most cases.
When an application contains a large number of tables, however, or when an exception write
table contains tag names for rapidly changing elements, the priority 1 queue can fill up.

To more evenly distribute tables across the four priority queues (thus reducing the priority 1
queue’s burden of handling all the pending I/O requests), you could assign priority 1 or 2 to
tables containing more important data and priority 3 or 4 to tables containing less important
data.

Using this logic, you would, for instance, assign a high priority to an exception write table for
an operation that acknowledges a loud annoying alarm, and a low priority to a block write table
that downloads a batch recipe once a day.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 171

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Overtriggering
•
•
O VERTRIGGERING
Overtriggering occurs when tables are being placed in shared memory faster than the EDI task
or protocol module can pull the tables out and process them. When shared memory is full, an
additional request to place a table in it results in the generation of an error message reporting
an overtriggered state.

E FFICIENT TRIGGERING
To design your application for optimum performance and avoid overtriggering, consider the
following triggering techniques.

Timed
The easiest and most basic way to trigger a block read or write operation is with a timed
element. To define a timed trigger element, you enter a tag name for a Block Read Trigger or
Block Write Trigger element in the Read/Write Control panel that matches the tag name of an
interval timer element (defined in the Interval Timer Information panel). If you define this
element to change once per second, the table is placed in its shared memory once every second.

Using timed elements as triggers is acceptable in most cases. An overtriggering situation can
occur, however, if the trigger rate causes tables to be placed into shared memory faster than
EDI or the protocol module can process them.

A situation in which triggers overlap can occur as well. To illustrate, suppose a 5-second, a
15-second, and a 30-second timed element are used to trigger various tables. Each table is
placed in its designated queue every 30 seconds when the various triggers line up. The use of
prime numbers quickly solves this problem, but a more effective method follows.

Note

The next two triggering methods, cascaded and self-triggered, can solve
potential overtriggering situations in many cases. These methods, however,
might not be appropriate for every read or write table you define. For
instance, the timed method works best for tables that do not need to be
updated at the highest possible rate.

Cascaded
The cascading of tables is an alternative to using timed triggers. It uses the Block Read State
and Block Write State elements, which are reset to 1 after EDI processes the table.

172 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Efficient Triggering

In the Read/Write Control panel, if either the complete or state element is defined as the trigger
element for the table in the row below the current table, that table is not triggered and placed 8
into shared memory until the preceding table is processed. If the table defined in the final row
of the Read/Write Control panel contains a tag name for a complete or state element that
matches the tag name of the trigger element for the table defined in the first row, the

External Device
completion of the final table triggers the first table. This endless loop results in the sequential
processing of tables at an optimal rate.

Interface
Figure 8-8 illustrates a series of read tables created using the cascading technique. This type of
table setup is also referred to as a “daisy chain” of tables.
Figure 8-8 Cascaded Read Tables

Continued

READ1 NO NO 1 r5_state
READ2 NO NO 1 r1_state
READ3 NO NO 1 r2_state
READ4 NO NO 1 r3_state
READ5 NO NO 1 r4_state

Continued
When the READ1 table
has been processed, its r1_state
r2_state
state tag, r1_state, is r3_state
forced back to 1. r4_state
r5_state

Since r1_state is defined as

the read trigger for the
READ2 table, READ2 is the
next table triggered.

A table is placed into shared memory only after the previous table has been processed. If you
use the Block Read State or Block Write State element to perform the cascade, the successful
processing of a table prior to the next table in the loop being triggered is not guaranteed; but
overtriggering is prevented. Regardless of communications, the loop continues to process.

If a table is to be placed into shared memory that has become full, the value of the state
element for that table does not change. Consequently, the next table is not triggered until room
is available in shared memory for the current table.

If you use the Block Read Complete or Block Write Complete element to perform the
cascade, the next table in the loop is placed into shared memory after the previous table is
successfully communicated. In this case, successful processing of the transaction is
guaranteed. (A time-out error occurring somewhere in the loop slows the performance of the
cascade.)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 173

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Efficient Triggering
•
•
A parallel between timed and cascaded triggering further illustrates this method’s
effectiveness. When the same timed trigger element is used to trigger each of several tables
defined in the Read/Write Control panel, the tables are processed sequentially (starting with
the beginning row of the panel) on each occurrence of the trigger. Essentially, this scenario
represents a timer-initiated cascade. If each instance of the timed element is replaced by an
element that, when combined with other elements, creates the cascaded triggering effect, the
fastest rate at which the tables can be placed into queues is naturally set by the tables
themselves.

For example, experimentation determines that when one 3.2-second timed digital element is
used as the same trigger element for a number of tables, the application can trigger the tables
without the overtrigger message appearing.

Self-Triggered
The use of self-triggered tables can increase the throughput and efficiency of read and write
operations.

In a self-triggered table, instead of a state or complete element serving as a trigger for the next
table in a cascaded loop, a state or complete element serves as a Block Read Trigger or Block
Write Trigger element for the table in which it is defined. In other words, one tag name is
defined for both the trigger element and the complete or state element in a single table:
Figure 8-9 Self-Triggered Read Table

Continued

R_AGAIN NO NO 1 selftrig

Continued
selftrig

When FactoryLink starts up, the complete or state element is automatically set to 1. If you
have defined this same element as the trigger element, the table is also placed in its priority
queue at startup. When the complete or state element is set again as a result of the operation,
the cycle starts over and the table is placed in its priority queue again (because the complete or
state element is also the trigger).

174 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Efficient Triggering

Overtriggering does not occur with a self-triggered table because a table destined for a device
is placed into shared memory only after the previous table has been processed. 8

Note

External Device
The continuation of a cascaded loop or self-triggered table ceases if the Block

Interface
Read Disable or Block Write Disable element is set to 1. To restart after the
disable element is set to 0 again, the Block Read Trigger or Block Write
Trigger element must be reset to 1.

Figure 8-10 illustrates the methodology of a self-triggered read table that uses the state element
to self trigger.
Figure 8-10 Self-Triggered Read Table
€ At FactoryLink startup, selftrig (as a
state element) is set to 1.
Continued

ó As a trigger element, selftrig also places the R_AGAIN NO NO 1 selftrig

R_AGAIN table into queue 1 at startup. óú
ì During processing of the R_AGAIN table,
selftrig (as a state element) is set to 0. Continued
selftrig

ö If the table completes successfully (the data €ìö

is read then stored in the elements defined in
the Read/Write Information panel), selftrig
(as a state element) is set to 1.

ú When the state element, selftrig, is set to 1, the

table is placed into its queue again because selftrig
is also the trigger element. If selftrig (as a state
element) remains 0 because the table does not
complete successfully, selftrig (as a trigger
element) never gets set for queuing the table again.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 175

• APPLICATION DESIGN TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
• Efficient Triggering
•
•

176 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 9

•
•
•
•
Testing and
Troubleshooting 9

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information to help you prevent, identify, and correct
problems with EDI and the device task. The sections included are listed below.
• For a series of flowcharts to assist you in identifying and solving problems with
EDI, see “EDI Flowcharts” on page 178.
• For information about configuring and testing a simple triggered read table, see
“Verifying Proper Communications” on page 182.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 177

• TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
• EDI Flowcharts
•
•
EDI F LOWCHARTS
Use the following flowcharts to identify and solve problems with your FactoryLink
application configured for the EDI task.

Begin here to
troubleshoot EDI.

Run the FLNEW utility.

With only EDI and RTMON running,
Then, configure a read
manually trigger the write operation.
Has this table and a write table for
Verify the device received the value
configuration No one logical station, each
by manually triggering the read of the
ever worked? table containing one
same register (or verify using device
value to be read or
programming tools).
written.
Yes

Has anything
Was this
about the See the flowchart, See the flowchart,
No No operation
configuration "Basic Troubleshooting." "Basic Troubleshooting."
successful?
changed?

Yes
Yes

See the flowchart,

Did the hardware, "Testing Your
operating system, or Application."
Operating FactoryLink
System the application Application
change?

Hardware

Is the interface card,

Verify the FactoryLink device, or device
version, existing emulator compatible
Note the message
hardware, or third- with the device
generated in the
party software are interface product?
Run-Time Manager.
compatible. Verify the correct
configuration of the
cable.

See the flowchart,

"Common Errors."

178 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
EDI Flowcharts

Basic Troubleshooting
9
Begin here for basic
troubleshooting. The baud rate, parity
Do the
and stop bits should
communication

External Device
match. Refer to the
parameters No
device
match those of
manufacturer’s
the device?

Interface
documentation.
RunUKEY -Lto verify all
necessary license options Yes
(protection bits) are
present
. Check the listing For testing purposes
for COM and for the Is the logical set this value up to
protocol-specific interface station timeout No eliminate timing
product you are using. setting too low? considerations as a
problem.

Yes

Verify no entries were

Are all entries
made in the user domain by
filled out in the See the flowchart,
No looking at tables and
SHARED "Common Errors."
database files generated by
domain?
the Configuration Manager.
Yes

Use the correct cable. Do not If this flow chart does not
Does the cable use a cable from another address your problem, note
configuration software package unless it any signs of communication
match the No matches the cable specified in (such as transmit and receiv
applicable diagram Chapter 4. Also see the section, lights on the device, or line
in Chapter 4? "The Cable Connection," in No analyzer output) and
Chapter 1. document your test
application, if applicable.
Yes
Then, contact Customer
See Chapter 1 for a discussion Support for further assistan
Do all entries for of logical stations and logical
logical station ports. To help you configure
No
and logical port multiple ports and stations, a
match? logical station worksheet is
provided in Chapter 5.
Yes

Does the hardware

specified in the Refer to Chapter 5. Be sure
Function field of the the hardware is responding at
External Device the operating system level.
No
Definition table Note that only external 232/
match the 422 converters are
computer’s supported.
hardware?

Yes

Is the memory
setting correct in For appropriate memory
the External No settings for the system
Device Definition hardware, refer to Chapter 5.
table?

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 179

• TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
• EDI Flowcharts
•
•
Common Errors
Begin here to research
error messages.

This informational message indicates the

Block rdn block wr
n
Yes number of read and write operations
excpt wrn unsoln
configured in your application.

This message indicates a timeout or an

LPORTn LSTAn err 0002 or 0003 inability to communicate with the device.
Yes
tablen pkt:n Verify the cable connection, the status of the
device, and the communication parameters.

This message indicates the memory allocation EDI

Can’t resolve IPC needs to send and receive commands has not taken
Yes
for LPORT n place. Clear the shared memory using the appropriate
operating system utility (for example, IPCRM).

The EDI-specific DCT files have not been

No reads, no writes generated. Force the regeneration of these
Yes
>>> nothing to do files using the EDISTART utility with the
-V and -R arguments. Note any errors.

This informational message indicates the

trigger rate of the tables is too high and is
Send ofoperation causing queued responses. Use one of the
Yes
delayed LPORT n triggering methods described in Chapter 8, or
identify hardware issues that might limit
communication throughput.

A limit in the total number of tables or data points

may have been reached. Note the total number
Out of RAM of read and write tables of each type, data
Yes
allocating.... points, ports, and any other useful information for
troubleshooting the problem. Then, contact
Customer Support.

Verify the External Device If the error message you received do

Can’t open
Yes Definition panel is filled out not appear here or in Chapter 10,
EDI_DEV.CT
correctly with valid data. contact Customer Support. Have the
following information available: the e
error message, what you were doing
when it occurred, which tables you w
working with, and any pertinent
See Chapter 10. configuration or cable set up informa

180 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
EDI Flowcharts

Testing Your Application

9
Begin here to test
your application.

External Device
Test the communication path by
following the procedure

Interface
described in "Verifying Proper
Communications" in this chapter.

Check the
Was the test
No cable
successful?
connection.

Yes

Since the simple read and write operation from one point to one
device works, the error is probably in the larger application. Gradually
add parts of the larger application to the test application. For instance,
add a logical station for another device and try to read and write to it.

Change the larger application to

reflect each successful addition
to the test application.

Does the problem Testing is

No
still exist? complete.

Yes

Run CTGEN to regenerate the External Device Definition

table and the protocol-specific tables, then run EDISTART
with the -V and -R arguments to verify all files are current.

Note any messages displayed while these two

utilities are running. After correcting anything
specified as an error, test run the application.

Use a -D argument with the shared

Run-Time Manager, FLRUN.

Does the problem Testing is

No
still exist? complete.

Yes
Note any signs of communicat
See the flowchart, such as transmit and receive
Common errors. lights on the device, or line
analyzer output.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 181

• TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
• Verifying Proper Communications
•
•
VERIFYING P ROPER C OMMUNICATIONS
To ensure the device can properly communicate with FactoryLink, perform the
following steps:

Configure two tables: a triggered read table and an exception write table. These
should look similar to the ones shown below.

In the read table, define:

• A trigger element (in the sample panel, TEST_RTRIG) you will manually force
to 1, or on, using the FactoryLink Real-Time Monitor, RTMON.
• An element (in the sample panel, VALUE1) to hold the value read from a known
address in one of the devices in your configuration (in the sample panel, address
140 in the device configured as logical station 1). You will watch the activity of
this element in RTMON to verify it is being updated.

In the write table, define an element (in the sample panel, VALUE2) to hold a
value that will be written to the same address configured in the read table. You
will change this element’s value in RTMON to prompt the processing of this table.

182 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
Verifying Proper Communications

The next steps in the procedure involve the use of the FactoryLink Real-Time
Monitor. For detailed instructions on using RTMON, refer to the FactoryLink ECS 9
Fundamentals manual.

In RTMON, create a watch list containing the elements defined in the two tables

External Device
(TEST_RTRIG, VALUE1, and VALUE2 in the sample panels). To create a watch
list, use the Watch option on the RTMON Options menu.

Interface
Prompt the processing of the triggered read table by forcing a 1 to the read trigger
using the Tag Input option on the RTMON Options menu. You can watch the value
of the trigger change in the watch list.

When you force the read trigger to 1,...

...its value in the

watch list changes
from OFF to ON.

When the read table

is triggered, the
value of VALUE1 is
updated. If the value
read differs from the
element’s current
value, you will see it
change in the watch
list.

When the triggered read table is processed, the element defined to hold the value
read (VALUE1 in the sample panel) is updated with the current value of the
specified register address.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 183

• TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
• Verifying Proper Communications
•
•
Use RTMON to prompt FactoryLink to process the exception write table. Change
the value of the element to be written (VALUE2 in the sample panel) using the
same option you used to trigger the read table, Tag Input. When you change the
element’s value in this way, the exception write table is processed and the value is
written to the specified register address.

184 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 10

•
•
•
•
Messages and Codes
10

External Device
Interface
During normal operations and upon detecting an error condition, FactoryLink
generates and displays messages for the EDI task, the device protocol module, and
the devices in your application configured for FactoryLink communications. These
messages are briefly displayed on the Run-Time Manager screen. For FactoryLink
to store system messages, you define database tags to which the messages are
written when they occur. These database tags are configured in the Logical
Station Control and Information panels. To view the stored messages, you
configure these tags as graphic objects using the Application Editor.

This chapter explains the formats for system messages, as well as a descriptive
list of the potential messages FactoryLink can generate for EDI and display at
startup and while an application is running. For descriptions of protocol module
messages, refer to the protocol-specific reference chapter.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 185

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Message Formats
•
•
M ESSAGE F ORMATS
This section contains a description of the Run-Time Manager line format for EDI
and protocol module messages, the tag message format in which messages are
displayed, and how the line format translates to the tag format.

EDI Run-Time Manager Line Format

Messages reporting normal operations and error conditions in read and write
operations are displayed on the EDI line of the Run-Time Manager screen. These
messages can contain the following information:

LPORT:xxx LSTA:xx ER:xxxx TBL:xxx PKT:xxx

where
LPORT:xxx is the logical port number assigned to the physical port
experiencing the error.
LSTA:xx is the logical station number assigned to the physical station
experiencing the error.
ER:xxxx is an error code in decimal format. Refer to the protocol-specific
reference chapter for details on the error code generated.
TBL:xxx is the number of the read or write table experiencing the error.
PKT:xxx is the number of the message packet experiencing the error.

For example, this message

LPORT:000 LSTA:02 ER:02 TBL:03 PKT:02

means an error code 2 occurred for port 0, logical station 2, involving the third
table in the Read/Write Control panel for the second message packet generated.

For descriptions of the FactoryLink EDI messages containing this information,

see “Messages” on page 188.

Tag Message Format

To capture these Run-Time Manager messages for viewing on an application
screen, you can log them to message tags. A message tag is defined in the Logical
Station Control panel. (This tag is not available for the OMRON protocol module.)

To view the contents of a message tag on an application screen, you define the tag
as a graphic object using the Application Editor.

186 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Message Formats

In a message tag, the LPORT field of an EDI Run-Time Manager message is stored
in the following format: 10
Lsta n: MessageText, nnnn

External Device
where
n: is the number assigned to the logical port causing the message.

Interface
MessageText is a description of the condition causing the error.
nnnn is the code number assigned to the message generated. For
information about the protocol-specific codes, refer to the protocol
module reference chapter.

For example:
Lsta 2: Read Response Error, 0x03

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 187

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Messages
•
•
M ESSAGES
FactoryLink can generate and display various types of messages during the start
up of an application or while the application is running. This section describes
each type of message.
• EDI Messages—System messages generated by the EDI task at run time are
displayed on the Run-Time Manager screen. These messages appear opposite
the Shared Task description for EDI in the message area under Last Message.
• Startup Messages—During the start up of a FactoryLink application, messages
generated by the device protocol module are displayed on the system monitor as
the conditions prompting each message occur.
• Run-Time Application Messages—While the FactoryLink application is running,
messages generated by the device protocol module are displayed on an
application screen. For information about these messages, see the section,
“Run-Time Application Messages,” in the protocol-specific reference chapter.

In the message descriptions, the directory where your FactoryLink application

resides is referred to as FLAPP.

The information in italic text in the message descriptions will vary depending
upon certain factors. In the message you will see in your application, what is
shown in italics will be replaced by information specific to your application (for
example, port or table number).

Some of the messages described in this chapter can also be found in Chapter 9,
“Testing and Troubleshooting,” in a flowchart that describes how to respond to
some common error messages generated and displayed by the EDI task.

For further assistance, contact Customer Support.

188 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Messages

EDI Messages
10
The following messages report operations and error conditions specific to EDI.

Abnormal shutdown of EDI drivers

External Device
Cause: A protocol module was experiencing an error at the time the EDI

Interface
task was shutting down.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

Bad block ’DCT’ file. LPORT logical port table table

Cause: The block .DCT file generated by the EDI task for the specified
logical port and Read/Write table is corrupt.
Action: Delete the files from FLAPP\DCT and restart FactoryLink.

Bad ’DCT’ file filename

Cause: Internal error. The specified .DCT file is corrupt.
Action: Delete the files from FLAPP\DCT and restart FactoryLink.

Bad read on file filename

Cause: A read operation on the named file failed.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition tables are correct and
contact your system administrator.

Bad return code from operation err:hexcode

Cause: A program error occurred.
Action: Refer to the description for the hexadecimal number that is
displayed after err: in the protocol-specific reference chapter for
information about correcting the error.

Block rd n block wr n excpt wr n unsol n

Cause: The EDI task is displaying the total number of communication
transactions configured for each type of operation defined in the
.DCT files.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 189

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Messages
•
•
Can’t open EDI_DEV.CT
Cause: The file may be corrupt or absent, or the External Device
Definition table may not have any entries.
Action: Ensure the External Device Definition table has been configured
and the entries are correct.

Can’t open file filename

Cause: This may be a log file that has been opened by another process,
or has not been created.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition tables are correct and
contact your system administrator.

Can’t resolve IPC for LPORT logical port

Cause: The EDI task was unable to allocate shared memory for the
specified logical port. A spawn of the protocol module was
attempted but failed.
Action: In the External Device Definition table, define the appropriate
logical port to be used for read and write operations. If this does
not solve the problem, contact Customer Support.

Can’t spawn system unit task for LPORT logical port

Cause: The Function field of the External Device Definition table
contains an invalid entry.
Action: In the Function field on the External Device Definition table,
enter the appropriate communication type. For example, enter
SYSCOM for serial communications.

EDI task: Can’t obtain task number

Cause: The wrong option bit was detected.
Action: Verify the system has the correct task protection bit configured
(UKey-L).

Error opening device definition file

Cause: One of the necessary device definition files for the EDI task
either does not exist or is corrupt.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition table entries are correct.

190 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Messages

Error opening port definition file

Cause: One of the necessary port definition files for the EDI task either 10
does not exist or is corrupt.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition table entries are correct.

External Device
Interface
Error reading device definition
Cause: A necessary device definition file for the EDI task is corrupt.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition table entries are correct.

Error reading port definition

Cause: A necessary port definition file for the EDI task is corrupt.
Action: Verify the External Device Definition table entries are correct.

External Device Interface startup

Cause: The EDI task is starting up normally.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

Invalid operation to uninitialized LPORT logical port

Cause: The EDI task could not perform a read or a write operation
because the specified logical port has not been defined.
Action: Define the logical port number specified.

LPORT logical port LSTA logical station err hexcode table table pkt:packet
Cause: An error occurred during a read or write operation to the
specified logical station.
Action: The error code specified after err is associated with the port,
station, table, and packet indicated. Refer to the description for
the hexadecimal number that is displayed after err in the
protocol-specific reference chapter for information about
correcting the error.

LPORT logical port connecting

Cause: This logical port is connecting to an external device.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 191

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Messages
•
•
LPORT logical port connected
Cause: This logical port has successfully connected to a device.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

LPORT logical port disconnected

Cause: This logical port has successfully disconnected from a device.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

LPORT logical port disconnecting

Cause: This logical port is disconnecting from a device.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

No reads, no writes >>> nothing to do

Cause: The EDI task does not recognize any read or write operations
because the configuration tables contain incorrect entries.
Action: Verify the entries in the External Device Definition table and
device-specific configuration tables and correct as needed.

Cause: The EDI task does not recognize any read or write operations
because the .DCT files were not properly built.
Action: Check the FLAPP\DCT directory to verify the .DCT files were
built. If necessary, execute EDISTART -R -V to regenerate the
files.

Cause: The EDI task does not recognize any read or write operations
because the task is unable to read the FLAPP\DCT directory.
Action: Verify the FLAPP\DCT directory has read and write privileges.
Grant these privileges if necessary.

Cause: The EDI task does not recognize any read or write operations
because none have been defined.
Action: Create a read or write table.

192 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Messages

Normal shutdown
Cause: The EDI task is shutting down in response to a normal 10
FactoryLink termination request.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

External Device
Interface
Out of RAM EDI task function
Cause: The EDI task cannot perform the specified function because the
system has run out of memory.
Action: Increase the amount of virtual memory.

Processing DCT filename

Cause: The EDI task is reading the preconfigured .CT file and
packetizing information from the specified internal .DCT file.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

Send of operation failed LPORT logical port err:hexcode

Cause: The EDI task was unable to perform a read or a write operation
on the specified logical port because the port was not properly
defined.
Action: Define the logical port number specified. If this does not solve
the problem, refer to the description for the hexadecimal number
that is displayed after err: in the protocol-specific reference
chapter for information about correcting the error.

Termination flag acknowledgment

Cause: The EDI task is shutting down normally.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

WARNING: n of TBL: n DEV: n refused

Cause: The EDI task was unable to allocate shared memory to process
the specified read or write operation.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 193

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Messages
•
•
Startup Messages
During FactoryLink application startup, the device protocol module can generate
messages and display them on the console. These messages display as shown, not
in error code or message format.

FactoryLink Ver: n EDI Ver: n.nn protocol module EDI Module Ver: n.nn
Cause: The protocol module has started up successfully.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

protocol module: Protection bit failure

Cause: The option key is missing the protocol-specific option bit.
Action: Install the option bit.

protocol module: Software Protection bit failure; bits (x) and number (y) required
Cause: One or both of the option bits (where x and y are decimal values)
required to run this protocol module are missing.
Action: Install the required option bits in the master key.

194 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 11

•
•
•
•
Allen-Bradley
11

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and the following devices, either
directly or through the Allen-Bradley Data Highway protocol:
• PLC-2
• PLC-3
• PLC-4
• PLC-5
• PLC-250
• PLC-1774

When you choose Allen-Bradley from the Configuration Manager Main Menu, the

Allen-Bradley
Allen-Bradley configuration panels are displayed.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 195

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Allen-Bradley configuration panels,

you must complete the External Device Definition panel. See “Identifying
Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the display of
all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition panel you
want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel Logical
Port column, to represent a particular communication path to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with the
devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry must match
the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)

196 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this logical port.
This entry must match the configuration of the devices communicating via 11
this port. Refer to the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: none, even, odd (default=none)

External Device
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this logical port.
This entry must match the configuration of the devices communicating via

Interface
this port. Refer to the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 7, 8 (default=8)
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause before the
start of the next character. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device manufacturer’s
documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default=1)
Response Timeout Enter the length of time, in tenths of seconds, the protocol module will wait
0.1 sec to receive a response to a read or write command before timing out. You
must enter a value greater than 0 for the protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: 0-9999 (default=55)

Allen-Bradley
Data Highway I/F Enter the address of the asynchronous communications module on the Data
Address (Octal) Highway. Most current modules accept or require 0. Some older
Allen-Bradley Data Highway interface modules may require their Data
Highway address.
Valid Entry: 0 - 377 (unless specifically required by the Data
Highway interface, enter 0.)
Duplex Enter the type of Allen-Bradley protocol support.
Valid Entry: full (default)
LRC Error Enter the type of longitudinal range error checking used by the
Detection Allen-Bradley asynchronous communications interface.
Ensure that the communication device matches the setting you choose. If
you specify no setting, the LRC error detection defaults to CRC.
Valid Entry: B, C, BCC, CRC (default=CRC)
Retry Request (For use with BCC longitudinal error checking only.) Enter the maximum
number of times the protocol module will retry a read or write command to
a device communicating through this logical port if the command response
is invalid or is not received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767 (default=3)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 197

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
LINK Timeout Enter the length of time in milliseconds to wait for link-level response
0.001 Sec (ACK/NAK) from the asynchronous interface.
Valid Entry: 0 - 65536 (default=150)
ENQ Retry Count Enter the number of times for the EDI task to re-send ENQs after a timeout
before aborting a request.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767 (default=10)
NAK Retry Count Enter the number of times for the EDI task to retransmit a send request after
receipt of a negative acknowledgment (NAK) before aborting the request.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767 (default=3)
Status Msg Tag Enter a tag name for a message element to which a text string will be
written to indicate a communications error associated with this logical port.
For information about displaying the text stored in a Status Msg Tag
element for an operator using this application, see the FactoryLink ECS
Application Editor.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the data type
(message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.
Table 11-1 provides sample entries for the Allen-Bradley Logical Station Control panel. In this
example, logical port 0 is configured for a baud rate of 9600, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity,
and a 5.5-second response timeout. The Data Highway I/F address is 0, using FULL duplex.
LRC Error detection is CRC, the retry request is 3 with a link timeout of 150 seconds. The
ENQ Retry count is 10 and the NAK Retry Count is 3. The EDI task will store
communications error messages associated with this logical port in a message element,
AB_LPORT0_MSG

Table 11-1 Sample Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Field Entry

Logical Port 0
Baud Rate 9600

Parity NONE

Data Bits 8

198 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Table 11-1 Sample Logical Station Control Panel Entries (Continued)

11
Field Entry

Stop Bits 1

External Device
Response Timeout 0.1 sec 55

Interface
Data Highway I/F address (OCTAL) 0
Duplex FULL

LRC Error Detection CRC

Retry Request 3
Link Timeout 0.001 sec 150

ENQ Retry Count 10

NAK Retry Count 3

Allen-Bradley
Status Msg Tag AB_LPORT0_MSG

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 199

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are configuring
and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to store
Name communications error codes associated with this device (logical station).
For information about displaying the codes stored in an Error/Status Tag
Name element for an operator using this application, see the FactoryLink
ECS Application Editor.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the information in
(Decimal) this row pertains. A logical station represents the combination of a logical
port with a physical station. Assign a unique number to each device
communicating through this logical port.
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write table to
represent the device defined in this row. In a read or write table, this number
will identify the device to or from which data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999

200 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Device Type Enter the type of Allen-Bradley device to which communications are to be
directed. 11
Valid Entry: PLC (valid for 1774-PLC and PLC-4), PLC-2 (also valid
for 1774-PLC and PLC-4), PLC-3, PLC-5, PLC-250

External Device
Station Address Enter the physical Data Highway address of the Allen-Bradley device.
(Octal)

Interface
For some Data Highway types, some addresses may be invalid. For further
information about valid addresses for a specific Data Highway type, refer to
the Allen-Bradley documentation.
Valid Entry: 0 - 377 (octal)
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the data type
(analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 11-2 provides sample entries for the Allen-Bradley Logical Station Information panel. In
this example, logical station 0 is a PLC-5 on logical port 0, with a data highway address of 1.
The analog element defined in the Error/Status Tag Name field, AB_STATION0_STATUS, is

Allen-Bradley
configured to hold port errors for logical station 0.

Table 11-2 Sample Logical Station Information Panel Entries

Field Entry

Error/Status Tag Name AB_STATION0_STATUS

Logical Station (Decimal) 0

Device Type PLC-5

Station Address (OCTAL) 1

Comment

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 201

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the display of all
configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station Information panel.

Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

For information about triggering schemes using elements defined in this

panel, refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques.”

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table) per line
and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as many tables in this
panel as available memory allows. Try to make the table name reflective of
the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger element
(Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write Trigger for a write
operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element prompts FactoryLink to process
this table and any other table in which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Unsolicited Read For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block read or as a write
operation, accept the default of NO.

202 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

If this is an unsolicited read operation, enter YES or FORCE. EDI will

interpret this operation as an unsolicited read and emulate the device’s 11
addressing structure based on entries you make in the Read/Write
Information panel. The incoming data will be stored in the real-time
database as specified in this field.

External Device
If you enter YES, the incoming data will be stored in the element

Interface
represented by the tag name specified in the Read/Write Information panel.
If the current value of the element is equal to the new value, the
change-status indicator is unaffected. If a different value is being stored the
element, however, it will overwrite the current value and the element’s
change-status indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
If you enter FORCE, the data is stored in the specified element and the
change-status indicator is automatically set to 1, regardless of whether the
current value matches the new value.
Valid Entry: yes, no, force (default=no)
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or as a read
operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and write element

Allen-Bradley
values to the device only when those values change, enter YES.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within the element
containing the data to be written prompts the write operation. If an element
is configured for an exception write and EDI recognizes this indicator has
been set since the last scan of the real-time database (indicating the value of
the element has changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and unpredictable

intervals in an exception write table. Any element specified will be written to
the device in its own packet (message) each time it changes. Defining
elements that change value frequently as exception writes can slow down
communications or result in an error message.

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the priority of
Priority this table, relative to other read operations. The highest priority is 1. This
number influences the order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of
block read requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 203

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, accept the default of 1.
This field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations. Do not
define these elements for unsolicited read operations or for write operations.

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a tag name
for a digital element to initiate a block read of the addresses specified in the
Read/Write Information panel. When this element’s value is forced to 1
(ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to disable a block read of the elements specified in this
table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the read
operation is not executed, even when the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this element back
to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is either part
of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering cycle will cease upon
disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read
table, the Block Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer
to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

204 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you need a 11
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter a tag
name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the elements

External Device
defined in the Read/Write Information panel have been updated in the
FactoryLink database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.

Interface
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is specified in a
single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in progress or
complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup.
While the table is being processed, the element is set to 0 (OFF). After the
elements defined in the Read/Write Information panel have been updated in
the FactoryLink database, the state element is forced back to 1.

Allen-Bradley
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other write operations. The highest priority
is 1. This number influences the order in which the EDI task handles the
queuing of write requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default is 1.
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field defaults to 1
regardless of whether the operation being defined is a block or exception
write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not define
these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do not plan to
periodically disable, ignore this field.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 205

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan to
periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for a digital
element to initiate a block write of the element values specified in the
Read/Write Information panel to the addresses defined to receive the
values. When this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes
the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do not plan to
Disable periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan to
periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for a digital
element to disable a block write to the addresses specified in this table.
When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the write operation is not
executed, even when the block write trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this element
back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block write operation that is either part
of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering cycle will cease upon
disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write
table, the Block Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer
to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a digital
element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter a tag name. This
element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the data defined in this table’s
Read/Write Information panel has been written to the device, the complete
element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is specified in a
single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

206 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need a digital 11
element to indicate the state of this operation (in progress or complete),
enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. While the

External Device
table is being processed, the element is set to 0 (OFF). After the data
defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has been written to the

Interface
device, the state element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is specified in a
single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the data type
(digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 11-3 provides sample entries for the Allen-Bradley Read/Write Control panel. In this
example, the READ table is configured as follows:
• When the value of the digital Block Read Trigger element AB_READ_TRIGGER is 1,
FactoryLink reads the configured register address and writes its value to the element

Allen-Bradley
configured for this table (in the Read/Write Information panel). The block read priority,
which is set automatically if you do not enter a value, is set to the default of 1, the highest
priority.
• When the value of the digital element AB_READ_DISABLE is 1, FactoryLink disregards
the trigger element, AB_READ_TRIGGER, and does not process the READ_MSG table.
• Once FactoryLink reads the data and writes it to the database element defined to receive it
(MBRDR1 in the Read/Write Information panel), FactoryLink forces a value of 1 to the
digital Block Read State element, AB_READ_STATE, and to the Block Read Complete
element, AB_READ_COMPLETE. During the read operation, AB_READ_STATE is set to
0.

Table 11-3 Sample Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Field Entry

Table Name READ

Unsolicited Read YES

Exception Write YES

Block Read Priority 1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 207

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 11-3 Sample Read/Write Control Panel Entries (Continued)

Field Entry

Block Read Trigger AB_READ_TRIGGER

Block Read Disable AB_READ_DISABLE

Block Read Complete AB_READ_COMPLETE

Block Read State AB_READ_STATE

Block Write Priority The write priority for this table is set
to 1 by default.

Block Write Trigger Since this is a read table, the elements

specific to write requests are not
defined.

Block Write Disable

Block Write Complete

Block Write State

208 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

11
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are configuring and click
Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the foreground.

External Device
Interface
Allen-Bradley
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in which data
read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the operation
executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write Information panel

can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in the Application Editor.
Refer to the FactoryLink ECS Application Editor for details.

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which FactoryLink
will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float, message

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 209

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is to be read
or to which the element’s value will be written. This number was originally
defined in the Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where the value
to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to which the
element value will be written.
Valid Entry: “Allen-Bradley Address Entries” on page 221
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device for each
element defined in the Tag Name field.
If you enter the data type BIN, the EDI task automatically selects an
Allen-Bradley data type compatible with the FactoryLink data type of the
Tag Name element. For example, if you enter BIN as the data type for an
analog element, the task interprets BIN as INT2 and reads or writes to the
element as if the data type had been entered as INT2.
Valid Entry: “Allen-Bradley Data Types” on page 212

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the data type
(digital, analog, long analog, floating-point, or message) for any tag names displayed in the
Tag Definition dialog.
Table 11-4 provides sample entries for the Allen-Bradley Read/Write Information panel. In this
example, the protocol module reads data from address 310/00 in the PLC configured as logical
station 0. The data is stored in a digital element, MBRDR1. The protocol module transfers this
untranslated binary value (BIN) to the real-time database without conversion.

210 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 11-4 Sample Read/Write Information Panel Entries

11
Field Entry

Tag Name MBRDR1

External Device
Logical Station 0

Interface
Address 310/00
Data Type BIN

Allen-Bradley

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 211

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Data Types
•
•
A LLEN -B RADLEY D ATA TYPES
The following table describes the formats of the PLC data types that the Allen-Bradley
protocol module supports:

Table 11-5 PLC Data Types

Data Type Description

BIN Signed, 2-byte binary integer

INT2 Untranslated binary value

INT4 Signed, 4-byte binary integer

BCD3 Unsigned, 2-byte word representing 3 BCD digits Binary Coded Decimal
value

BCD4 Unsigned, 2-byte word representing 4 BCD digits Binary Coded Decimal
value

UBCD Unsigned, 2-byte word representing 4 BCD digits most significant nibble
ignored for reads, zero on writes
FLT4 Signed, 4-byte floating-point number

FLT8 Signed, 8-byte floating-point number

ASC Two ASCII characters stored in one word: first character in least
significant byte; second character in most significant byte

212 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Conversion of Data Types for Read Operations

C ONVERSION OF D ATA TYPES FOR R EAD O PERATIONS

11
This section describes how the Allen-Bradley protocol module converts data types to real-time
database elements for read operations. Refer to “Allen-Bradley Data Types” on page 212 for a
list of data types.

External Device
Interface
Digital Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following digital conversion:

BIN to Digital

The value (1 or 0) of the bit at the specified address is transferred to the digital element without
conversion. If no bit number is specified, the value of bit 0 at the specified address is
transferred to the digital element.

Analog Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following analog conversions:

Allen-Bradley
BIN to Analog

The value of the word at the specified address is transferred to the analog element without
conversion.

INT2 to Analog

The value of the word at the specified address is transferred to the analog element without
conversion.

INT4 to Analog

The value of the 4-byte integer at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value
and is transferred to the analog element.

BCD3 to Analog

The 3-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value and is
transferred to the analog element.

BCD4 to Analog

The 4-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value and is
transferred to the analog element.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 213

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Conversion of Data Types for Read Operations
•
•
UBCD to Analog

The 3-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value and is
transferred to the analog element.

FLT4 to Analog

The 4-byte floating-point value at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value
and is transferred to the analog element.

FLT8 to Analog

The 8-byte floating-point value at the specified address is converted to a 2-byte integer value
and is transferred to the analog element.

Floating-Point Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following floating-point conversions:

BIN to Floating Point

The 8-byte floating-point value at the specified address is transferred to the floating-point
element without conversion.

INT2 to Floating Point

The value of the 2-byte integer at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte floating-point
value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

INT4 to Floating Point

The value of the 4-byte integer at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte floating-point
value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

BCD3 to Floating Point

The value of the 3-digit BCD word at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte
floating-point value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

BCD4 to Floating Point

The value of the 4-digit BCD word at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte
floating-point value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

214 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Conversion of Data Types for Read Operations

UBCD to Floating Point

11
The value of the 3-digit BCD word at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte
floating-point value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

External Device
FLT4 to Floating Point

Interface
The 4-byte floating-point value at the specified address is converted to an 8-byte floating-point
value and is transferred to the floating-point element.

FLT8 to Floating Point

The 8-byte floating-point value at the specified address is transferred to the floating-point
element without conversion.

Longana Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following longana conversions:

BIN to Longana

Allen-Bradley
The value of the 4-byte integer at the specified address is transferred to the longana element
without conversion.

INT2 to Longana

The value of the word at the specified address is transferred to the longana element without
conversion.

INT4 to longana

The value of the 4-byte integer at the specified address is transferred to the longana element
without conversion.

BCD3 to Longana

The 3-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 4-byte integer value and is
transferred to the longana element.

BCD4 to Longana

The 4-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 4-byte integer value and is
transferred to the longana element.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 215

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Conversion of Data Types for Read Operations
•
•
UBCD to Longana

The 3-digit BCD value at the specified address is converted to a 4-byte integer value and is
transferred to the longana element.

FLT4 to Longana

The 4-byte floating-point value at the specified address is converted to a 4-byte integer value
and is transferred to the longana element.

FLT8 to Longana

The 8-byte floating-point value at the specified address is converted to a 4-byte integer value
and is transferred to the longana element.

Message Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following message conversions:

BIN to Message

The values of the words specified in the address are transferred to the message element without
conversion.

ASC to Message

The values of the words specified in the address are copied to the message element with
low-order and high-order bytes inverted.

216 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Conversion of Elements for Write Operations

C ONVERSION OF E LEMENTS FOR WRITE O PERATIONS

11
This section describes how real-time database elements map to the data types listed on page
212 for the Allen-Bradley protocol module for write operations:

External Device
Digital Elements

Interface
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following digital conversion:

Digital to BIN

The value (1 or 0) of the digital element is transferred to the bit at the specified address without
conversion. If no bit number is specified, the value of the digital element is transferred to bit 0
at the specified address.

Analog Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following analog conversions:

Analog to BIN

Allen-Bradley
The value of the analog element is transferred to the specified address without conversion.

Analog to INT2

The value of the analog element is transferred to the specified address without conversion.

Analog to INT4

The value of the analog element is converted to a 4-byte integer value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Analog to BCD3

The analog value is converted to a 3-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

Analog to BCD4

The analog value is converted to a 4-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 217

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Conversion of Elements for Write Operations
•
•
Analog to UBCD

The analog value is converted to a 3-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

Analog to FLT4

The analog value is converted to a 4-byte floating-point value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Analog to FLT8

The analog value is converted to an 8-byte floating-point value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Floating-Point Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following floating-point conversions:

Floating Point to BIN

The value of the floating-point element is transferred to the four-word address without
conversion.

Floating Point to INT2

The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 2-byte integer and is transferred to the
specified address.

Floating Point to INT4

The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 4-byte integer and is transferred to the
specified address.

Floating Point to BCD3

The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 3-digit BCD word and is transferred
to the specified address.

Floating Point to BCD4

The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 4-digit BCD word and is transferred
to the specified address.

218 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Conversion of Elements for Write Operations

Floating Point to UBCD

11
The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 3-digit BCD word and is transferred
to the specified address.

External Device
Floating Point to FLT4

Interface
The value of the floating-point element is converted to a 4-byte floating-point value and is
transferred to the specified address.

Floating Point to FLT8

The value of the floating-point element is transferred to the specified address without
conversion.

Longana Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following longana conversions:

Longana to BIN

Allen-Bradley
The value of the longana element is transferred to the specified address without conversion.

Longana to INT2

The value of the longana element is converted to a 2-byte integer value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Longana to INT4

The value of the longana element is transferred to the specified address without conversion.

Longana to BCD3

The longana value is converted to a 3-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

Longana to BCD4

The longana value is converted to a 4-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 219

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Conversion of Elements for Write Operations
•
•
Longana to UBCD

The longana value is converted to a 3-digit BCD value and is transferred to the specified
address.

Longana to FLT4

The longana value is converted to a 4-byte floating-point value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Longana to FLT8

The longana value is converted to an 8-byte floating-point value and is transferred to the
specified address.

Message Elements
The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports only the following message conversions:

Message to BIN

The values of the message elements are written to the words specified in the address without
conversion.

Message to ASC

The values of the message elements are written to the words specified in the address with the
low-order and high-order bytes inverted.

220 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Address Entries

A LLEN -B RADLEY A DDRESS E NTRIES

11
This section contains information about the Allen-Bradley addresses that FactoryLink
supports.

External Device
PLC-2 Addresses

Interface
For the Allen-Bradley PLC-2, FactoryLink supports the following address formats:
word
word/bit
word, length

where
word (Required) Word address of the data table in octal
Valid Entry: 0 - 7777 (octal) (The actual high address depends
on the specific PLC that is addressed.)
bit (Optional) Bit address of the specified word in octal

Allen-Bradley
Valid Entry: 0 - 17 (octal) (0 least significant bit; 17 most significant
bit)
length (Optional) Number of words in a message string in decimal

Examples:
17 Word 15 decimal
23/17 Bit 17 of word 23 (word 19 decimal)
7/7 Bit 7 of word 7 (word 15 decimal)
0,100 First 100 decimal words

Note

If you configure PLC-3 and PLC-5 for PLC-2 compatibility, these addresses
are also valid for PLC-3 and PLC-5.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 221

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Address Entries
•
•
PLC-3 Addresses
The Allen-Bradley PLC-3 uses four types of address formats:
• Logical word addressing
• Logical file addressing
• Symbolic word addressing
• Symbolic file addressing

Formats for each of these types are discussed below.

Logical Word Addressing

Logical word addressing uses two address formats:

[W]filetype[filenumber:][element][.subelement][/bit]
[W]filetype[filenumber:][element][.subelement][,length]

where
W (Optional) Logical word addressing—default if no other addressing type is
specified
filetype (Required) One of the letters specifying a PLC-3 file type shown in Table
11-6.

Table 11-6 PLC-3 File Types for Logical Word Addressing

Type Description Section # Words/Element

O Output image 1 1

I Input image 2 1

T Timer 3 3

C Counter 4 3
N Integer 5 1

F Floating-point 6 2

D BCD 7 1
B Binary 8 1

222 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Address Entries

Table 11-6 PLC-3 File Types for Logical Word Addressing (Continued)
11
Type Description Section # Words/Element

A ASCII 9 1

External Device
H High-order integer 10 2

Interface
P Pointer 11 2

S Status 13 1

filenumber (Optional) File number in decimal

Valid Entry: 0 - 999 (default=0)
element (Optional) Element number in specified file in decimal, except for types I
and O, which are octal
subelement (Optional) Subelement in decimal
bit (Optional) Bit address in octal

Allen-Bradley
length (Optional) Number of words in decimal

Examples (Logical Word Addressing)

WI12:10/0 Least significant bit of word 8 (decimal) of input file 12 (decimal)
I13/17 Bit 17 of word 11 (decimal) of input file 0
O0,10 First 10 (decimal) words of output file 0
010:10,10 Words 8 - 17 (decimal) inclusive of output file 10
WT10:8.1/17 Bit 17 of second word in timer 8 (the ninth timer structure timer file number
10)

Logical File Addressing

When you use logical file addressing, all numbers are in decimal, regardless of file type. Bit 16
refers to the least significant bit of the next word in the PLC’s memory.

Logical file addressing uses two address formats:

F filetype[filenumber:][element][.subelement][/bit]
F filetype[filenumber:][element][.subelement][,length]

where

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 223

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Address Entries
•
•
F (Required) Logical file addressing
filetype (Required) One of the letters specifying a PLC-3 file type shown in Table
11-7
Valid Entry: 999 (default=0)

Table 11-7 PLC File Types for Logical File Addressing

Type Description Section # Words/Element

O Output image 1 1
I Input image 2 1

T Timer 3 3

C Counter 4 3

N Integer 5 1

F Floating-point 6 2

D BCD 7 1

B Binary 8 1

A ASCII 9 1

H High-order integer 10 2

P Pointer 11 2

S Status 13 1

filenumber (Optional) File number in decimal

element (Optional) Element number in specified file in decimal
subelement (Optional) Subelement in decimal
bit (Optional) Bit number
length (Optional) Number of words in decimal

Examples (Logical File Addressing)

FO/255 Bit 15 of word 15 of output file 0 (Word 15 is the 16th word in the file.)

224 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Address Entries

FI5:/256 Bit 0 of word 16 of input file 5 (Word 16 is the 17th word in the file.)
FI10/256 Bit 0 of word 26 of input file 0 (Word 26 is the 27th word in the file.) 11
FI5:10/256 Bit 0 of word 26 of input file 5 (Word 26 is the 27th word in the file.)

External Device
FF3:2 Floating-point value 2, floating-point file 3 (Floating-point value number 2
is the 5th and 6th words in this file.)

Interface
Symbolic Word Addressing

Symbolic word addressing uses three formats:

@AAAAAAAA
@AAAAAAAA/bit
@AAAAAAAA,length

where
@ (Required) The symbolic addressing flag character
AAAAAAAA (Required) 1- to 8-character symbolic name defined in the PLC (use only

Allen-Bradley
uppercase characters)
bit (Optional) Bit number in octal
length (Optional) Number of words in message string in decimal

Examples (Symbolic Word Addressing)

@SYMBOL Symbol
@SYMBOL/17 Most significant bit of the word at SYMBOL
@SYMBOL,20 20 words starting at SYMBOL

Symbolic File Addressing

Symbolic file addressing uses three address formats.

@AAAAAAAA:word
@AAAAAAAA:word/bit
@AAAAAAAA:word,length

where
@ (Required) The symbolic addressing flag character

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 225

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Address Entries
•
•
AAAAAAAA 1- to 8-character symbolic name defined in the PLC (use only uppercase
characters)
word (Required) Word number (offset) from symbol in decimal
(specify a word, even if it is 0)
bit (Optional) Bit number in decimal
length (Optional) Number of words in message string in decimal

Examples (Symbolic File Addressing)

@SYMBOL:0 First word of PLC ASCII symbol file
@SYMBOL:10/16 Least significant bit of word at SYMBOL + 11
@SYMBOL:10,20 20 words starting at SYMBOL + 10

PLC-5 Addresses
Depending on the file type being addressed, the Allen-Bradley protocol module supports two
formats for addressing PLC-5s.

The Allen-Bradley PLC-5 Input and Output Image tables use two address formats:

filetype:[wordnumber][/bit]

filetype:[wordnumber][,length]

where
filetype (Required) One of the letters (I or O) specifying a PLC-5 Input or Output
Image table
wordnumber (Optional) Word number in octal
Valid Entry: 0 - 777 (default=0)
bit (Optional) Bit address in octal
length (Optional) Number of words in decimal
I:34/17 Bit 17 of word 28 in the Input Image table
O:/0 Bit 0 of Word 0 in the Output Image table
I:,100 First 100 word of the Input Image table

226 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Address Entries

The rest of the Allen-Bradley PLC-5 data table files use two address formats:
11
filetype[filenumber]:[element][.subelement][/bit]

filetype[filenumber]:[element][.subelement][,length]

External Device
where

Interface
filetype (Required) One of the letters specifying a PLC-5 file type shown in the
following table:

Table 11-8 PLC-5 File Types

Type Description Default File # # Words/Element

S Status 2 1

B Binary 3 1

T Timer 4 3

C Counter 5 3

Allen-Bradley
R Control 6 3

N Integer 7 1
F Floating-point 8 2

A ASCII N/A 1

D BCD N/A 1

filenumber (Optional) File number in decimal. If not specified, file number is assumed
to be the default file number for the file type specified.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
element (Optional) Element number in specified file in decimal (default=0).
subelement (Optional) Subelement number in decimal (default=0).
bit (Optional) Bit address in decimal.
length (Optional) Number of words in decimal.
N7:23/15 Bit 15 of word 23 of integer file 7. (Word 23 is the 24th word in the file.)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 227

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Address Entries
•
•
F8:17 Float value 17 in Floating-point file 8. (Float word 17 is the 18th float
word.)
B17:/255 Bit 15 of Word 15 of Bit file 17. (Bit 15 is the most significant bit. Word 15
is the 16th word.)
B3/255 Bit 15 of word 15 of Bit file 3. (Bit 15 is the most significant bit. Word 15 is
the 16th word.)

PLC 5-250 Native Mode Addresses

The Allen-Bradley protocol module supports a limited subset of PLC5-250 native mode
addresses. It supports only those features specifically described in this document. If you try to
use other features, FactoryLink application errors will occur.

PLC Type PLC-250

Use the PLC type PLC-250 in the Logical Station table to describe a logical station as a
PLC5-250. This PLC type supports limited native addressing to a PLC5-250.

Unsolicited Read Support

Create a logical station with a PLC type of PLC-2 for unsolicited reads from the PLC5-250.
The PLC5-250 may then send Unprotected Write (PLC-2 format) commands to the protocol
module. The protocol module ignores any definitions of unsolicited reads on a station with a
PLC type of PLC-250.

Native Addressing

Specify all numbers in the address in decimal.

The following are limitations on the data that can be accessed:

• The data must reside either in the resource manager or a logic processor addressable from
the resource manager.
• The file’s native element must not contain subelements.
• The file identifier must consist of a single character.

Address Format

Use the following address format:

[module_id] file_id [file_number]: [file_element][/bit_number] [,msg_length]

where

228 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Address Entries

spaces Are for readability only; do not include them in the actual address string
brackets [] Are optional in the address string 11
colon (:) Are required in the address string

External Device
MODULE_ID

Interface
If 0, the MODULE_ID is the resource manager; if 1-8, MODULE_ID is a logic processor. If a
logic processor is specified, this number is the value set on the thumbwheel on the front of the
logic processor. If the MODULE_ID is omitted, the resource manager will be assumed.

FILE_ID

The FILE_ID specifies the type of file. It consists of a single uppercase alphabetic character.
Valid FILE_IDs are:
B Binary files
N Integer files
L Long integer files

Allen-Bradley
F Floating-point files

FILE_NUMBER

The FILE_NUMBER specifies which file of the FILE_ID file is addressed. It consists of a 1-
to 4-character decimal number ranging from 0 to 9999. If the FILE_NUMBER is omitted, it is
assumed to equal 0.

FILE_ELEMENT

The FILE_ELEMENT specifies which element in the file is addressed. It consists of a 1- to

4-character decimal number ranging from 0 to 9999. If the FILE_ELEMENT is omitted, it is
assumed to equal 0.

BIT_NUMBER and MESSAGE_LENGTH

The BIT_NUMBER and MESSAGE_LENGTH are the same as the other PLC types, except
that the BIT_NUMBER must range between 0 and 15. Bit 0 is the least-significant bit; bit 15 is
the most-significant bit.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 229

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Address Entries
•
•
Example

The following sample strings illustrate PLC5-250 native mode addressing format:

Table 11-9 PLC5-250 Native Mode Addressing

Address Description

0B14:10/15 The most significant bit of the 11th binary word (address 10) of the 15th
binary file (address 14) in the resource manager

B14:10/15 Same as above

3N5:3 The fourth (address 3) integer element of the sixth (address 5) integer file
in logic processor 3

PLC Element Type to FactoryLink Element Type Conversion

Use the same conversions (INT2, INT4. . .) as with logical stations of type PLC-5. Refer to
“PLC-5 Addresses” on page 226 for more information.

230 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Allen-Bradley Switch Setup

A LLEN -B RADLEY S WITCH S ETUP

11
1770-KF2 Series B

External Device
The following are the switch settings and addresses for the 1770-KF2 Series B.

Interface
Table 11-10 Switch Settings for 1770-KF2 Series B

Address DH/DH+ 422/232

SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SW5 SW6 SW7 SW8

12345 12 123 123 12 1234 1 2/1 2 1 2/1 2

DUDDD As needed UU DUUD DD/UD UD/DU

1771-KA2

Allen-Bradley
The following are the switch settings for the 1771-KA2.

Table 11-11 Switch Settings for the 1771-KA2

SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SW5

12345 12 123 123 12

UUUUU As needed As needed As needed UU

1771-KE
The following are the switch settings and addresses for the 1771-KE.

Table 11-12 Switch Settings and Addresses for the 1771-KE

SW1 Address SW5 SW6

12345 12 123 123 12 1234

DDDDD As needed UU UDDU

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 231

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Allen-Bradley Switch Setup
•
•
1771-KG
The following are the switch settings and addresses for the 1771-KG.

Table 11-13 Switch Settings and Addresses for the 1771-KG

SW1 SW2 Address

123 12345 12 123 123

DUU DDUUD As needed

1785-KA
The following are the switch settings for the 1785-KA.

Table 11-14 Switch Settings for the 1785-KA

SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SW5 SW6

12 12 12 12 123 123
DD DD DD DD UDD DUD

232 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

11
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the Allen-Bradley
protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so configured, writes them to
message or analog tags. For information about configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the

External Device
Logical Station Control Panel” on page 196. For information about configuring an analog tag,
see “Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel” on page 200.

Interface
For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in which
protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and Codes.”

The ER:xxxx string in a message can contain a single-digit or a double-digit error code. In
following descriptions, N represents significant digits and x represents digits not significant to
the error.
• Single-Digit Code Format
ER:xxxN is a single-digit format in which one digit represents a single error condition. In
some cases, two individual codes appear within a string to indicate multiple error
conditions.
• Double-Digit Code Format

Allen-Bradley
ER:xxNN is a double-digit format in which two digits represent a single error condition.

Single-Digit Codes
Hexadecimal error codes 0001 through 000F are Allen-Bradley protocol module internal
errors:

Table 11-15 Allen-Bradley Protocol Module Internal Errors

Error
Description
Message

0001 Internal error (invalid rcv/xmt state)

0002d Unable to transmit request to Data Highway Interface

0003 Unable to receive request response from Data Highway Interface

0004 Internal error (CPT translate error)

0007 Internal error (DSF translate error)

0008 Invalid extended status (above 080h) from Data Highway Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 233

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 11-15 Allen-Bradley Protocol Module Internal Errors (Continued)

Error
Description
Message

000A Invalid length retry count exceeded

Double-Digit Codes
Error codes received from the Data Highway interface can signify Local, Extended, or Remote
STS errors.

Local STS Error Codes

EDI error codes from 0010 through 001F denote Local STS errors received from the Data
Highway Interface. Read the least significant nibble of the EDI error code to obtain the local
error code.

Table 11-16 Local STS Errors Received from the Data Highway Interface

Error
Description
Message

0011 Designate node out of buffer space

0012 Remote node specified does not acknowledge (ACK) the command
message

0013 Duplicate token holder detected

0014 Local port is disconnected

234 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY
Run-Time Application Messages

Remote STS Error Codes

11
EDI error codes from 0020 through 002F denote Remote STS errors received from the Data
Highway Interface. Read the least significant nibble of the EDI error code as the most
significant nibble of the remote error code to obtain the remote error code.

External Device
Table 11-17 Remote STS Errors Received from the Data Highway Interface

Interface
Error Code Description

0021 Illegal command or format

0022 The host has a problem and will not communicate

0023 The remote node host is missing, disconnected, or shut down

0024 The host could not complete function because of hardware fault

0025 Addressing problem or memory protect rings

0026 Function disallowed because of command protection selection

Allen-Bradley
0027 Processor is in program mode

0028 Compatibility mode file missing or communication zone problem

0029 Remote node cannot buffer command

002B Remote node problem caused by download

Extended STS Error Codes

EDI error codes above 002F denote Extended STS errors received from the Data Highway
interface. Subtract 0030 from the EDI error code to obtain the Extended error code.

Table 11-18 Extended STS Errors Received from the Data Highway Interface

Error
Description
Message

0031 Error in converting block address

0032 Fewer levels specified in address to address

0033 More levels specified in address than system supports

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 235

• ALLEN-BRADLEY
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 11-18 Extended STS Errors Received from the Data Highway Interface (Continued)

Error
Description
Message

0034: Symbol not found

0035 The symbol is of improper format

0036 Address does not point to something usable

0037 The file is the wrong size

0038 Cannot complete request; situation has changed since the start of the
command

0039 The file is too large

003A The transaction size plus word address is too large

003B Access denied; improper privilege

003C Condition cannot be generated; resource is not available (some have

upload active)

003D Condition already exists; resource is already available

003E The shutdown could not be executed

003F Requestor does not have upload or download access; noprivilege

0040 Histogram overflow

0041 Illegal data type

0042 Bad parameter

0043 An address reference(s) exists to a deleted data table(s)

Note

The EDI protocol module uses command code OF.

236 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 12

•
•
•
•
General Electric
12

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and one or more
General Electric devices, using GE CCM protocol.

When you choose General Electric Fanuc from the Configuration Manager Main
Menu, the General Electric configuration panels are displayed:

General Electric

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 237

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific General Electric

configuration panels, you must complete the External Device
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
(default=0)

238 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry 12
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)

External Device
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this

Interface
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: none, even, odd (default=none)
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 8
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1
Timeout Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the protocol
module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command
before timing out. You must enter a value greater than 0 for the
protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: 0 - 9999 (default=20 or 2 seconds)
Status Msg (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Tag Name text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
For information about displaying the text stored in a Status Msg
Tag Name element for an operator using this application, see the
General Electric
Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 239

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
Table 12-1 provides sample entries for the General Electric Logical Station
Control panel:

Table 12-1 Sample General Electric Logical Station Control Panel

Field Entry Description

Logical Port 0 Specifies the logical

communication path configured
by this table

Baud Rate 9600 Specifies the communication rate

Parity NONE No parity checking

Data Bits 8 Specifies 8 data bits in the

transmission

Stop Bits 1 Specifies 1 stop bit in the

transmission

Timeout 10 The response timeout 1 second

Status Msg Tag Name GENE_LPORT0_ Error messages written to the

MSG message element
GENE_LPORT0_MSG

240 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL

12
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
For information about displaying the codes stored in an
Error/Status Tag Name element for an operator using this
application, see the Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name General Electric
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
(Decimal) information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 241

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 255
Device Type Enter the type of General Electric device to which
communications are to be directed.
SERIES_1 GE Series One PLC
SERIES _3 GE Series Three PLC
SERIES _5 GE Series Five PLC
SERIES _6 GE Series Six PLC
S1_JR GE Series One JR PLC
S1_PLUS GE Series One PLUS PLC
SRS_9070 GE Series 9070
SRS_9030 GE Series 9030
Physical Station Enter the physical address of the General Electric device.
Valid Entry: 0 - 255
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

242 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Table 12-2 provides sample entries for the General Electric Logical Station
Information panel: 12
Table 12-2 Sample General Electric Logical Station Information Panel

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Error/Status Tag Name GENE_STATION0_ Contains information about
STATUS communication errors.

Logical Station 0 Specifies the logical

communication path.

Device Type SERIES_1 Specifies the physical device type

associated with this logical
station.

Physical Station 0 Specifies the physical station

number associated with this
logical station.

General Electric

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 243

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.

244 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger

element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write 12
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.

External Device
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

Interface
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which General Electric
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 245

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
If this is a write operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for write operations.

Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block Read Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

246 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you 12
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write

External Device
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink

Interface
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block or exception write. General Electric
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 247

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block write operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block Write Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

248 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a 12
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has

External Device
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1

Interface
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

General Electric

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 249

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 12-3 provides sample entries for the General Electric Read/Write Control
panel:

Table 12-3 Sample General Electric Read/Write Control Panel

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Name of the read/write table.

Exception Write NO This is not an exception write.

Block Read Priority 1 The block read priority for the

READ table is set to 1.

Block Read Trigger GENE_READ_ When the value of

TRIGGER GENE_READ_TRIGGER is 1, a
block read of values specified in
the Read/Write Information
panel associated with this table
occurs.

Block Read Disable GENE_READ_ When triggered, GENE_READ_

DISABLE DISABLE disables the block read
operation.

Block Read Complete GENE_READ_ The value of GENE_READ_

COMPLETE COMPLETE is set to 1 when the
read is complete.
Block Write Priority 1 The write priority for this table is
set to 1 by default.
Block Write Trigger Since this is a read table, the
elements specific to write
requests are not defined.
Block Write Complete

Block Write Disable

Block Write State

250 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

12
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write General Electric

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 251

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, float, message
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.
REG Series 5/6 Register Table, 9030, 9070
INPUT Series 6 Input Status Table, 9030, 9070
OUTPUT Series 6 Output Status Table, 9030, 9070
REAL_O Series 6 Real Output points
REAL_I Series 6 Real Input points
DESC_O Series 6 Internal Discrete Output Reference
DESC_I Series 6 Internal Discrete Input Reference
DIAG Diagnostic status area
1+_INP Series 5I1+Inputs
2+_INP Series 5I2+Inputs
LC_INP Series 5 Local Inputs
SP_INP Series 5 Special Inputs
1+_OUT Series 5 O1+Outputs
2+_OUT Series 5 O2+Outputs
LC_OUT Series 5 Local Outputs
1-_OUT Series 5 Internal Coils O1-
2-_OUT Series 5 Internal Coils O2-
TIMER Series 1, 1JR, 1+ and 3 Timer and Counter

252 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

EXT_IO Series 1, 1JR, 1+ and 3 External I\O

INT_IO Series 1, 1JR, 1+ and 3 Internal I/O 12
S_REG Series 1, 1JR, 1+ and 3 Shift Registers

External Device
D_REG Series 1, and 3 Data Registers
PORT Port ON/OFF

Interface
Channel Enter the channel number in the controller on which the address
is located.
Valid Entry: 0 - 15
This channel number is valid for Series 6 and the following data
types: REAL_O, REAL_I, DESC_O, and DESC_I.
Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where
Dec the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to
which the element value will be written.
Valid Entry: 1 - 16384 (decimal address for Series 5 and 6,
9030, 9070)
Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where
Octal the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to
which the element value will be written.
Valid Entry: 1 - 10000 (octal address for Series 1, 1+ JR, and 3)
Bit This field is required for digital data type. If the element (entry in
Offset the Tag Name column) associated with this entry is digital, enter
the bit offset within the word that contains the value to be read or
to which the element value is to be written. Bit 1 is the most
significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the least significant bit.
Leave this field blank for all other FactoryLink data types. General Electric
Valid Entry: 0 - 15
If you enter a FactoryLink digital element in the Tag Name field
and specify the data type as REG, TIMER, or D_REG, the
protocol module reads the Bit Offset; otherwise, it is ignored.

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 253

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table 12-4 provides sample entries for the General Electric Read/Write
Information panel:

Table 12-4 Sample General Electric Read/Write Information Panel

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Display only; specifies the

Read/Write table name.
Tag Name GERDR1 The value read from the device
will be stored in GERDR1.
Logical Station 0 Specifies the path to send the
request.
Data Type REG Data type for this controller.
Channel 1 Specifies the channel in the
controller where the address is
located.
Address Dec 10 Decimal address of the word
being read.

254 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

12
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
General Electric protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about

External Device
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 238. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the

Interface
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 241.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes.”

ER:xxxx
The ER:xxxx string can contain a single-digit or a double-digit error code. In the
examples shown below, N represents significant digits and x represents digits not
significant to the error.
• Single-Digit Code Format
ER:xxxN and ER:xxNx are single-digit formats in which one digit represents a
single error condition.
• Double-Digit Code Format
ER:xNNx is a double-digit format in which two digits represent a single error
condition.

If you define message elements in the General Electric Logical Station Control
panel for all logical stations on this logical port, the protocol module copies these
error messages in the following format:
GENE read request status: [1]. GE error: [2]
GENE read response for write request: [1]. GE error: [2]
GENE write response: [1]. GE error: [2]
General Electric
where
[1] is one of the message codes 1 - 4 listed in Table 12-5 on page 256.
This message code is displayed as a text string.
[2] is one of the message codes 1 - F listed in Table 12-6 on page 256.
This message code is displayed as a text string.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 255

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
For example:
GENE read request status: IO_ERROR GE error: RCV_FDB_ERR

This example indicates an input/output error in receiving an FDB message.

Single-Digit Codes
The following tables list the single-digit error codes that can be generated and
displayed by the General Electric protocol module.

Table 12-5 Single-Digit Error Code Format ER:xxxN

Code Text String Description

xxx1 IO_ERROR Transmission error

xxx2 IO_ABORTED Transmission aborted

xxx3 IO_XLATE_ERR Invalid transmit message length or

transmit buffer too short

xxx4 UNKNOWN_ERR Unknown error

Table 12-6 Single-digit Error Code Format ER:xxNx

Code Text String Description

xx1x XMIT_ERR Error occurred during transmit

xx2x RCV_ERR Error occurred during receive

xx3x RCV_ENQ_ERR Error receiving ENQ message

xx4x RCV_HDR_ERR Error receiving HDR message

xx5x RCV_FDB_ERR Error receiving FDB message

xx6x RCV_ACK_ERR Error receiving ACK message

xx7x XMIT_ENQ_ERR Error transmitting ENQ message

xx8x XMIT_HDR_ERR Error transmitting HDR message

xx9x XMIT_ACK_ERR Error transmitting ACK message

256 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL ELECTRIC
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 12-6 Single-digit Error Code Format ER:xxNx (Continued)

12
Code Text String Description

xxAx XMIT_FDB_ERR Error transmitting FDB message

External Device
xxBx XMIT_NAK_ERR Error transmitting NAK message

Interface
xxCx RCV_ENQ_TIMEOUT Timeout error receiving ENQ
message

xxDx RCV_HDR_TIMEOUT Timeout error receiving HDR

message

xxEx RCV_FDB_TIMEOUT Timeout error receiving FDB

message

xxFx RCV_ACK_TIMEOUT Timeout error receiving ACK

message

Double-Digit Codes
The double-digit format is displayed in the error string’s middle two digits. This
format contains a 1 in the hundredth’s position (ER: x1Nx). Table 12-7 lists the
double-digit error codes that can be generated and displayed by the General
Electric protocol module.

Table 12-7 Double-Digit Error Code Format ER:xNNx

Code Text String Description

x10x RCV_EOT_TIMEOUT Timeout error receiving EOT

message

x11x RCV_EOT_ERR Error receiving ENQ message General Electric

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 257

• GENERAL ELECTRIC
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

258 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 13

•
•
•
•
General Purpose
Interface 13

External Device
Interface
The General Purpose Interface (GPI) protocol module provides a communication
interface between a FactoryLink application and external devices using
asynchronous communication techniques and protocols such as ASCII or binary.
The GPI is a general purpose protocol module that was written for no specific
external device.

The information provided in the “Application Programs” and “Capabilities,

Limitations, and Trade-Offs” sections can help you determine if the GPI is
suitable for your application.

You can use the GPI protocol module with a variety of devices. To determine the
cable connections needed to set up your particular external device, refer to the
documentation available from the manufacturer.

General Purpose
Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 259

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Application Programs
•
•
A PPLICATION P ROGRAMS
The GPI protocol module provides a set of options and capabilities to support
many, though not all, asynchronous devices. The FactoryLink application controls
overall transactions, such as retries and error recovery.

The FactoryLink application performs the following additional tasks:

• Defines and implements the general FactoryLink application.
• Provides correct information in the command tables and ensures the
information is triggered at the appropriate time. (For information about
command tables, refer to the “Configuring the Command/Response Control
Panel” on page 271.)
• Monitors the communication response status and FactoryLink data returned
from the GPI communication interface.
• Logs and/or manipulates the data received by the FactoryLink real-time
database.

260 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Capabilities, Limitations, and Trade-Offs

C APABILITIES , L IMITATIONS , AND TRADE -O FFS

13
The GPI protocol module provides bidirectional asynchronous communications
between a FactoryLink application and external devices. The GPI provides a
variety of options that allow you to implement many different types of

External Device
asynchronous protocols at the FactoryLink application level.

Interface
While it is quite flexible, the GPI protocol module cannot support every
asynchronous protocol. Since the GPI was not written for a specific device, it is
difficult to describe all of its capabilities and limitations. To determine if the GPI
is suitable for your particular application, evaluate it based on the following
concerning its capabilities and limitations. Then, decide if the GPI is suitable for
your specific external device.

Capabilities
The GPI has the following capabilities:
• Handles more than one protocol at a time.

General Purpose
• Communicates with more than one device at a time.
• Makes available a wide selection of checksum routines.

Interface
• Handles up to eight different response formats for an outgoing message. Each
response must share the same end-of-response indicator. (For example, if eight
response tables define the response formats, each table might have the
response data length in field 2).

Limitations
In general, the GPI has the following limitations:
• Permits only single handshaking protocols
• Lacks support for protocols which require checksums to handle
special-character sequences
• Lacks support for protocols which require character substitutions for
special-character sequences

Trade-Offs and Compromises in Design

Any engineering design makes trade-offs and compromises in design. Flexibility
was the major goal for the GPI protocol module. This consideration had priority in
matters such as speed and ease of use.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 261

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Accessing the Configuration Panels
•
•
A CCESSING THE C ONFIGURATION P ANELS

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific General Purpose Interface

configuration panels, you must complete the External Device
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

When you choose General Purpose Interface from the Configuration Manager Main
Menu, the GPI configuration panels are displayed.

262 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL

13
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

External Device
Interface
General Purpose
Interface
Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Port Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
(default=0)
LPORT Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Message Tag text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
For information about displaying the text stored in an LPORT
Status Message Tag element for an operator using this
application, refer to the Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
LPORT Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Analog Tag store communications error codes associated with this logical
port.
For information about displaying the codes stored in an LPORT
Status Analog Tag element for an operator using this application,
see the FactoryLink ECS Application Editor Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical. This entry must
match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to the
device manufacturer’s manual for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s manual for details.
Valid Entry: odd, even, none (default=none)
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s manual for details.
Valid Entry: 5, 6, 7, 8 (default=8)
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s manual for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default=1)
Response Enter the maximum amount of time, in tenths of a second, the
Timeout protocol module will wait to receive the first character of a device
(0.1 Sec) response after an outgoing command table is triggered. For the
protocol module to time out, you must enter a value greater than
0.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32000 (default=30 or 3 seconds)

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Inter Char Enter the maximum amount of time, in tenths of a second, the
Timeout protocol module allows between the reception of two consecutive 13
(0.1 Sec) characters.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32000 (default=30 or 3 seconds)

External Device
Unsolicited This field is required for the protocol module to time out while in
Timeout unsolicited mode.

Interface
(0.1 Sec)
Enter the maximum amount of time, in tenths of a second, the
protocol module will wait to receive the first character of a device
response after an outgoing command table that puts the GPI in
unsolicited mode is triggered. For the protocol module to time out,
you must enter a value greater than 0.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32000 (default=30 or 3 seconds)
Send Buff Size Specify the size of the buffer required to hold the outgoing
message (the response command).
Valid Entry: 256 - 32000 (default=1024 bytes)
Receive Buff Size Specify the size of the buffer required to hold the incoming

General Purpose
response (the response data).
Valid Entry: 256 - 32000 (default=1024 bytes)

Interface
Device Type (Optional) Enter reference information about the device type.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 10 characters
Protocol Type (Reserved for future use)
Port On/Off Enter a tag name for a digital element to temporarily disable the
sending and receiving of messages to and from devices
communicating via this port. When this element’s value is 1, the
port is disabled for GPI messages.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 265

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•

CAUTION

During normal operations, disable the Status Debug Level feature.

Only when debugging an application should you enable this
feature.

Status/ During normal operations, enter STAT_OFF.

Debug
When debugging your application, enter either STAT_ON, LOG1,
Level
or LOG2 (depending on the desired debug level) to specify how to
log: the bytes of the outgoing message just before they are
transmitted, the bytes of the incoming response after they are
received (before they are parsed).
STAT_OFF Reports only analog error values to the LSTA
Status Analog Tag element
STAT_ON Reports analog error values and error message
text to the screen
LOG1 Performs the functions of STAT_ON and also
prints the outgoing and incoming message
protocols in hexadecimal bytes
LOG2 Performs the functions of LOG1 and also prints
the analog error value and error message text to
the screen

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL

13
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
General Purpose
Interface
Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
LSTA Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Analog Tag store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. For
more information, see the Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 267

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
Logical Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
Station information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
[Decimal] combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.
You will later enter this logical station number in a command or
response table to represent the device defined in this row. In a
command or response table, this number will identify the device
to or from which data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

268 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Command/Response Table

GPI C OMMAND /R ESPONSE TABLE

13
The GPI Command/Response table defines the protocol needed to communicate
with an external device. This protocol contains both a message sent by the GPI to
the external device (an “outgoing message,” which you configure as a command),

External Device
and a response coming from the external device to the GPI (an “incoming
response,” which you configure as a response).

Interface
A GPI Command/Response table consists of two panels: GPI Command/Response
Control and GPI Command/Response Information. Because you use the same type
of GPI Command/Response table to configure both commands and responses, it is
important to be able to distinguish between a command table and a response
table. The panels are referred to with the type of table being configured in
boldfaced, italicized type to help you readily identify the type of table being
discussed in this chapter.

For example, in a discussion of the GPI Command/Response Information panel for

a command table, the panel is referred to as GPI Command/Response
Information.

General Purpose
The panel name is displayed in regular italicized text when the panel referred to
could apply to either a command or a response table.

Interface
Use the GPI Command/Response table to define:
• The outgoing message sent by the GPI (in a command table)
• The information needed to parse the incoming response from the external
device (in a response table)

Note

If you expect a response from the external device, you must

configure separate command and response tables for both the
outgoing message and for the incoming response, respectively.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Command/Response Table
•
•
Command Table
The command table defines the complete asynchronous communication protocol
and processing needed to format an outgoing message to the external device. The
commands can be triggered by the FactoryLink application.

The entries in the command table consist of the following information:

• Data from FactoryLink elements
• Special characters (such as preamble/postamble strings or delimiters)
• Special processing (such as computed message lengths, checksumming, data
format conversions, or mathematical functions)

If you expect a response to the outgoing message, you must configure the
command table to specify one or more other response tables that define the
possible responses to the outgoing message.

For example, in an outgoing message, the command table initiates either a

command or response operation to the external device. It formats (but does not
process) any incoming response data. If the command or response operation
requires a response from the external device, you must configure this command
table to define the end-of-response delimiter of the data from that external device
and specify which other table contains the response format.

The section, “Summary of Basic Concepts” on page 289 contains a diagram that
shows how these concepts relate to one another.

Response Table
The response table defines the information needed to parse an incoming response
to an asynchronous communication (outgoing message). The entries consist of the
following information:
• Data to be parsed out of the response, converted, and returned to FactoryLink
elements
• Special characters (such as preamble/postamble strings or delimiters)
• Special processing (such as checking embedded message lengths,
checksumming, data format conversions, or mathematical functions)

The GPI parses the incoming response from the external device and matches it to
the incoming response formats. The GPI then extracts the relevant data from the
incoming response and writes it to the FactoryLink elements.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE C OMMAND /R ESPONSE C ONTROL P ANEL

13
To bring the Command/Response Control panel to the foreground, click its title
bar in the display of all configuration panels.

External Device
Interface
General Purpose
Interface
Complete a row for each command or response table you want transmitted to a
device. Each row represents a table and includes the table name, table type, and
(for a command table) one or more trigger elements.
Table Name Give this command or response table a name. Define one table
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the Command Trigger element is forced to 1 (ON),
FactoryLink processes this table and any other table in which the
same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Enable For EDI to interpret this table as an outgoing command, accept
Response the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this table as an incoming response, enter
YES or FORCE to indicate whether all change-status indicators
are to be set to 1 (ON) when an incoming response occurs, or just
the ones for values that have changed.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel
•
•
If you enter YES, the incoming message will be processed as
specified in the GPI Command/Response Information panel. The
message will serve as a valid check against the incoming data
response and change-status indicators will only be set for
elements with values that have changed since the last incoming
response; that is, if the current value of the element is equal to
the new value, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If a
different value is being stored the element, however, it will
overwrite the current value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
If you enter FORCE, the incoming message will be processed as
specified in the GPI Command/Response Information panel. The
incoming data is stored and the change-status indicator in each
element is automatically set to 1, regardless of whether the
current value matches the new value; that is, if the values have
not changed since the last incoming response, the indicators are
still set.
Valid Entry: yes, no, force (default=no)
Command If this is an outgoing command table, enter a number to indicate
Priority the priority of this table, relative to other command tables. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of command tables. If EDI
receives two tables at the same time, it processes the one with the
highest priority first.
If this is an incoming response table, accept the default of 1. This
field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the table being defined is
for a command or for a response.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Command Trigger, Command Disable, Command Sent, and

Command Complete elements apply only to outgoing messages. Do
not define these elements for incoming responses.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel

Command If this is an incoming response table, ignore this field.

Trigger
If this is an outgoing command table, this field is required. Enter 13
a tag name for a digital element to initiate the operation defined
in the Command/Response Information panel. When this
element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), FactoryLink processes the

External Device
table.

Interface
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The techniques discussed in Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips

and Techniques,” for triggering with the Block Write Trigger, Block
Write Complete, and Block Write State elements also work with the
Command Trigger, Command Sent, and Command Complete elements.

Command If this is an incoming response table, ignore this field.

General Purpose
Disable
If this is an outgoing command table you plan to periodically
disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for a digital

Interface
element to disable the operation defined in the
Command/Response Information panel. When this element’s
value is forced to 1 (ON), the operation is not executed, even when
the Command Trigger element is set to 1.
To re-enable a command table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).

Tip

The Command Disable element can be used to disable a command

table that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The
triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a
cascaded loop or a self-triggered command table, the Command
Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. For further details,
refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques.”

Valid Entry: standard element tag name

Valid Data Type: digital

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel
•
•
Command If this is an incoming response table, ignore this field.
Sent
If this is an outgoing command table and you need a digital
element to indicate when this operation is complete, this field is
optional. Enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the data defined in this table’s Command/Response
Information panel has been written to the device, the Command
Sent element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Command If this is an incoming response table, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is an outgoing command table and you need a digital
element to indicate the state of this operation (in progress or
complete), this field is optional. Enter a tag name. This element is
forced to 1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the
element is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s
Command/Response Information panel has been written to the
device, the Command Complete element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Logical Station This number was originally defined in the Logical Station
Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
If this is an incoming response table, enter the number
representing the device sending the response back to the GPI
protocol module.
If this is an outgoing command table, enter the number
representing the device to which the operation defined in the
Command/Response Information panel will be sent.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information.

274 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE C OMMAND /R ESPONSE I NFORMATION P ANEL

13
You can configure the GPI Command/Response Information panel for commands
that can be triggered by the FactoryLink application. Each GPI
Command/Response Information panel defines the complete communication

External Device
protocol and the processing needed to format one outgoing message to the external
device. In addition, the GPI Command/Response Information panel identifies one

Interface
or more responses to the communication. The entries in the GPI
Command/Response Information panel consist of data from FactoryLink
elements; special characters such as preamble/postamble strings or delimiters;
and special processing such as computed message lengths, checksumming, data
format conversions, or mathematical functions.

Each line of the GPI Command/Response Information panel specifies one of the
following GPI functions:
• Defines a field of the outgoing message or incoming response
• Modifies a previously defined field
• Specifies a method to detect the end-of-expected-response to the outgoing

General Purpose
message in this table
• Defines STAT_TAG elements to report the status of transactions

Interface
• Defines the connector (unique response ID) between the outgoing message and
its plausible incoming response

For a diagram of these relationships, refer to “Associating an Outgoing Message

with an Incoming Response” on page 295.

CAUTION

To satisfy current EDI task requirements, you must configure at

least one FactoryLink element for each GPI Command/Response
table. FactoryLink elements associated with the STAT_TAG option
of the GPI do not satisfy this EDI task requirement.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 275

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel
•
•
When you configure a GPI Command/Response table, to satisfy current EDI task
requirements, do one of the following things:
• Enter TAGVALUE in the Field Type column. The element name associated with
this field satisfies the EDI task requirement.
• Enter STRING, NUMERIC, or PROCESS in the Field Type column, and a
“dummy” FactoryLink element name in the Tag Name column. The GPI will
ignore this FactoryLink “dummy” element.
• In a command table, if you configure the GPI for the unsolicited mode, enter
STRING in the Field Type column, 0 (zero) in the Field Length column, and a
“dummy” FactoryLink element name in the Tag Name column.

For further information about configuring the GPI for the unsolicited mode, refer
to “Putting the Protocol Module in Unsolicited Mode” on page 299.

From the Command/Response Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Command/Response Information panel to
the foreground.

Use this panel to define an outgoing message (command) to a device or the

parameters of an expected incoming response from a device.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device. For a write 13
table, specify a tag name for an element containing a value to be
written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float, message

Interface
Field Type Specify either the source of the field value, an end-of-response,
the command/ response table link, the debug status of the
outgoing message or incoming response, or notification to the
application that database updates for the response are done. To
determine what to enter, use the following descriptions:
To specify the source of the field value:

To specify the source of the field value:

TAGVALUE The field’s value comes from the element

specified in the Tag Name column for this row.

General Purpose
STRING The field’s value is specified in the Constant
String column for this row.

Interface
NUMERIC The field’s value is specified in the Constant
Numeric column for this row.

RAW VALUE The field’s value is the whole, unparsed

response. Define a tag name for a message
element in the Tag Name column for this row.

PROCESS PROCESS is only valid in a command table.

The field’s value is the result of some
computation or processing at run time. Define
this computation in the Process Function
column for this row.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel
•
•
To specify the end-of-response:

RESP_FXD If the expected response is known in advance,

in the Field Type column for this row, enter
RESP_FXD. In the Response LN, POS, TM
column, enter the length of the expected
response.

RESP_VAR If the length of the expected response is not

known in advance but is given in the incoming
response itself, in the Field Type column for
this row, enter RESP_VAR. In the Response
LN, POS, TM column, enter the position of the
byte giving the response length.

RESP_TM If the entire response can be received in a

reasonable amount of time, in the Field Type
column for this row, enter RESP_TM. In the
Response LN, POS, TM column, enter the
response time.

RESP_STR If the expected response is terminated by a

string of special characters, in the Field Type
column for this row, enter RESP_STR. In the
Constant String column, enter the string.

To specify a command/response table link:

RESP_ID Enter RESP_ID when specifying a unique

response format identification number that
identifies the command/response tables in
which the protocol module compares a
received response with associated response
formats. While you can reference up to eight
IDs, the incoming response can define only
one. To indicate which response format from a
GPI Command/Response Information panel to
use to parse the reply to this command,
complete the Response ID field. For more
information, refer to “Associating an Outgoing
Message with an Incoming Response” on page
295.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel

To specify the debug status:

13
STAT_TAG For each outgoing message and incoming
response, configure an analog element and a
message element. The analog element reports

External Device
a numeric value. The message element

Interface
reports an informative message. Enter
STAT_TAG in the Field Type column and the
element name in the Tag Name column.

To specify application notification of response data completion:

DB_DONE (Optional) This field allows you to enter the

name of a tag to be set to 1 (one) when the
response message has been processed. The
specified tag is set after any values extracted
from the incoming message have been
returned or any status tag has been updated
with the result of processing (as the result of a

General Purpose
STAT_TAG entry).
Note that because of the DB_DONE tag is

Interface
only set when tag values have been updated,
it cannot be used with a response packet type
of MULT_RSP (see definition of Response
Packet).
Allowed DB_DONE tag types are digital,
analog, float, long analog, or message. The tag
is set to 1 or “1” for a message tag. It is the
responsibility of the application to clear the
tag if required.

Field Pos. Enter a decimal number to identify this field’s position in the
completed communication message.
Valid Entry: 1 - 999
Field Len. Enter a decimal number to identify the field’s length in bytes.
Valid Entry: 1 - 999 (bytes)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 279

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel
•
•
Bit Pos. Enter a decimal number that defines the specific bit of a byte. In
general, you can map up to eight digital elements into a single
byte of the outgoing message, or map eight bits of an incoming
response to eight FactoryLink digital elements.
Valid Entry: 1 - 8
Process If you enter PROCESS in the Field Type column, this field is
Function required. Define the process function and the scope of that
function. Process functions perform specific operations on
specified fields of a table.
For a complete list of process functions and descriptions, see
“Using Process Functions” on page 302.
Fld# If you enter PROCESS in the Field Type column, this field is
required. Specify a number to indicate the starting range of
decimal field numbers over which the process function operates.
For example, to compute the exclusive-or (XOR) function for
fields 1 through 10 (inclusive), enter XOR in Process Function
column, l in the first Fld# column, and 10 in the second Fld#
column. The numbers 1 and 10 define the range of fields over
which the XOR function is computed.
Valid Entry: 1 - 999
Arg. If you enter PROCESS in the Field Type column, this field is
required. Specify a decimal value to be used as a process function
argument.
For example, for the process function SLxx (shift left xx-bit
positions), enter SL in the Process Function column and xx (a
decimal number) in the Arg column.
Valid Entry: -32768 - +32767
Conversion Specify the conversion performed on this field after its value is
Function obtained from a FactoryLink element (as the result of a process
function operation) or from incoming data from an external device
or process function.
Valid Entry: For a list of possible conversion functions, refer
to “Using Conversion Functions” on page 323.
Format String If you enter TSPRINTF in the Conversion Function column, this
field is required. Specify information about formatting the field of
an outgoing message.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

280 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel

Response ID If you enter RESP_ID in the Field Type column, this field is
required. Define a unique numeric identifier that specifies which 13
response format from a GPI Command/Response Information
panel to use to parse the reply to this command. Every incoming
response defines one unique identifier (ID). Every outgoing

External Device
message references from 1 to 8 response Ids.

Interface
Valid Entry: 1 - 255
Response LN, If you enter RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, RESP_TM, or RESP_STR
POS, TM in the Field Type column, this field is required. Define the length,
position, or timeout of the expected response. Depending upon the
conditions, you might also need to enter information in the Field
Type column, the Constant String column, or both.
Valid Entry: 1 - 999

If: Enter:

You know the expected RESP_FXD in the Field Type

General Purpose
response length in advance column, and the response
length in this column

Interface
You do not know the response RESP_VAR in the Field Type
length in advance but it is column, and the position of the
given at the beginning of the byte specifying the length in
response this column

The end of response must be RESP_STR in the Field Type

detected by the protocol column, and the string of
module from a string of special special characters in the
characters Constant String column

It is not possible to specify the RESP_STR in the Field Type

length of the response or a column, and RESP_TM in the
terminating string for the Field Type column
response

Response Packets If you enter RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, RESP_TM, or RESP_STR

in the Field Type column, this field is required. Specify how an
incoming response is grouped when it returns to the GPI protocol
module:
NO_RSP You expect no response. If you enter NO_RSP, for
the GPI protocol module to process the table, enter

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 281

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Configuring the Command/Response Information Panel
•
•
RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, RESP_TM, or
RESP_STR in the Field Type column. The protocol
module will ignore the Field Type entry.
SNGL_RSP You expect a single-packet response. GPI processes
the received response and returns it to
FactoryLink in a single packet.
MULT_RSP You expect a multiple-packet response. GPI
queues the entire received response in its internal
buffer for later retrieval via the BUFR_RSP
delimiter in a different outgoing message.
BUFR_RSP GPI processes buffered response data and returns
it to FactoryLink; repeated calls may be necessary
to take information from the internal buffer.
Constant Numeric (Optional) If the entry in the Field Type column is NUMERIC,
define a field value in an outgoing message or a delimiter to
parse/match in the incoming response.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32657
Constant String (Optional) If you enter STRING or RESP_STR in the Field Type
column, define a field value in an outgoing message or a delimiter
to parse/match in the incoming response.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 30 characters
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this table.

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information.

282 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Flexibility and Design of the GPI

F LEXIBILITY AND D ESIGN OF THE GPI

13
The primary goal in designing the GPI protocol module was the flexibility to use it
with a variety of external devices. In simple terms, the outgoing message from the
communication port is just a series of bytes. To describe each byte, the GPI needs

External Device
to know only the byte’s value and its position in the message.

Interface
Enter the following information in the columns of the command tables you
configure to describe these bytes:
• The Field Type, which specifies where to obtain or enter the field’s value
• The Field Pos, which specifies the field’s position in the outgoing message or
incoming response

Note

Throughout this chapter, the term “column” refers to areas for data
within the GPI configuration tables, and the term “field” refers to
the fields of a communication message. When you enter

General Purpose
information in the columns of a command or response table, you
are configuring an outgoing message or an incoming response

Interface
containing fields that are composed of bytes.

If you do not know the value of a field or byte at configuration, the value must be
calculated at run time. If you know the value at configuration, then specify it as a
constant (numeric or string). If the field’s value must be calculated at run time,
the value must come either from a FactoryLink element or from the result of a
calculation on other fields. For example, a checksum value may be the result of an
exclusive-or (XOR) on the bytes of an outgoing message. Refer to “Using Process
Functions” on page 302 for further information about the process function XOR.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 283

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Formatting an Outgoing Message
•
•
F ORMATTING AN O UTGOING M ESSAGE
The following components typically comprise the format of the outgoing message:
• Preamble
• Device Address
• Data
• Checksum
• Postamble

The next sections provide the following information for these components:
• A diagram of the format and sources of information in the outgoing message
• A discussion of the field entries
• A sample GPI Command/Response Information panel for a command table

Format and Sources of Information in the Outgoing Message

The outgoing message illustrated in the following diagram consists of several
parts, including Preamble, Device Address, Data, Checksum, and Postamble. (The
term “checksum” refers to all error checking schemes, such as CRC, LRC, and
Modulo 256.)

The illustration describes only one possible scenario. In this diagram, the
breakdown of the outgoing message into fields and the length of each field is
provided to clarify and to demonstrate the various parts of an outgoing message.
Using other features of the GPI, you could construct other divisions or
combinations.

284 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Formatting an Outgoing Message

13

External Device
Interface
General Purpose
Interface
The fields described in the following table correspond to the fields in the outgoing
message illustrated in the previous diagram.

Table 13-1 Outgoing Message Fields

Field Description

Field 1 One-byte constant used as the start-of-command character, STX;

the Preamble is a special character whose value you know at
configuration.

Field 2 Two-byte Device Address whose value comes from the analog
element, ATAG.

Field 3 One-byte digital Data field consisting of 8-bits where only bit6,
bit4, and bit2 change during the command; these correspond to
digital elements DTAG6, DTAG4, and DTAG2, respectively. The
other bits do not change.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 285

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Formatting an Outgoing Message
•
•
Table 13-1 Outgoing Message Fields (Continued)

Field Description

Field 4 Four-byte Data area whose value comes from the floating point
element, FTAG.

Field 5 Ten-byte Data area whose value comes from the message
element, MTAG.

Field 6 One-byte Checksum whose value is computed using process

function XOR (exclusive-or) on the bytes of fields 2 through 5,
inclusive. Except for the preamble and postamble fields, this will
be the XOR of all bytes of the message.

Field 7 One-byte end-of-command character, ETX; at configuration, you

know the value of the special character Postamble is a special
character.

Sample Information Panel for a Command Table

The format and sources of information for the outgoing message establish a basis
for understanding the entries in Table 13-2.

Table 13-2 GPI Command/Response Information

Constan Constan
Tag Field Field Field Bit Process
Fld# Fld# Arg. tNumeri t Comment
Name Type Pos Len Pos. Funct.
c String

STRING 1 1 * * * * * * \x02 STX

atag TAGVALUE 2 2 * * * * * * * DEVICE

ADDR

dtag2 TAGVALUE 3 1 2 * * * * * * Data

dtag4 TAGVALUE 3 1 4 * * * * * * Data

dtag6 TAGVALUE 3 1 6 * * * * * * Data

ftag TAGVALUE 4 4 * * * * * * * Data

mtag TAGVALUE 5 10 * * * * * * * Data

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Formatting an Outgoing Message

Table 13-2 GPI Command/Response Information (Continued)

13
Constan Constan
Tag Field Field Field Bit Process
Fld# Fld# Arg. tNumeri t Comment
Name Type Pos Len Pos. Funct.
c String

External Device
* PROCESS 6 1 * XOR 2 5 * * * Checksum

Interface
* STRING 7 1 * * * * * * \x03 ETX

For simplification purposes, some of the columns in this panel are omitted. For a complete
GPI Command/Response Information panel, refer to “Configuring the Command/Response
Control Panel” on page 271.

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates a “don’t care” entry. The GPI does not need this entry and will
not use it.

General Purpose
Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 287

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Debugging Tools
•
•
D EBUGGING TOOLS
The following tools aid you in debugging the application.

Status/Debug Levels
When enabled, this feature logs information about the steps the GPI protocol
module takes to compose each outgoing message and to parse each incoming
response. You can use the logged information to debug the application. Disable
this feature during normal operations.

Table 13-3 describes the various levels of status/debug information logged or

displayed:

Table 13-3 Status/Debug Information

Debug Entry Description

STAT_OFF Reports only analog error values to the element

STAT_ON Reports analog error values and message error text to the
FactoryLink element

LOG1 Reports STAT_ON plus prints the outgoing and incoming

messages in hexadecimal bytes to the screen

LOG2 Reports LOG2 plus prints the analog error value and error
message to the screen

For further information about the Debug/Status Level, refer to the “Configuring
the Command/Response Control Panel” on page 271.

RAW VALUE
This feature allows up to 255 bytes of the incoming response to be read into a
FactoryLink message element before parsing the response.

STAT_TAG
This feature provides alphanumeric status information at different stages of the
GPI response or command operation. This information is then passed on via
FactoryLink analog and message elements.

288 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Summary of Basic Concepts

S UMMARY OF B ASIC C ONCEPTS

13
The following summarizes the basic concepts of the GPI protocol module:
• An outgoing communication message is made up of bytes. When constructing

External Device
this outgoing message, the value and position of these bytes is of major concern.
• The value of the bytes is either known at the time of configuration or the

Interface
value is obtained at run time.
• The position of each field/byte is always known at configuration.
• The format of the outgoing message is described to the GPI protocol module via
an outgoing message configured in a command table.
• The format of the incoming response is described to the GPI protocol module via
an incoming response configured in a response table.
• At configuration, through unique identifiers (IDs), you correlate the command
and response tables.

The following diagram illustrates how to configure two GPI Command/Response

tables for an expected response and how to link these tables together with a

General Purpose
unique ID (configured in the ID field of the GPI Command/Response Information
panel).

Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 289

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Summary of Basic Concepts
•
•

Diagram of a Complete Communication and Response

Command Table

Outgoing Message to the

External Device External Device

ID 101

Response Table

Incoming Response Data

returned to FactoryLink Response

ID 101

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

GPI F UNCTIONS
13
This section describes the functions of the GPI protocol module and shows the
relationships among the different columns of the GPI configuration tables.

External Device
The sample tables omit some fields to simplify some of the discussions in this
section. Refer to “Configuring the Command/Response Control Panel” on page 271

Interface
for complete descriptions of the entries in the GPI configuration tables.

Principles of Operation
You must configure the GPI Command/Response tables with the following
information to enable communications to occur between a FactoryLink application
and an external device via the GPI protocol module:
• The format of the outgoing message
• The format of the incoming response from the external device

Configuring the GPI Command/Response tables requires an understanding of the

external device protocol and the options that the GPI protocol module provides.

General Purpose
The GPI Command/Response table describes the external device protocol to the
GPI in a “language” the GPI understands. The GPI provides this language as a set

Interface
of tools for you to use to set up communications.

Defining the Outgoing Message

Defining the outgoing message involves completing specific columns in the GPI
Command/Response Information panel for the command table, including
specifying packet responses you expect to receive from the external device.

Completing the Command/Response Information Panel

You need to define an outgoing message in a command table if your application

requires that the GPI protocol module request data from an external device. This
puts the GPI protocol module in the “solicited mode.” Refer to “Putting the
Protocol Module in Unsolicited Mode” on page 299 for information about the
unsolicited mode.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 291

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Functions
•
•
Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel to
define the message in the command table for the outgoing message.
Field Type Defines the following delimiters of an outgoing message:
TAGVALUE Element used for data retrieval or storage.
NUMERIC Constant value entered at configuration.
STRING String entered at configuration.
PROCESS Computed value entered at run-time through use
of a predefined process function, such as XOR
(exclusive-or).
RESP_ID Unique number assigned to the outgoing message
Response ID which matches an incoming
message’s Response ID field.
RESP_VAR Response length (in bytes) is given in the response
itself; byte position for the response length is
defined in the Response LN, POS, TM field and the
type of packet in the Response Packets field.
RESP_STR Response has a special terminating character
defined in Constant field (such as POSTAMBLE
“EXT.”).
RESP_FXD Response length (in bytes) is known at
configuration; number of bytes is defined in the
Response LN, POS, TM field.
RESP_TM Response received in a specified amount of time;
the response time is defined in the Response LN,
POS, TM field.
Field Pos Specifies the sequence of the bytes in the outgoing message
(external device protocol).
Field Len Specifies the size of the field in bytes.
Process Function Specifies the operations performed to produce results which will
be substituted for a defined field.
Constant Numeric Specifies a value used in an outgoing message.
Constant String Specifies a string used in an outgoing message.

292 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

Specifying Packet Responses

13
Use the following columns in the outgoing message command table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel to specify packet responses.

External Device
Field Type

Interface
Specify an entry (RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, RESP_TM, or RESP_STR) in the Field
Type column for each entry in the Response Packets column.

Response Packet

In the command table, specify which of the following types of response packets you
expect to receive from the external device:
• No response – If you do not expect a response to the outgoing message, do not
configure a response table (so there will be no unique response identifier).
• Single-packet response – If you expect a single-packet response, the GPI
protocol module can return the entire incoming response to the FactoryLink
real-time database as the response to a single outgoing message.

General Purpose
• Multiple packet and buffered responses – If you expect a multiple-packet
response, the collection of data may be too large for a single response table

Interface
(incoming message) to handle. To transfer large amounts of data to the
FactoryLink real-time database from the GPI internal buffers, you may need to
trigger the response table several times. To do this, enter MULT_RSP in the
Response Packet column of the outgoing message. The MULT_RSP command
sets up the queues for the internal buffer but returns no packets until another
outgoing message with BUFR_RSP is triggered. Repeat this triggering as
needed until the GPI processes all the buffered data in the Response Packet
column.

Table 13-4 describes the valid entries for the Response Packet column in the GPI
Command/Response Information panel of a command table:

Note

If you enter NO_RSP, you must also enter an End-of-Response

indicator (RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, RESP_TM, or RESP_STR) in
the Field Type column for the protocol module to process the table.
(The protocol module will ignore this Field Type entry.)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 293

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Functions
•
•
Table 13-4 Valid Entries for the Response Packet Column

Valid Response Type Description

NO_RSP Expects no response to the outgoing message.

SNGL_RSP Processes the received response and returns it to

FactoryLink all at once.

MULT_RSP Queues the entire received response in its internal

buffer for later retrieval via the BUFR_RSP delimiter.
Returns no data to FactoryLink at this time.

BUFR_RSP Processes buffered response data and returns it to

FactoryLink; repeated calls may be necessary to take
all information from the internal buffer.

Formatting the Incoming Response

Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel to
define the format of the expected response from the external device in the
response table for the incoming response:
• Field Type
• Field Pos
• Field Len
• Conversion Function
• Response Packets
• Constant Numeric
• Constant String

Define the format of the incoming message (the expected response) in the GPI
Command/Response Information panel for the response table using real-time
database elements so the GPI can return the response to the FactoryLink
database. Like the outgoing message, the incoming response is composed of fields
or bytes. Indicate the position of each field of the incoming response by
configuring the position in the Field Pos column of the response table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

Configure the incoming response using the following guidelines:

• If you know the field length, enter the length in bytes in the Field Len column. 13
• If you do not know the field length, enter a -1 in the Field Len column and a
delimiter in the Constant String column.

External Device
• If the field’s value is to be returned to FactoryLink, enter the keyword
TAGVALUE in the Field Type column and an element name in the Tag Name

Interface
column.
• If the field type is NUMERIC or STRING, then the GPI protocol module parses
the field as a response delimiter and expects to find the content of the field in
the Constant Numeric and Constant String columns.

Refer to “Defining the Outgoing Message” on page 291 for further information
about entries for the columns of the incoming response.

Associating an Outgoing Message with an Incoming Response

Use the Field Type and Response ID columns in the GPI Command/Response
Information panel to associate an outgoing message with its incoming (expected)

General Purpose
response:

Interface
In the GPI Command/Response Information panel, for the outgoing message and
incoming response, enter an identification (ID) number in the Response ID column
and the keyword RESP_ID in the Field Type column.

Assign each response format a unique identification (ID) number. If a GPI

Command/Response Information panel for a command table that defines an
outgoing message contains more than one RESP_ID entry, use a different ID for
each response. The GPI protocol module compares the received response with all
response formats associated with the RESP_ID in the GPI Command/Response
Information panel for the corresponding response table (incoming response) and
processes it appropriately. In the GPI Command/Response Information panel for
the command table, you can reference up to eight ID numbers; the incoming
response can define only one. This relationship is illustrated in the following
diagram.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Functions
•
•

Outgoing Message Tables

Outgoing Message Outgoing Message Outgoing Message

Format Format Format
Response IDs: 1, 21, Response IDs: 1, 65 Response IDs: 21,
50, 63, 65, 66, 97, 108 63, 66

Incoming Response Tables

Incoming Response Incoming Response Incoming Response Incoming Response

Format Format Format Format
Unique Response Unique Response Unique Response Unique Response
ID: 1 ID: 50 ID: 65 ID: 97

Incoming Response Incoming Response Incoming Response Incoming Response

Format Format Format Format
Unique Response Unique Response Unique Response Unique Response
ID: 21 ID: 63 ID: 66 ID: 108

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

Specifying Methods to Detect an End-of-Response

13
Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel for
the command table defining the outgoing message to specify various methods to
detect an end-of-response.

External Device
• Field Type

Interface
• Response LN, POS, TM
• Constant Numeric
• Constant String

Define how the GPI protocol module detects an end-of-response for each outgoing
message. In the Field Type column of the GPI Command/Response Information
panel, enter one of the end-of-responses described; if indicated, also enter
corresponding information in the Response LN, POS, TM column:
RESP_FXD If the external device returns a fixed response, enter RESP_FXD
in the Field Type column. In the Response LN, POS, TM column,
enter the length of the response in bytes. To determine the type of
response, refer to documentation for your specific external device.

General Purpose
RESP_VAR If the external device returns a variable length response, enter

Interface
RESP_VAR in the Field Type column. In the Response LN, POS, TM
column, enter the byte position in the response that specifies the
number of bytes to follow before you reach the end of the
response. To determine the type of response, refer to
documentation for your specific external device.
RESP_TM If the GPI receives the response length in a reasonable amount of
time, enter RESP_TM in the Field Type column. Also, enter the
response time in the Response LN, POS, TM column.
RESP_STR If special characters terminate the response, enter RESP_STR in
the Field Type column. Also, enter the special characters in the
Constant String column.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Functions
•
•
Non-Printable or “Don’t Care” Characters
Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel in
both the outgoing message and the incoming response for non-printable or “don’t
care” characters:
• Format String
• Constant Numeric
• Constant String

If you enter a string containing non-printable or “don’t care” characters in the

Constant String column, it can be used in two different ways:
• To detect the end-of-response (in conjunction with the RESP_STR option)
• As a field delimiter (with the STRING option in a GPI Command/Response
Information panel)

Characters in a string may be one of the following types:

• Printable characters. If all characters of the string are printable, simply enter
the string as it appears. For example, if the string is ABCD, enter ABCD.
• Non-printable characters. If one or more of the characters in a string are
non-printable, enter \x followed by the Hexadecimal ASCII value of the
character. For example, using this format, the string A, B, followed by the
non-printable characters EOT, ending with D, F, becomes AB\x04DF. (04 is the
hexadecimal ASCII value of “EOT.”)

Note

After the entry \x, you must enter two hexadecimal digits.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

Table 13-5 lists special non-printable characters used with the GPI protocol
module: 13
Table 13-5 Non-Printable Characters Used With the GPI Protocol

External Device
Non-Printable Characters

Interface
\t or \T Tab

\n or \N New line

\r or \R Carriage return

\\ Backslash (\)

A response can be terminated by a special string of characters; some are fixed and
some are variable (such as a checksum). Use the fixed characters to detect the end
of a response, but ignore the variable characters. Treat the variable characters
like “don’t care” characters and enter \xxx in the variable character’s position(s)

General Purpose
in the string.

Interface
Initiating a Transmission
Use the Command Trigger column in the outgoing message command table’s GPI
Command/Response Control panel to initiate a transmission. To initiate the
transmission of an outgoing message, trigger the command table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel that defines the outgoing message.

Putting the Protocol Module in Unsolicited Mode

Use the following columns in the outgoing message command table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel to put the protocol module in the
unsolicited mode:
• Field Type
• Format String
• Response Packets
• Response ID

If your application requires that the GPI receive data from an external device
without requesting it, then you must configure and trigger a GPI
Command/Response Information panel with no field positions specified. (In other
words, do not build an outgoing message.) This puts the GPI in unsolicited mode.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Functions
•
•
For the outgoing message, enter the same response format information as
required for a solicited table.
• RESP_ID: Describes which command/response tables to use for parsing the
response
• RESP_FXD, RESP_VAR, and RESP_STR: Describe how to detect the
end-of-response
• SNGL_RSP, and MULT_RSP: Describe the type of incoming response

For information about putting the protocol module in solicited mode, refer to
“Defining the Outgoing Message” on page 291.

Reporting Message Status

Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel to
report the status of the outgoing message or the incoming response:
• Tag Name
• Field Type

If you configure the proper real-time database elements, the GPI can report the
status of each outgoing message or incoming response to FactoryLink.

To do this, for each outgoing message or incoming response, configure two

elements, one analog and one message, which are defined in the following
manner:
• The message element reports information about status of the outgoing message
or incoming response.
• The analog element reports a numeric value and can be used in Math and Logic
applications. Refer to “Configuring Math & Logic” in Configuration Guide.

Enter the element name in Tag Name column of the GPI Command/Response
Information panel and the keyword STAT_TAG in the Field Type column. Define a
separate set of elements for each outgoing message and incoming response.

Note

You should use different elements for the STAT_TAG entry for
different tables. If you use the same set of elements for the
STAT_TAG in different tables, information from one table
overwrites information from another table.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Functions

Converting a Field’s Value

13
Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel in
both the outgoing message and the incoming response to convert a field’s value:
• Tag Name

External Device
• Field Type

Interface
• Field Pos
• Field Len
• Conversion Function

In an outgoing message, the values of a field come from two sources:

• During configuration, as a constant
• At run time, from a FactoryLink element

Before substituting these values in a field, convert them to a required format

using the conversion functions. For example, if the device protocol requires
ASCII conversion, the binary value of a field whose source is a FactoryLink

General Purpose
element can be converted to ASCII before transmission.

Interface
In the incoming response, when parsing the received response and returning
values to FactoryLink, similar conversions are possible.

For a complete list of conversion functions, refer to “Using Conversion Functions”

on page 323.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 301

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Using Process Functions
•
•
U SING P ROCESS F UNCTIONS
Use the following columns in the outgoing message command table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel with process functions:
• Field Pos
• Process Function
• Fld#
• Arg

Process functions perform several tasks. Depending on their functionality, process

functions perform specific operations on entries in the FLD# and Argument
columns. The results that these operations produce are substituted for the value
in the field being defined.

The following information describes some of these tasks:

LEN Calculates the length of the range of bytes between the first Fld#,
inclusive and the second Fld# and substitutes the result for the
current field.
XOR Calculates the exclusive-or (XOR) of the range of bytes between
the first Fld#, inclusive and the second Fld# and substitutes the
result for the current field.
ADD Adds the value given in Arg. to the value in the current field.

For further information about each process function, refer to “Using Process
Functions” on page 320

Associating a Digital Element to a Bit

Use the following columns in the GPI Command/Response Information panel in
both the outgoing message and the incoming response to associate a digital
element to a bit:
• Tag Name
• Field Type
• Field Len
• Bit Pos

In the outgoing message and the incoming response, you can associate a
FactoryLink digital element to a bit and can also map up to eight FactoryLink
digital elements into a single byte.

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 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Using Process Functions

To link a digital element to a bit of a field, enter the FactoryLink digital element
in the Tag Name column of the GPI Command/Response Information panel, and 13
the position of the bit (1 through 8) in the Bit Pos column. For all digital elements
accessing the same byte, the field position will be the same. Enter one (1) in the
Field Len column.

External Device
Interface
Note

Bit 1 is the LSB (Least Significant Bit) and bit 8 is the MSB (Most
Significant Bit) of the byte.

Determining the Sources of Field Values

To determine the sources of field values, use the following columns in the GPI
Command/Response Information panel in both the outgoing message and the
incoming response:
• Tag Name

General Purpose
• Field Type
• Process Function

Interface
• Constant Numeric
• Constant String

Note

For the incoming response, the Process Function is not valid.

If you know the value of a field at configuration, then you can specify it as a
numeric constant or string constant. If the value must be determined at run-time,
then it either comes from a FactoryLink element or results from a calculation. For
example, an LRC value is the result of XOR (exclusive-or) on specific bytes of an
outgoing message.

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• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Using Process Functions
•
•
To determine the sources of field values, use the following guidelines:

Table 13-6 Field Value Sources

If the Field Value Is: Enter:

Known at configuration NUMERIC or STRING for Field Type,

and the specific value of the field for
Constant Numeric or Constant String

Extracted from a FactoryLink element TAGVALUE for Field Type, the element
at run-time name for Tag Name, and the length of
the field for Field Len

Computed PROCESS for Field Type, and the

process function in the Process Function
column

Returned to FactoryLink from data TAGVALUE in Field Type column, the

from the device FactoryLink element name in Tag
Name column, and the length of the
field in the Field Len column

Modifying a Previously Defined Field

Use the following columns in the outgoing message command table’s GPI
Command/Response Information panel to modify a previously defined field:
• Tag Name
• Field Type
• Process Function

By making multiple entries that reference the same Field Position column in the
command table, you can modify the same field more than once. For example, use
the process function LEN to calculate the number of bytes in a range of fields.
Enter the result in the field being defined. Finally, use either the process function
ADD or SUB to add or subtract a number from this value.

For further information about process functions, refer to “Using Process

Functions” on page 320.

304 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

GPI C ONFIGURATION
13
This section illustrates how to configure an outgoing message for the GPI to
communicate with the PMD 300 Programmable Message Display.

External Device
Configuration Example

Interface
This section provides configuration table entries for an outgoing message from the
GPI and for an expected incoming response from a PMD 300 programmable
device. The outgoing message contains instructions for displaying operator
messages. The incoming response parameters and tags prepare FactoryLink for
the expected reply from the device.

The PMD 300 is an intelligent, alphanumeric display panel that interfaces with
any type of controller. The device provides complete information about machine or
process diagnostics, operator prompting, and fault indications. For further
information about the PMD 300, refer to the manufacturer’s documentation.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 305

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Command/Response Information Panel Entries
The Command/Response Information panel entries illustrated in this section
instruct the GPI device protocol module to display a message on a PMD 300
display panel. For an explanation of the outgoing message format for the PMD
300 device, see “Defining the Outgoing Message to the GPI” on page 316.

306 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Entries for Outgoing Message Table

13
The following series of tables lists, by row, sample Command/Response
Information panel entries for an outgoing message table, OUTGOING_MSG. In
this section, the entries are presented in several tables to accommodate the

External Device
numerous panel entry columns.

Interface
OUTGOING_MSG

Table 13-7 OUTGOING_MSG: Tag Name through Bit Pos.

Field
Bit
Tag Name
Field Field Field Pos....
Type Pos. Len.

NUMERIC 1 1

PROCESS 2 1

NUMERIC 3 1

NUMERIC 4 1

NUMERIC 5 1

NUMERIC 6 1

PROCESS 7 1

cb1_0 (digital) TAGVALUE 8 1

cb1_4 (digital) TAGVALUE 8 1

cb1_6 (digital) TAGVALUE 8 1

cb2_4 (digital) TAGVALUE 9 1

cb2_6 (digital) TAGVALUE 9 1

cb3_0 (digital) TAGVALUE 10 1

cb3_1 (digital) TAGVALUE 10 1

cb3_2 (digital) TAGVALUE 10 1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 307

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Table 13-7 OUTGOING_MSG: Tag Name through Bit Pos. (Continued)

Field
Bit
Tag Name
Field Field Field Pos....
Type Pos. Len.

cb3_3 (digital) TAGVALUE 10 1

cb3_4 (digital) TAGVALUE 10 1

cb3_5 (digital) TAGVALUE 11 56

cb3_6 (digital) TAGVALUE 12 1

scrlmsg (message) TAGVALUE 13 1

RESP_VAR

RESP_ID

stat_msg (message) STAT_TAG 11 56

stat_ana (analog) STAT_TAG 12 1

Table 13-8 OUTGOING_MSG: Process Function through Arg.

Process Function

Tag Name... Range

...Process
Arg....
Function
Fld# Fld#

LEN 2 13

308 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Table 13-8 OUTGOING_MSG: Process Function through Arg. (Continued)

13
Process Function

Tag Name... Range

External Device
...Process
Arg....
Function

Interface
Fld# Fld#

LEN 7 11

cb1_0 (digital)

cb1_4 (digital)

cb1_6 (digital)

cb2_4 (digital)

cb2_6 (digital)

cb3_0 (digital)

cb3_1 (digital)

cb3_2 (digital)

cb3_3 (digital)

cb3_4 (digital)

cb3_5 (digital)

cb3_6 (digital)

scrlmsg (message)

XOR 2 11

ONESCOMP 12

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 309

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Table 13-8 OUTGOING_MSG: Process Function through Arg. (Continued)

Process Function

Tag Name... Range

...Process
Arg....
Function
Fld# Fld#

stat_msg (message)

stat_ana (analog)

Table 13-9 OUTGOING_MSG: Conversion Function through Resp. LN, POS, TM

Conversion Function Response

Tag Name...
...Conversion Format Response Response
Function String ID LN, POS, TM...

cb1_0 (digital)

cb1_4 (digital)

cb1_6 (digital)

cb2_4 (digital)

cb2_6 (digital)

310 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Table 13-9 OUTGOING_MSG: Conversion Function through Resp. LN, POS, TM (Continued)
13
Conversion Function Response
Tag Name...
...Conversion Format Response Response

External Device
Function String ID LN, POS, TM...

Interface
cb3_0 (digital)

cb3_1 (digital)

cb3_2 (digital)

cb3_3 (digital)

cb3_4 (digital)

cb3_5 (digital)

cb3_6 (digital)

scrlmsg (message)

111

stat_msg (message)

stat_ana (analog)

Table 13-10 OUTGOING_MSG: Response Packets through Comment

Response Command/Response
Tag Name... Comment
...Response Constant Constant
Packets Numeric String

170 Hex AA

CMD Length

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 311

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Table 13-10 OUTGOING_MSG: Response Packets through Comment (Continued)

Response Command/Response
Tag Name... Comment
...Response Constant Constant
Packets Numeric String

16 Unit Addr

2 Unit Addr

2 Msg Len

1 Ctrl

Msg Len

cb1_0 (digital) Ctrl Byte 1

cb1_4 (digital) Ctrl Byte 1

cb1_6 (digital) Cntrl Byte 1

cb2_4 (digital) Ctrl Byte 2

cb2_6 (digital) Ctrl Byte 2

cb3_0 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_1 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_2 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_3 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_4 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_5 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

cb3_6 (digital) Ctrl Byte 3

scrlmsg (message) Scroll Message

Exclusive-Or

One’s Complement

312 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Table 13-10 OUTGOING_MSG: Response Packets through Comment (Continued)

13
Response Command/Response
Tag Name... Comment
...Response Constant Constant

External Device
Packets Numeric String

Interface
sngl_rsp Response Variable

Response ID

stat_msg (message) Status - Message

stat_ana (analog) Status - Analog

Entries for Incoming Response Table

The following series of tables lists sample Command/Response Information panel

entries for an incoming response table, INCOMING_RSP, that defines parameters
for the various types of expected PMD 300 replies to the outgoing message defined
in OUTGOING_MSG.

INCOMING_RSP

Table 13-11 INCOMING_RSP: Tag Name through Bit Pos.

Field
Bit
Tag Name
Field Field Field Pos....
Type Pos. Len.

NUMERIC 1 1

length TAGVALUE 2 1

uaddr TAGVALUE 3 2

NUMERIC 4 1

reply TAGVALUE 5 1

error TAGVALUE 6 1

cksum TAGVALUE 7 2

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 313

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Table 13-11 INCOMING_RSP: Tag Name through Bit Pos. (Continued)

Field
Bit
Tag Name
Field Field Field Pos....
Type Pos. Len.

RESP_ID

astring STAT_TAG

mstring STAT_TAG

Table 13-12 INCOMING_RSP: Process Function through Arg.

Process Function

Tag Name... Range

...Process
Arg....
Function
Fld# Fld#

length

uaddr

reply

error

cksum

astring

mstring

314 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Table 13-13 INCOMING_RSP: Conversion Function through Response LN, POS, TM

13
Conversion Function Response
Tag Name...
...Conversion Format Response Response

External Device
Function String ID LN, POS, TM...

Interface
length

uaddr HI-LOW16

reply

error

cksum HI-LOW16

astring

mstring

Table 13-14 INCOMING_RSP: Response Packets through Comment

Response Command/Response
Tag Name... Comment
...Response Constant Constant
Packets Numeric String

170 Hex AA

length Length

uaddr Unit Address

0 Place Holder
(Delimiter)

reply Reply Code

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 315

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Table 13-14 INCOMING_RSP: Response Packets through Comment (Continued)

Response Command/Response
Tag Name... Comment
...Response Constant Constant
Packets Numeric String

error Error Code

cksum Error Checking

Response ID

astring Analog Status

Tag

mstring Analog Status

Tag

Defining the Outgoing Message to the GPI

The field entries described below are for the sample GPI configuration:
1 One-byte numeric constant with a value of 170 (Hex AA).
2 Size equals the length of the entire outgoing message except for
the first byte (Hex AA). The process function LEN calculates the
number of bytes in Fields 2 - 13 (inclusive). Use the result of the
calculation as the value of the second field of the outgoing
message.
3, 4, 5, 6 One-byte numeric types whose values you know at configuration:
enter their corresponding values in the Constant Numeric
column.
7 The length of the string to be displayed on the device plus the
number of control bytes. Three control bytes occupy fields 8, 9,
and 10. The LEN process function calculates the number of bytes
of fields 7 - 11 (inclusive). The result is the value of Byte 7.

316 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

8, 9, 10 These are control bytes. The PMD 300 customizes the string
displayed on its screen using the value of these control bytes. The 13
FactoryLink application controls the PMD device’s capabilities by
linking various digital elements (up to eight per byte) to
individual bits of these control bytes. This provides much

External Device
flexibility at the application level.

Interface
This example defines the digital elements in the following
manner:
The FactoryLink application links three digital elements—
CB1_0, CB1_4, and CB1_6—to bits 1, 5, and 7 of field 8 (control
byte 1).
The FactoryLink links two digital elements—CB2_4 and CB2_6—
to bits 5 and 7 of Field 9 (control byte 2). (Field 7 in this example
is the second control byte for the PMD 300 protocol.)
The FactoryLink application links seven digital elements—cb3_0,
CB3_1, CB3_2, CB3_3, CB3_4, CB3_5, and CB3_6—to field 3
(control byte 3).
11 TAGVALUE. The FactoryLink message element SCRLMSG,
which is 56 bytes long and linked to field 11, contains the string
that the PMD 300 will display on screen.
12, 13 Process functions that calculate the checksum using the PMD 300
protocol. Field 12 is the exclusive-or (XOR) of all the bytes from
fields 2 - 11 (inclusive); therefore, use process function XOR on
this range of fields. Field 13 is the one's complement of the
previous field.
The following three entries for the sample GPI configuration do
not require field positions:
RESP_ID The unique response ID is 111.
RESP_VAR Single packet response; length is the second byte of the response
data.
STAT_TAG FactoryLink message element STAT_MSG and analog element
STAT_ANA.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 317

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• GPI Configuration
•
•
Defining Response Termination and Status Elements
The PMD 300 example illustrates how to define response termination and status
elements. The GPI protocol module then relays this status/error information
about the outgoing message which is transmitted to the device.

In the Field Type column of the PMD 300 GPI Command/Response table, the
single-packet response, SNGL_RSP, specifies a variable-length response.
According to the PMD 300 protocol, the second byte of the response specifies the
length of the response. For the GPI protocol module to detect the end-of-response,
enter a 2 (for the second byte) in the Response LN, POS, TM column. The number
of bytes in the response begins with third byte.

In the Response Packet column, the single-packet response SNGL_RSP is an

example of a common response.

The next line in the table matches the response to the response format required by
the outgoing message with the unique response ID, 111.

The last two lines of the table define FactoryLink analog and message elements.
This allows the GPI protocol module to report the status of the outgoing message
to the FactoryLink application.

318 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
GPI Configuration

Defining the Incoming Response to the GPI

13
The following field entries describe the sample GPI configuration:
1 One-byte numeric constant with a value of 170 (hexadecimal

External Device
value AA)
2 One-byte length of the incoming message stored in a FactoryLink

Interface
analog element
3 Two-byte unit address received in HILOW format
4 One-byte numeric place holder (delimiter)
5 One-byte reply code that will be stored in a FactoryLink analog
element
6 One-byte error code that will be stored in a FactoryLink analog
element
7 Two-byte checksum received in HILOW format that will be stored
in a FactoryLink analog element

The following entries do not require field positions:

RESP_ID The unique response ID is 111
STAT_TAG FactoryLink elements ASTRING and MSTRING

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 319

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Using Process Functions
•
•
U SING P ROCESS F UNCTIONS
This section contains information about the process functions to use with the GPI
protocol module.

Depending on their functionality, process functions perform various operations on

entries in the GPI tables. To produce the desired value, you enter a specific
process function in the FLD# and Arg columns.

Note

For the Field Type PROCESS, the Field Length can only be 1 or 2
bytes. Also, if a PROCESS FUNCTION has entries in the FLD# or
Arg columns, then, depending on the value specified in the Field
Length, it is a “char” (1-byte) or a “short” (2-bytes).

Process Functions Table

The table below describes operations of each process function:

Table 13-15 Process Function Operations

Name Use Description

ADD ADD Arg ADDS the value given in Arg to the

present value of the current field.

AM AM Arg AND MASKS (AM) the value of the

current field with the value in Arg.

AND AND, FLD# Bit-wise AND operation on FLD#.

CRCCCITT CRCCCITT FLD#, Arg Computes the CRC of the specified

range using a CRC_SEED=0x1021
(inclusive). Uses Arg to set the initial
value.

CRCCC_RV CRCCC_RV FLD#, Arg Computes the CRC of the specified

range using a CRC_SEED=0x8408
(inclusive). Uses Arg to set the initial
value.

320 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Using Process Functions

Table 13-15 Process Function Operations (Continued)

13
Name Use Description

CRC16 CRC16 FLD#, Arg Computes the CRC of the specified

External Device
range using a CRC_SEED=0x8005
(inclusive). Uses Arg to set the initial

Interface
value.

CRC16_RV CRC16_RV FLD#, Arg Computes the CRC of the specified

range using a CRC_SEED=0xA001
(inclusive). Uses Arg to set the initial
value.

MOD256 MOD256, FLD#, Arg Computes Modulo 256 checksum; uses

Arg to set the initial value.

EM EM Arg Exclusive-or the value of the current

field with the value in Arg.

EOR EOR, FLD# Bit-wise EXCLUSIVE-OR operation on

FLD#.

LEN LEN, FLD# Computes the LENGTH in bytes of a

range of fields in a message starting
with number in the first FLD# through
the second FLD#, inclusive.
Substitutes the result for the current
field.

OM OM Arg OR MASKS (OM) the value of the

current field with the value in Arg.

ONESCOMP ONESCOMP FLD# Puts the ONE’S COMPLEMENT of

FLD# notice current field.
(ONESCOMP is the same as negation.)

TWOSCOMP FLD# Puts the TWO’S COMPLEMENT of

FLD# into the current field.

OR OR, FLD# Bit-wise OR operation on FLD#.

SL SL Arg SHIFTS LEFT (SL) the value of the

current field Arg number of times.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 321

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Using Process Functions
•
•
Table 13-15 Process Function Operations (Continued)

Name Use Description

SR R Arg SHIFTS RIGHT (SR) the value of the

current field Arg number of times.

SUB SUB Arg SUBtracts the value given in Arg from

the present value of the current field.

SWAP SWAP SWAPs the two consecutive bytes in

the current field.

XOR XOR, FLD# Computes the EXCLUSIVE-Or of the

range of bytes between FLD#,
inclusive, and substitutes the result for
the current field.

322 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Using Conversion Functions

U SING C ONVERSION F UNCTIONS

13
The contents of a field in an outgoing message can come from a two sources:
• At run time, from a FactoryLink real-time database element

External Device
• During configuration, from a constant

Interface
Before substituting these values in the field, you can convert them to some other
type of value. For example, the binary value of a field whose source is a
FactoryLink element can be converted to ASCII before transmission. When
parsing the incoming message or returning values to the FactoryLink elements, it
is possible to perform similar conversions.

The table below shows various conversion functions to use with the GPI protocol
module:

Table 13-16 GPI Protocol Conversion Functions

Name Description

A_TO_FL When parsing the response used to convert ASCII numerals to

the appropriate FactoryLink data type, the GPI uses ANSI C
standard functions to convert ASCII numerals to appropriate
FactoryLink data types as follows:
GPI Conversion ANSI C FactoryLink
Function Name: Function: Data Type:
A_TO_FL atoi( ) ANALOG
A_TO_FL atol( ) LONGANA
A_TO_FL atof( ) FLOAT

ASCII Converts like %s format

BCD Binary Coded Decimal

BINARY Base 2

DECASC Converts like %0d format

DECIMAL Base 10

HEX Base 16

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 323

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Using Conversion Functions
•
•
Table 13-16 GPI Protocol Conversion Functions (Continued)

Name Description

HEXASC Converts like %0x format

HILOW16 Converts to a 2-byte MSB LSB

HILOW32 Converts to a 4-byte MSW LSW

IEEEHL4 Converts to a 4-byte IEEE MSW LSW

IEEELH4 Converts to a 4-byte IEEE LSW MSW

IEEEHL8 Converts to an 8-byte IEEE MSDW LSDW

IEEELH8 Converts to an 8-byte IEEE LSDW MSDW

LOWHI16 Converts to a 2-byte LSB MSB

LOWHI32 Converts to a 4-byte LSW MSW

MBUSFLOT Converts to a Modicon float format

where:
LSB is the least-significant byte.
MSB is the most-significant byte.
LSW is the least-significant word.
MSW is the most-significant word.
LSDW is the least-significant double word.
MSDW is the most-significant double word.
Word is a 2-byte entity.
Double Word is a 4-byte entity.

NONE No conversion necessary

OCTASC Converts like %0 format

324 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Using Conversion Functions

Table 13-16 GPI Protocol Conversion Functions (Continued)

13
Name Description

TSPRINTF Converts according to the explicit format given in the Format

External Device
String column; the TSPRINTF function is a “tiny” sprintf( ) that
handles %s, %d, %u, %x, %0, %lu, %lx, %lX, %l0, and %%. It

Interface
recognizes width and pad specifications (%3d, %03d, etc.), long
values, and left or right justification. Is tiny sprintf() correct?

Note: Because the TSPRINTF function does not recognize floating point formats
(%e, %f, %g) and minimum widths, use it with FactoryLink Analog, Longana,
and Message types with the appropriate format string.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 325

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Sample Protocols
•
•
S AMPLE P ROTOCOLS
This section provides sample protocols that illustrate the format of various
messages and responses. Use these as examples of protocols and not in your
specific application.

Response Protocols
Table 13-17 Sample Outgoing Message, Request Protocol

Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 Field 4 Field 5 Field 6 Field 7

@ 0001 xxxx xxxx FCS * CR

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) PLC device address
Constant value
Field 3 (2 byte) Response chars
Constant value or FactoryLink analog element
Field 4 (2 byte) Response header charsd
Constant value or FactoryLink analog element
Field 5 (2 byte) Frame check sequence
PROCESS
Field 6 (1 byte) Command terminator
Constant value
Field 7 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value
RESP_ID 101
RESP_STR Constant value “CR”

326 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Sample Protocols

13
Table 13-18 Sample Incoming Response, Response Protocol

Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 Field 4 Field 5 Field 6 Field 7 Field 8

External Device
# 0001 xxxx xxxx xxxx FCS * CR

Interface
Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble
Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) PLC device address
Constant value
Field 3 (2 byte) Response chars
FactoryLink analog element
Field 4 (2 byte) Response header chars
FactoryLink analog element
Field 5 (2 byte) Frame check sequence
FactoryLink analog, digital, or float element
Field 6 (1 byte) FCS Checksum codes
Constant value (Optional)
Field 7 (1 byte) Command terminator
Constant value (Optional)
Field 8 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value (Optional)
RESP_ID 101

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 327

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Sample Protocols
•
•
Command Protocols
Table 13-19 Sample Outgoing Message, Request Protocol

Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 Field 4 Field 5 Field 6 Field 7 Field 8

@ 0001 xxxx xxxx xxxx FCS * CR

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) PLC device address
Constant value
Field 3 (2 byte) Command chars
Constant value or FactoryLink analog element
Field 4 (2 byte) Command header chars
Constant value or FactoryLink analog element
Field 5 (?-byte) Command data
FactoryLink analog, digital, or float elements
Field 6 (2 byte) Frame check sequence
Process function
Field 7 (1 byte) Command terminator
Constant value
Field 8 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value
RESP_ID 222
RESP_FXD Length of 11 bytes constant value

328 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Sample Protocols

13
Table 13-20 Sample Incoming Response, Response Protocol

Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 Field 4 Field 5 Field 6 Field 7

External Device
# 0001 xxxx xxxx FCS * CR

Interface
Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble
Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) PLC device address
Constant value
Field 3 (2 byte) Response chars
FactoryLink analog element
Field 4 (2 byte) Response header chars
FactoryLink analog element
Field 5 (2 byte) Frame check sequence
Constant value (Optional)
Field 6 (1 byte) Response terminator
Constant value (Optional)
Field 7 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value (Optional)
RESP_ID 222

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 329

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Sample Protocols
•
•
Network Response Protocols
Table 13-21 Sample Outgoing Message, Request Protocol

Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

: xxxx 01 xx 0006 20 xx xxxx xxxx xxxx ;

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) Length of network command
Constant value
Field 3 (1 byte) Network send data command
Constant value
Field 4 (1 byte) Secondary network address
Constant value
Field 5 (2 byte) Response length
Constant value
Field 6 (1 byte) Response code
Constant value
Field 7 (1 byte) Response memory type
Constant value
Field 8 (1 byte) # of data elements
Constant value
Field 9 (?-byte) Address of response data
Constant value
Field 10 (2 byte) Checksum codes
Process function
Field 11 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value (Optional)
RESP_ID 1
RESP_STR Constant string (;)

330 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Sample Protocols

13
Table 13-22 Sample Incoming Message, Response Protocol

Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field

External Device
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Interface
: xxxx 01 xx 0006 20 xx xxxx xxxx xxxx ;

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) Length of network command
Constant value
Field 3 (1 byte) Network send data command
Constant value
Field 4 (1 byte) Secondary network address
Constant value
Field 5 (2 byte) Response length
Constant value
Field 6 (1 byte) Response command code
Constant value
Field 7 (1 byte) Response memory type
Constant value
Field 8 (1 byte) # of data elements
Constant value
Field 9 (?-byte) Response data from device
FactoryLink analog, digital, or float element
Field 10 (2 byte) Checksum codes
Process function
Field 11 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value (Optional)
RESP_ID 1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 331

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Sample Protocols
•
•
Network Command Protocols
Table 13-23 Sample Outgoing Message, Request Protocol

Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

: xxxx 01 xx 0006 20 xx xxxx DDDD xxxx ;

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) Length of network command
Constant value
Field 3 (1 byte) Network send data command
Constant value
Field 4 (1 byte) Secondary network address
Constant value
Field 5 (2 byte) Command length
Constant value
Field 6 (1 byte) Command code
Constant value
Field 7 (1 byte) Command memory type
Constant value
Field 8 (1 byte) # of data elements
Constant value
Field 9 (?-byte) Command data
FactoryLink analog, digital, or float element(s)
Field 10 (2 byte) Checksum codes
Process function
Field 11 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value
RESP_ID 555
RESP_STR Constant string (;)

332 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Sample Protocols

13
Table 13-24 Sample Incoming Response, Response Protocol

Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field

External Device
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Interface
: xxxx 01 xx 0005 xx 30 HH EE FF xxxx ;

Field 1 (1 byte) Preamble

Constant value
Field 2 (2 byte) Length of network command
Constant value
Field 3 (1 byte) Network send data command
Constant value
Field 4 (1 byte) Secondary network address
Constant value
Field 5 (2 byte) Command length
Constant value
Field 6 (1 byte) Command error code
FactoryLink analog or digital element
Field 7 (1 byte) Command code
Constant value (Place holder)
Field 8 (1 byte) Attached device status
FactoryLink analog element or digital element
Field 9 (1 byte) Device auxiliary power source
FactoryLink analog or digital element
Field 10 (1 byte) NIM status code
FactoryLink analog or digital element
Field 11 (2 byte) Checksum codes
FactoryLink analog (Optional)
Field 12 (1 byte) Postamble
Constant value (Optional)
RESP_ID 555

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 333

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
General Purpose Interface protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and,
if so configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about
configuring these tags, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 263 and “Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel” on page 267.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes.”

GPI Error Codes

The remainder of this section describes the status/error codes written to
FactoryLink analog and message elements and defined through the STAT_TAG
feature of the GPI protocol module. The following are the formats for the GPI
error codes:
• The GPI reports a numeric code via FactoryLink analog elements.
• The GPI reports an alphanumeric description via FactoryLink message
elements.
• The GPI uses even-numbered codes as information or acknowledgment codes.
• The GPI uses odd-numbered codes as error codes.
• The GPI uses 1xx codes for making or transmitting the outgoing message.
• The GPI uses 2xx codes for parsing the response.
• The GPI uses 3xx codes for the logical port and reports them to the logical port
MSG STATUS elements. These codes apply to the operation of the logical port
(the GPI protocol module) as a whole. They are not related to the individual
transactions. At startup, the FactoryLink application checks their status.
1xx: Even-Numbered Information/Acknowledge Codes for Building/Transmitting the
Outgoing Message

Table 13-25

Analog Message Element

100 asyndsf.c(DSF_WRITE): Start to make the cmnd

102 asyncpt(xmit) xmitED MSG SUCCESSFULLY

334 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Run-Time Application Messages

1xx: Odd-Numbered Error Codes for Building/Transmitting the Outgoing Message

13
Table 13-26

Analog Message Element

External Device
101 ASYNDSF.C(DSF_WRITE): cmnd length of %d exceeds

Interface
SND_BUF_LEN, FLD#%D

103 ASYNDSF.C(DSF_WRITE): Invalid FLD TYPE %d; FLD %d

105 ASYNDSF.C(DSF_WRITE): MAX_TERM_STR reached

107 ASYNDSF.C(DSF_WRITE): dsf_t_q_mail returned ERROR

109 ASYNDSF.C(GET_BUF_INX): Invalid INFO_TYPE=%D IN DIV_DEF

111 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_STRING): Invld cnvr FUNC %D for

STRING,fld #%d

113 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_NUMERIC): Invld cnvr Func %d for

NUMERIC, fld #%d

115 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_PROCESS): Invld PROCESS Func %d, FLD

#%D

117 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_PROCESS): Invld cnvr FUNC%D for

PROCESS, fld #%d

119 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_PROCESS): Invld PROCESS Func %d, fld

#%d

121 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_PROCESS): Invld cnvr Func %d for

PROCESS, FLD #%D

123 ASYNDSF.C(WRT_DO_PROCESS): Invld fld len%d for a

PROC_FUNC FLD #%D

125 ASYNCPT(XMIT): xmit error

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 335

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
2xx: Even-Numbered Informative/Acknowledge Codes for Parsing the Response

Table 13-27

Analog Message Element

200 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): Start to PROC RESP #%D

202 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): MULT_RSP Completed

204 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): ProcessED Resp ID# %d AOK

2xx: Odd-Numbered Error Codes for Parsing the Response

Table 13-28

Analog Message Element

201 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): RSP_BUF too short %d

203 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): inter char time out

205 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): RSP_TM_OUT

207 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): RESPONSE ERROR

209 ASYNDSF.C(MATCH_RSP): Invalid DIV-DS.INFO_TYPE=%D,

RPS_ID =%D

211 ASYNDSF.C(GET_USL_BUF_INX): DLMTR FOR FLD #%D,

RSP ID #%D, not found

213 ASYNDSF.C(GET_USL_BUF_INX): End of RSP_BUF reached

INX %D, FLD #%D, RSP ID #%D

215 ASYNDSF.C(GET_USL_BUF_INX): DLMTR FOR FLD # %D,

RSP ID #%D, not found

217 ASYNDSF.C(GET_USL_BUF_INX): End of RSP_BUF

REACHED, INX%D, FLD #%D, RSP ID #%D

219 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Fld. Len. Exceeded 255;

RESP #%D

336 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 13-28 (Continued)

13
Analog Message Element

221 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid CNVR for digital;

External Device
FLD# %D

Interface
223 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid cnvr for analog;
FLD# %D

225 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid cnvr for lanalog;

FLD# %D

227 ASYNDSF(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid cnvr for float; FLD#

%D

229 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid cnvr for MESSAGE

Tag; FLD#%D

231 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_TAGVALUE): Invalid fl_type%d for FLD#

%D

233 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_STRING): STRING; Parser failed FLD#

%D

235 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_NUMERIC): NUMERIC, Parser failed,

FLD# %D

237 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_RAWVALUE): Fld. Len. Exceeded 255;

Resp #%d

239 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_RAWVALUE): Invalid cnvr for MESSAGE

Tag fld#%d

241 ASYNDSF.C(RD_DO_RAWVALUE): Invalid FL_TYPE %d for

RAWVALUE

243 ASYNDSF.C(PROCESS_RESPONSE): USL_TM_OUT

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 337

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
3xx: Even-Numbered Informative/Acknowledge Codes for the Logical Port

Table 13-29

Analog Message Element

302 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_ARTIC): AllocED %d bytes on

ARTIC for SND bufr

304 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_ARTIC): AllocED %d bytes on Artic

for RCV BUFR

306 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_SU): ALLOCED %D bytes for SND

BUFR

308 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_SU): ALLOCED %D bytes for RCV

BUFR

310 ASYNDSF.C(FREE_MEM_ON_SU): freed mem for send and RCV

BUFRS

314 ASYNDSF.C (DSF_START): PORT_SETUP_AOK

3xx: Odd-Numbered Error Codes for the Logical Port

Table 13-30

Analog Message Element

301 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_ARTIC): Unable to alloc mem

on Artic for SND BUFR %D bytes

303 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_ARTIC): Unable to alloc mem

on ARTIC for RCV BUFR %D bytes

305 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_SU): Unable to alloc mem for

SND BUFR

307 ASYNDSF.C(ALLOC_MEM_ON_SU): Unable to alloc mem for

RCV BUFR

311 ASYNCPT.C(CPT_START): Protection bit failure (ASYNCPT)

313 ASYNCPT.C(CPT_START): PORT_SETUP failed%04Xh

338 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 13-30 (Continued)

13
Analog Message Element

315 ASYNCPT.C(CPT_TSLICE): unknown state: %d

External Device
317 ASYNCPT.C(XMIT): xmit error

Interface
319 ASYNCPT.C(XMIT): CPT_SND_USL returned: %04XH

321 ASYNCPT.C(XMIT): INVALID PKT_TYPE: %04XH

323 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CK_RSP_TM): receive character error

%04XH

325 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CK_RSP_TM): USL_TM_OUT error

327 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CK_RSP_TM): RSP_TM_OUT error

329 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CHAR): receive character error %04Xh

331 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CHAR): ICH_TM_OUT error

333 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_CHAR): TOTAL_TM_OUT reached

335 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_RSP_TM): TOTAL_TM_OUT reached

337 ASYNCPT.C(RCV_FINITO): CPT_SND_USL returned: %04XH

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 339

• GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACE
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

340 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 14

•
•
•
•
Modicon Modbus
14

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and any Modicon
Modbus PLC.

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Modicon Modbus

configuration panels, you must complete the External Device
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

When you choose Modicon Modbus from the Configuration Manager Main Menu,
the Modicon Modbus configuration panels are displayed.

Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 341

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a Modicon Modbus device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: none, even, or odd (default=odd)

342 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the 14
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 7, 8 (default=8)

External Device
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause

Interface
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default=1)
Timeout Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the protocol
module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command
before timing out. You must enter a value greater than 0 for the
protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32000 (default=30)
RTU ASCII Enter the communication mode for this logical port.
Valid Entry: RTU, ASCII (default=RTU)
Message Tag Enter a tag name for a message element to which a text string
will be written to indicate a communications error associated
with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 343

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

344 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the 14
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

External Device
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write

Interface
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Device Type Enter the type of Modicon device represented by this entry. The
following table lists the valid entries and their variations. You
can specify any of the valid entry variations in this field.

Valid Entry Variation

184 184, 1, or 18

384 384, 3, or 38

484 484, 4, or 48

584 584, 5, or 58

884 884, 8, or 88

984 984, 9, or 98

984BITWRITE 984-BW
(Used for mask writes)

M84 (Micro84) M84, M, or M8

Station Address Enter the physical address of the Modicon device represented by Modicon Modbus
this entry.
Valid Entry: 1 - 24 (default=1)
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: 1 - 31

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 345

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

A read or write table should not contain more than the maximum number of
contiguous registers allowed for a single message accessing a type of register. The
maximum number allowed varies from one register type to the next.

If more than the maximum number of contiguous register addresses are defined,
multiple messages are generated for the operation. For example, if a block read
table for a holding register contains entries that access contiguous addresses from
100 to 127, two messages are generated. The first message reads the first 125
addresses (addresses 100 to 124). The second message reads addresses 125
through 127.

The following table lists the maximum number of contiguous registers included in
a single block read or write message for each supported register type.

346 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Table 14-1 Maximum Contiguous Registers in a Single Message

14
Type of Modicon Model Maximum Number Maximum Number
Register Number For Block Read For Block Write

External Device
Coil 184, 384 800 800

Interface
484 512 800

584, 884, 984 2000 800

M84 64 64

Holding 184, 384 100 100

484 254 60

584, 884, 984 125 100

M84 32 32

Input Status 184, 384 800

484 512

584, 884, 984 2000

M84 64

Input 184, 384 100

484 32

584, 884, 984 125

M84 4

Memory 100 100 Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 347

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

348 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read Priority If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The 14
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request

External Device
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

Interface
If this is a write operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for write operations.

Block Read Trigger If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 349

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block Read Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

Valid Entry: standard element tag name

Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Priority If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the

350 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write

requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it 14
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.

External Device
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is

Interface
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block write
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To Modicon Modbus
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block
Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do

Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 351

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate when this operation is complete,
enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup.
After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information
panel has been written to the device, the complete element is
forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

352 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

14
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide Modicon Modbus
for details.

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 353

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.

Valid for
Tag Type Element Description Register
Types:

Analog A tag that stores a signed 16-bit HREG

integer with a value range between IREG
-32,768 and +32,767
XMEMnn

Digital A tag that stores a binary that COIL

indicates either a set (1) or unset (0) HREG
bit
INP
IREG

Float A tag that stores a floating-point HREG

integer with a value that can range
up to 31 places to the right side of the
decimal point

Longana A tag that stores a signed 32-bit HREG

integer with a value range between +
or - 2 billion

Message A tag that stores ASCII text HREG

Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Reg Address Enter the register address in Modicon memory where this
element’s value is located. The format of a register address is:
paaaaa
where
p Address prefix that identifies the Modicon register
type

354 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

aaaaa Actual address of the register

When defining register addresses, do not include the address 14
prefix or leading zeros. The prefix indicates the register type, and
this information is specified in the Data Type field of this panel.

External Device
The leading zeros are extraneous.
For example, for holding register address 400001, enter 1. The 4

Interface
indicates the register type, and the leading zeros are not
necessary.
If you are defining an address for floating-point or long analog tag
types, keep in mind that these tag types are addressed in pairs.
The first register in the pair contains the high-order word; the
second register contains the low-order word.
Enter the address for the starting register in a register pair; the
companion register is implied.
Try to maintain consistency when using register addresses for
floating-point and long analog FactoryLink data types. Adopt
either an odd or even starting register sequence and maintain
that sequence. For example:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ...
or
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ...
If you are defining an address for a message tag type, the
address specifies the first in a group of registers that contain the
message characters. The message length is specified in the Bit
Offset/MSG Length field.
If you are reading or writing to extended memory, a block
read, block write, or exception write operation may read or write
multiple register addresses for the same register file.

Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 355

• MODICON MODBUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Bit Offset/MSG This field is required for digital data type. If the element (entry in
Length the Tag Name column) associated with this entry is digital, enter
the bit offset within the word that contains the value to be read or
to which the element value is to be written. Bit 1 is the most
significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the least significant bit.
Leave this field blank for all other FactoryLink data types.
For digital tags that reference an address in memory from
a holding register or input register (see Data Type field
description), this is the bit offset between 1 and 16 within a
register word that contains the value of the element. When
defining this offset, follow Modicon’s convention for bit ordering,
where bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the
least significant bit (LSB).
MSB LSB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

For digital tags that reference mask write functions, use

this field to indicate which bit between 1 and 16 will change in
the register as a result of a mask write command. You can only
address one bit per tag entry.
For message tags, this is the number of bytes in the device’s
memory, between 1 and 80, containing the message. This number
of bytes, starting from the location specified in the Address field of
this panel, is read into the message tag as raw binary data. The
FactoryLink Modbus Plus protocol module does not perform
verification on these bytes to see if they are printable ASCII.
Valid Entry: 1 - 16 if data type is digital
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.

Data Type Valid Operations

COIL Block read operations read current value of the

element.

Block write and exception write operations are

used to force the state of coils to either on or
off.

356 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Data Type Valid Operations 14

HREG Block read operations are used to get contents
of a holding register.

External Device
Block write and exception write operations are

Interface
used to set the contents of a holding register.

INP Block read operations read the ON/OFF status

of discrete inputs. Input is stored in a
controller as bits. Each bit has an address.

IREG Block read operations are used to read the

binary contents of an input register.

MASK Exception write operations are used to set or

clear bits within a holding register. The
current state of the digital tag determines the
ON/OFF setting of the bit within the holding
register. To set a bit within the holding
register, the digital tag must be set to 1(ON)
and to clear a bit, it must be set to 0 (OFF).

XMEMnn Block read operations read the contents of

extended memory.

Block write and exception write operations

write to extended memory.

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 357

• MODICON MODBUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Modicon Modbus protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 342. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 344.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task, see Chapter 10,
“Messages and Codes.”

Run-Time Manager Codes

The following error codes can appear in messages displayed on the Run-Time
Manager screen. The first number refers to the hexadecimal code; the second
number is its decimal equivalent.

1 (Decimal equivalent: 1)
Cause: Unknown I/O state.
Action: Verify the device configuration and cabling. The FactoryLink
configuration tables must contain the proper station addresses
and parameters. The Logical Station Control panel must contain
the proper baud rate, parity, and data format parameters.

2 (Decimal equivalent: 2)
Cause: I/O error in transmitting or receiving data.
Action: Refer to the previous description of code 1.

3 (Decimal equivalent: 3)
Cause: I/O aborted because of a time-out while the protocol module is
waiting for a device response.
Action: Refer to the description of code 1.

4 (Decimal equivalent: 4)
Cause: I/O data translation error.
Action: Refer to the description of code 1.

358 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Run-Time Application Messages

15 (Decimal equivalent: 21)

Cause: Exception response—The slave cannot respond to the function 14
code given in the query.
Action: Check the read and write tables and verify the data types are

External Device
valid for the destination device.

Interface
25 (Decimal equivalent: 37)
Cause: Exception response—The data address received in the query by
the device is not valid.
Action: Verify the register addresses in the table experiencing the error.

35 (Decimal equivalent: 53)

Cause: Exception response—An invalid data value in the query has
been detected by the device.
Action: Depending on the data type of the table in error, verify each tag
value is valid for the specified data type.

45 (Decimal equivalent: 69)

Cause: Exception response—The device has experienced an
unrecoverable error while executing a requested action.
Action: Determine whether the device is in proper working order. It
might require servicing.

55 (Decimal equivalent: 85)

Cause: Exception response—The device requires a long time to carry out
the requested action.
Action: If the ladder logic programmed into the device is inefficient, it
can result in time-consuming processing of requests. Reprogram Modicon Modbus
the device according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

65 (Decimal equivalent: 101)

Cause: Exception response—The device is busy carrying out a
previously requested action.
Action: The device needs more time to finish processing the current
request before it begins processing the next one. Lessen the
frequency of requests sent to the device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 359

• MODICON MODBUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
75 (Decimal equivalent: 117)
Cause: Exception response—The device cannot perform the program
function received in the query.
Action: Use the Modicon diagnostic software to determine the cause of
the problem.

85 (Decimal equivalent: 113)

Cause: Exception response—The device attempted to read extended
memory but detected a memory parity error.
Action: Determine whether the device is in proper working order. It
might require servicing.

In Message Tags
This section describes the run-time messages as they appear in the message tags.

Modbus: Communications OK
Cause: Normal.
Action: None. This is only an information message.

Modbus: Exception error decimalcode on write to Lsta logical station

Cause: An error occurred on a write request to the specified logical
station.
Action: The specified error is the decimal equivalent of a hexadecimal
error code. For details, refer to “Run-Time Manager Codes” on
page 358.

Modbus: Exception error decimalcode on read to Lsta logical station

Cause: An error occurred on a read request to the specified logical
station.
Action: The specified error is the decimal equivalent of a hexadecimal
error code. For details, refer to “Run-Time Manager Codes” on
page 358.

360 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS
Run-Time Application Messages

Modbus: Write error decimalcode to Lsta logical station

Cause: An error occurred on a write request to the specified logical 14
station.
Action: The specified error is the decimal equivalent of a hexadecimal

External Device
error code. For details, refer to “Run-Time Manager Codes” on
page 358.

Interface
Modbus: Read error decimalcode to Lsta logical station
Cause: An error occurred on a read request to the specified logical
station.
Action: The specified error is the decimal equivalent of a hexadecimal
error code. For details, refer to “Run-Time Manager Codes” on
page 358.

Modicon Modbus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 361

• MODICON MODBUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

362 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 15

•
•
•
•
Modicon Modbus Plus
15

External Device
Interface
The FactoryLink EDI task allows you to configure bidirectional communications
between the FactoryLink real-time database and any Modicon Modbus Plus PLC.

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Modicon Modbus Plus

configuration panels, you must complete the External Device
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

Modicon Modbus Plus

When you choose Modicon Modbus Plus from the Configuration Manager Main
Menu, the Modicon Modbus Plus configuration panels are displayed.

Sample panel entries are provided in Chapter 6, “Reading Data from a Device,”
and Chapter 7, “Writing Data to a Device.”

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 363

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Adapter Number Enter the number assigned to the SA85 host adapter.
In a Windows environment, follow the installation procedure
in the appropriate LNET (LocalNet Library) software manual to
set up the SA85 driver for your specific hardware system.
Configure the SA85 card as adapter 0 or 1.
Valid Entry: 0 or 1
LPORT Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Message Tag text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

364 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Data Master Paths Enter a number between 1 and 8 that defines the number of
internal master paths on the SA85 device for command/response 15
transactions.
Valid Entry: 1 - 8

External Device
DS1 through DS8 Specify whether or not this path can be used as a data slave (DS)
path for unsolicited data. This can be one of the following:

Interface
YES This path can be used as a data slave path.
NO This path cannot be used as a data slave path.
These fields let you specify up to eight paths. For information
about data slave paths, refer to the Modicon Modbus Plus
Network Programming Guide.

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Modicon Modbus Plus

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 365

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
LSTA Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Analog Tag store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
Decimal information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

366 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or 15
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.

External Device
Valid Entry: 0 - 999 (default=0)
PLC Type Enter the type of Modicon device represented by this entry. Use

Interface
984-BITWRITE if mask write operations are supported by this
device. You can specify 984-BITWRITE for the following Modicon
models: A120, A130, A141, A145, 685E, 785E, AT4, VM4.
Valid Entry: 984 or 984-BITWRITE
Physical Station Enter the physical address of the Modicon device represented by
this entry. Be sure this number corresponds to the actual address
setting of the device.
Valid Entry: 1 - 64 (default=1)
Router 1 - Router 4 Enter a number between 1 and 64 that defines the Modbus Plus

Modicon Modbus Plus

network address of a router/bridge. Up to four routes can be
defined for each physical station.
Valid Entry: 1 - 64
Response Timeout Enter the length of time, in hundredths of a second, the protocol
0.01 sec module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command
before timing out. You must enter a value greater than 0 for the
protocol module to timeout.
For example, if you specify 300, timeout occurs after 3 seconds
has elapsed. If the number of retries is 3, communications
terminates in 9 seconds for that transmission attempt.
Valid Entry: 1 - 300 (default=100)
Number of Retries Enter a number between 0 and 10 that defines the maximum
number of consecutive times a read or write command is sent
before communications between FactoryLink and the device
terminates for that transmission attempt.
Valid Entry: 0 - 10 (default=3)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 367

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
LSTA Failure (Optional) Enter a tag name assigned to reference a digital
Digital Tag element that contains the status of communication attempts for
this logical station. If the value of this element is 0 (off), the
communication attempt to this logical station was successful. If
the value of this element is 1 (on), the communication attempt to
this logical station failed. You can employ this tag to create an
alarm in the Alarm Supervisor that indicates a communication
failure.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
LSTA Failure (Optional) Enter a tag name assigned to reference a message
Message Tag element that contains text describing the status of
communication attempts for this logical station. This tag works in
conjunction with the LSTA Failure Digital Tag field to display a
meaningful error message for the operator on the Alarm
Supervisor screen.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of 1 to 16 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

368 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL

15
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

External Device
Interface
Modicon Modbus Plus
A read or write table should not contain more than the maximum number of
contiguous registers allowed for a single message accessing a type of register. The
maximum number allowed varies from one register type to the next.

If more than the maximum number of contiguous register addresses are defined,
multiple messages are generated for the operation. For example, if a block read
table for a holding register in a 984 device contains entries that access contiguous
addresses from 100 to 127, two messages are generated. The first message reads
the first 125 addresses (addresses 100 to 124). The second message reads
addresses 125 through 127.

The following table lists the maximum number of contiguous registers included in
a single block read or write message for each supported register type.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 369

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 15-1 Maximum Contiguous Registers in a Single Message

Type of Maximum Number Maximum Number

Register For Block Read For Block Write

Coil 2000 800

Holding 125 100

Global 32 global data words 32 global data words

Input Status 2000

Input 125

Mask Exception write: 1

Statistics 54 words
Word

Memory 100 100

Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

370 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Unsolicited Read For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block read or as
a write operation, accept the default of NO. 15
If this is an unsolicited read operation, enter YES. EDI will
interpret this operation as an unsolicited read and emulate the
device’s addressing structure based on entries you make in the

External Device
Read/Write Information panel. The incoming data will be stored

Interface
in the real-time database as specified in this field.
If you enter YES, the incoming data will be stored in the element
represented by the tag name specified in the Read/Write
Information panel. If the current value of the element is equal to
the new value, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If a
different value is being stored the element, however, it will
overwrite the current value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or

Modicon Modbus Plus

as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES. Do not specify elements expected to change at
frequent and unpredictable intervals in an exception write table.
Any element specified will be written to the device in its own
packet (message) each time it changes. Defining elements that
change value frequently as exception writes can slow down
communications or result in an error message.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 371

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read Priority If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.
If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, accept the
default of 1. This field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the
operation being defined is a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for unsolicited read operations or for
write operations.

Block Read Trigger If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Read Disable element can be used to disable a block read
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block
Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

372 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you 15
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when

External Device
the block read trigger is set to 1.

Interface
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write

Modicon Modbus Plus

Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Priority If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 373

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block write
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block
Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do

Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.

374 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF). 15
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

External Device
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete

Interface
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Modicon Modbus Plus

Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 375

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.

376 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device. 15
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.

External Device
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: The following table lists valid tag types for each

Interface
register type. (Refer to the Data Type field of this
panel for a discussion on register types.)

Valid for
Tag Type Element Description Register
Types

Analog A tag that stores a signed 16-bit HREG

integer with a value range between GLBL
-32,768 and +32,767
IREG

Modicon Modbus Plus

STATHI
STATLO
XMEMnn

Digital A tag that stores a binary that COIL

indicates either a set (1) or unset (0) HREG
bit
INP
IREG

Float A tag that stores a floating point HREG

integer with a value that can range
up to 31 places to the right side of the
decimal point

Longana A tag that stores a signed 32-bit HREG

integer with a value range between +
or - 2 billion

Message A tag that stores ASCII text HREG

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 377

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Reg Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where
the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to
which the element value will be written.
The format of a register address is:
paaaaa
where
p The address prefix that identifies the Modicon
register type
aaaaa The actual address of the register
When defining register addresses, do not include the address
prefix or leading zeros. The prefix indicates the register type, and
this information is specified in the Data Type field of this panel.
The leading zeros are extraneous.
For example, for holding register address 400001, enter 1. The 4
indicates the register type, and the leading zeros are not
necessary.
If you are defining an address for floating-point or long analog tag
types, keep in mind these tag types are addressed in pairs. The
first register in the pair contains the high-order word; the second
register contains the low-order word.
Enter the address for the starting register in a register pair; the
companion register is implied.
Try to maintain consistency when using register addresses for
floating-point and long analog FactoryLink data types. Adopt
either an odd or even starting register sequence and maintain
that sequence. For example,
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ...
or
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ...

378 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

If you are defining an address for a message tag type, the

address specifies the first in a group of registers that contain the 15
message characters. The message length is specified in the Bit
Offset/MSG Length field.

External Device
If you are defining an address for global data words, they
are in the register address range of 1 to 32.

Interface
For global data word read operations, it is assumed the first
global data word received is always word 1, the second is word 2,
and so on. If you specify a register address in the block read table
that is larger than the total number of global data words that will
actually be received, an error is generated.
Although global data is considered contiguous in block write
tables, you can define register addresses that do not appear
contiguous on the information panel. For example, if you specify
register address 1, 5, 7, 20, and 25, a message is generated for
registers 1 through 25. A value of 0 is stored for those registers

Modicon Modbus Plus

within the range that do not appear in the information table.
If you are defining an address to read the high or low byte
of a statistical word, each pair addresses a single register
between 1 and 54.
To access the low and high bytes of a single word, enter the same
register address twice for two separate analog tags. Define
STATHI in the Data Type field for the first tag and STATLO in the
Data Type field for the second tag.
If you want to create a single word value, use Math & Logic to
“OR” the bytes together.
If you want to access the high and low bytes of a common register,
you must define them in the same block read table or the values
retrieved may not be synchronized.
If you are defining a STATCLR exception write operation,
do not specify a register address. Accept the default of 1.
If you are reading or writing to extended memory, a block
read, block write, or exception write operation may read or write
multiple register addresses for the same register file.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 379

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Bit Offset/MSG This field is required for digital data type. If the element (entry in
Length the Tag Name column) associated with this entry is digital, enter
the bit offset within the word that contains the value to be read or
to which the element value is to be written. Bit 1 is the most
significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the least significant bit.
The purpose of this field depends on the tag type of the element.
For digital tags that reference an address in memory from
a holding register or input register (see Data Type field
description), this is the bit offset between 1 and 16 within a
register word that contains the value of the element. When
defining this offset, follow Modicon’s convention for bit ordering,
where bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the
least significant bit (LSB).
MSB LSB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

For digital tags that reference mask write functions, use

this field to indicate which bit between 1 and 16 will change in
the register as a result of a mask write command. You can only
address one bit per tag entry.
For message tags, this is the number of bytes in the device’s
memory, between 1 and 80, containing the message. This number
of bytes, starting from the location specified in the Address field of
this panel, is read into the message tag as raw binary data. The
FactoryLink Modbus Plus protocol module does not perform
verification on these bytes to see if they are printable ASCII.
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.
The following table describes the register types supported by the
FactoryLink Modbus protocol module. For additional information
about Modicon register types, refer to the Modicon controller
manuals.

Data Type Valid Operations

COIL Block read operations read current value of the

element.

Block write and exception write operations are

used to force the state of coils to either on or off.

380 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Data Type Valid Operations 15

HREG Block read operations are used to get contents
of a holding register.

External Device
Block write and exception write operations are

Interface
used to set the contents of a holding register.

GLBL or GL Block read operations are used to read global

data.

Block write operations are used to write global

data. This requires that the local computer
with the SA85 adapter be assigned as a logical
station with a physical station address of 0.

INP Block read operations read the ON/OFF status

of discrete inputs. Input is stored in a controller

Modicon Modbus Plus

as bits.

IREG Block read operations are used to read the

binary contents of an input register.

MASK Exception write operations are used to set or

clear bits within a holding register. The current
state of the digital tag determines the ON/OFF
setting of the bit within the holding register. To
set a bit within the holding register, the digital
tag must be set to 1 (ON) and to clear a bit, it
must be set to 0 (OFF).

STATHI, Block read operations read the high or low

STATLO bytes of a statistics word.

STATCLR Exception write operations clear statistics

data.

XMEMnn Block read operations read the contents of

extended memory.

Block write and exception write operations

write to extended memory.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 381

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

382 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Modbus Plus Cable Diagram

M ODBUS P LUS C ABLE D IAGRAM

15
This section contains a pin-out diagram for connecting an SA85 card to a 984
Modicon controller.

External Device
For complete information about Modbus Plus cable diagrams, refer to AEG’s
Modicon Modbus Plus Network Planning and Installation Guide.

Interface
Figure 15-1 Pin-out Diagram—Connecting an SA85 Card to a Modicon Controller

Continuity Continuity Continuity

from from from
Black Wires Bare Wires White Wires
to PIN 3 To PIN1 to PIN 2

Modicon Modbus Plus

O O O O
O O O O O
321
Trim Wires
after checking
Continuity Note: Wiring direction shown
for 984-685/785 Controller

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 383

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Modbus Plus protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 364. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 366. For information about the
messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in which protocol module
messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and Codes.”

The following three messages occur at startup:

Modbus Plus: Software Protection bit failure; bits (x) and number (y) required
Cause: One or both of the option bits (where x and y are decimal values)
required to run this protocol module are missing.
Action: Install the required option bits in the master key.

Modbus Plus: SA85 Adapter (n) not found

Cause: For Windows—The SA85 card is incorrectly installed—placed
in the wrong slot in EISA chassis, a bad memory address switch
settings, or a bad software interrupt setting.
Action: Verify the path for MBHOST.SYS is correct, and check its
parameters in the CONFIG.SYS file. If either is incorrect, make
the correction and restart the program.

Modbus Plus: SA85 Adapter (x) identified as node (y)

Cause: For Windows—The Windows SA85 Modbus Plus loaded
successfully and the adapter (where x is a decimal value) shown
is at the Modbus Plus address node number (where y is a
decimal value).
Action: None.

384 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Run-Time Application Messages

Run-Time Messages
15
The following logical port and logical station messages occur after the application
starts up:

External Device
Logical Port Messages

Interface
The EDI task writes logical port messages to the LPORT tag when this tag is
defined on the Read/Write table.

Modbus Plus: Communications OK

Cause: Normal.
Action: None.

Modbus Plus: Lsta n: Write Request Error, 0xnn

Cause: A command for a WRITE operation was made to logical station

Modicon Modbus Plus

(n) resulting in a NetBIOS return code of 0xnn, a hexadecimal
value. This error occurred on a WRITE table operation to a
specific logical station.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

Modbus Plus: Lsta n: Write Response Error, 0xnn

Cause: A response to a WRITE operation was made to logical station (n)
resulting in an error with a NetBIOS return code of 0xnn, a
hexadecimal value. This error occurred on a WRITE table
operation to a specific logical station.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

Modbus Plus: Lsta n: Read Request Error, 0xnn

Cause: A READ operation request was made to logical station n
resulting in a NetBIOS return code of 0xnn, a hexadecimal
value. This error occurred on a READ table operation to a
specific logical station.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 385

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Modbus Plus: Lsta n: Read Response Error, 0xnn
Cause: A response to a READ operation request was made to logical
station n resulting in a NetBIOS return code of 0xnn, a
hexadecimal value.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

Modbus Plus: Illegal func code 0xnn rcvd for unsol data
Cause: An illegal command function code was detected in an unsolicited
message. Modbus Plus only expects the Preset Multiple Regs
command—Modbus command function 0x10—as the only valid
command for unsolicited operations.
Action: Decrease the rate at which unsolicited data is sent to
FactoryLink; or be certain the PLC is attempting to send only
function code 0x10 for unsolicited messages.

Logical Station Messages

The EDI task writes logical station messages to the LSTA tag when this tag is
defined on the Read/Write table.

Lsta: n Communications OK
Cause: Normal.
Action: None.

Lsta: n Netbios Transmit Error 0xnn

Cause: A NetBIOS error 0xnn, a hexadecimal value, resulted from the
send of a Modbus command.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

Lsta: n Netbios Receive Error 0xnn

Cause: A NetBIOS error 0xnn, a hexadecimal value, resulted from the
request for a Modbus response to a previously sent Modbus
command request.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

386 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODICON MODBUS PLUS
Run-Time Application Messages

Lsta: n Incurred a Time-out Error

Cause: All retries have been exhausted in the attempt to get a response 15
from logical station n.
Action: Check on status of logical station n: Is it powered off, off line, or

External Device
have a faulty cable connection?

Interface
Lsta: n Exception Response Error x
Cause: An exception response 0xnn, a hexadecimal value, was received
from logical station n. A controller encountered a programming
or operation error while attempting to carry out a Modbus
command request. Typically, this error flags an illegal data
reference in a message or controller problems, a no response to
an interface panel or communication difficulties with a slave.
Action: Refer to the section discussing NetBIOS Error Return Codes in
the Modicon IBM Host-Based Devices Users Guide for details.

Modicon Modbus Plus

Lsta: n Insufficient number of global data words rcvd
Cause: The number of words returned was less than expected during a
read of global data. The number expected is always equal to or
greater than the largest register address specified in the READ
table for global data.
Action: Either adjust the number of global data words broadcast by the
controller, or adjust the number of tags defined in the block
READ table for global data.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 387

• MODICON MODBUS PLUS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

388 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 16

•
•
•
•
OMRON
16

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and the following
devices, either directly or using the OMRON Host Link:
• C120
• C200H
• C500
• C1000
• C2000

When you choose OMRON Host Link Protocol from the Configuration Manager Main
Menu, the OMRON Host Link Protocol configuration panels are displayed.

OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 389

• OMRON
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Omron configuration

panels, you must complete the External Device Definition panel.
See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports” on
page 70 for details.

To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
(default=0)
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.

390 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)

Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this 16
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device

External Device
manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: odd

Interface
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 8
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1
Timeout Enter the length of time the protocol module will wait to receive a
response to a read or write command before timing out. You must
enter a value greater than 0 for the protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32767 (default=10)

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 16-1 provides sample entries for the OMRON Logical Station Control panel:

Table 16-1 Sample OMRON Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Logical Port 0 Specifies the logical

communication path configured
by this table.
OMRON

Baud Rate 9600 Specifies the communication

rate.
Parity EVEN No parity checking.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 391

• OMRON
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
Table 16-1 Sample OMRON Logical Station Control Panel Entries (Continued)

Field Entry Description

Data Bits 8 Specifies 8 data bits in the

transmission.
Stop Bits 1 Specifies 1 stop bit in the
transmission.
Response Timeout (0.1 10 The response timeout is 1 second.
Sec)

392 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL

16
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 393

• OMRON
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Device Type Enter the type of OMRON device to which communications are to
be directed.
C20 C120 PLC
K/P-SR K & P-Series PLCs (C20K, C28K, C40K, C60K,
C20P, C28P, C40P, C60P)
C120 C120 & C120F PLCs
C200H C200H PLC (default)
C500 C500 PLC
C500F C500F PLC
C1000H C1000H PLC
C2000H C2000H PLC
Physical Station Enter the physical station address of the OMRON device with
which the EDI task communicates when using this logical station
in a Read/Write table.
Valid Entry: 0 - 31
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

394 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Table 16-2 provides sample entries for the OMRON Logical Station Information
panel: 16
Table 16-2 Sample OMRON Logical Station Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Error/Status Tag Name OMRN_STATION0_ Contains information about
STATUS communication errors
Logical Station 0 Specifies the logical
communication path
Physical Station 0 Specifies the physical station
address associated with this
logical station
Device Type C200H Specifies the external device type
associated with this logical
station

OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 395

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

396 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO. 16
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES.

External Device
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within

Interface
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.
If this is a write operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note
OMRON

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for write operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 397

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block Read Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

398 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read State If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you 16
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element

External Device
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write

Interface
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
OMRON

a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values

specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 399

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block write operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block Write Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element

400 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write

Information panel has been written to the device, the state 16
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is

External Device
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name

Interface
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 16-3 provides sample entries for the OMRON Read/Write Control panel:

Table 16-3 Sample OMRON Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Specifies the table name.

Exception Write NO The table will not perform
exception writes.
Block Read Priority 1 The block read priority for the
table will be 1.
Block Read Trigger OMRN_READ_ When the value of OMRN_
TRIGGER READ_TRIGGER is 1 or (on), a
block read of values specified by
the Read/Write Information
panel associated with table 1
occurs.
Block Read Disable OMRN_READ_ This element is defined to disable
DISABLE the block read operations.
Block Read Complete OMRN_READ_ The value of OMRN_READ_
COMPLETE COMPLETE is set to 1 when the
OMRON

read is complete.
Block Read State OMRN_READ_ The value for OMRN_READ_
STATE STATE is set to 1 if a read
operation of table 1 is in
progress, and the value is 0 if it
is inactive.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 401

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 16-3 Sample OMRON Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Block Write Priority 1 The write priority for this table is

set to 1 by default.
Block Write Trigger Since this is a read table, the
elements specific to write
requests are not defined.
Block Write Complete

Block Write Disable

Block Write State

402 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

16
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.
OMRON

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, float

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 403

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Area Enter the data area of the OMRON controller to be read/written.
Refer to “OMRON Data Types and PLC Data Areas” on page 408
for more information about these data areas.
ST PLC operating status; channel number is ignored.
Use element type A and data type BIN1.
ER PLC errors; channel number must be 0 or 1 for
error word 1 or 2, respectively. Use data type
BIN1.
IR I/O and internal relay area.
HR Holding relay area.
AR Auxiliary relay area.
LR Link relay area.
TC Timer/counter area. Use element type D and data
type TCTR.
DM Data memory area.
PV Present value area. Use element type A or F and
data type BCD1, BCD2, TIM, or TIMH.
Channel Enter the channel number within the data area of the value to be
read or written.
Valid Entry: 0 - 9999
Bit Offset This field is required for digital data type. If the element (entry in
the Tag Name column) associated with this entry is digital, enter
the bit offset within the word that contains the value to be read or
to which the element value is to be written. Bit 1 is the most
significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is the least significant bit.
Leave this field blank for all other FactoryLink data types.
Valid Entry: 0 (least significant bit), 15 (most significant bit)

404 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field. Refer to “OMRON 16
Data Types and PLC Data Areas” on page 408 for valid data
types.
BIN1 16-bit binary value (-32768 to 32767). Use

External Device
element type D or A.

Interface
BIN2 Two consecutive 16-bit binary values or 32-bit
binary value (0 to 4294967295). Use element type
F.
BCD1 16-bit BCD value (0 to 9999). Use element type A.
BCD2 Two consecutive 16-bit BCD values or 32-bit BCD
value (0 to 9999999). Use element type F.
TIM 16-bit timer BCD value with units of 0.1 second
(0.0 to 999.9). Use element type F.
TIMH 16-bit high-speed timer BCD value with units of
0.01 second (0.00 to 99.99). Use element type F.
TCTR One-bit timer/counter value (0 or 1). Use element
type D and data area TC.

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, or floating-point) for any tag names displayed in the
Tag Definition dialog.

OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 405

• OMRON
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table 16-4 provides sample entries for the OMRON1 Read/Write Information
panel:

Table 16-4 Sample OMRON Read/Write Information Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Specifies the Read/Write table

name.
Tag Name OMRNRDR1 The value read from the device is
stored in OMRNRDR1.
Logical Station 0 Specifies the path to send the
request.
Data Area IR Data area of the controller to be
read/written.
Channel 10 Channel number in the external
device.
Bit Offset 1 Specific location of information to
read.
Data Type BIN1 Data type read from or written to
this controller.

406 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Technical Notes: Monitor Mode

TECHNICAL N OTES : M ONITOR M ODE

16
The OMRON PLC operates in the RUN, MONITOR, or PROGRAM modes. For
the FactoryLink OMRON protocol module to write to an external device, ensure
that the OMRON PLC is in the MONITOR mode by setting the switch on the

External Device
OMRON Programming Console to MONITOR. In this mode, the OMRON PLC
monitors bit or channel data from the data areas or specific program addresses

Interface
and reads it to the FactoryLink real-time database.

Some OMRON factory configurations operate normally in MONITOR mode. In

this case, writes to the PLC will occur normally and no other actions are needed.

Other OMRON factory configurations may require that the PLC operate in RUN
or PROGRAM mode. If this is necessary, override the setting on the Programming
Console and place the PLC in MONITOR mode using the following procedure:

In the OMRON Read/Write Information panel, configure an analog element.

Enter ST in the Data Area field (for the OMRON PLC operating status) and enter
BIN1 in the Data Type field.

To change the operating mode of the PLC to the MONITOR mode, force write an
02 (which represents MONITOR mode in the ST area) to the FactoryLink analog
element.

For further information about the OMRON Status Write and changing the
operating mode, refer to the OMRON Host Link Unit Operation Manual.

To avoid manually performing this procedure each time you start FactoryLink,
configure Math and Logic to perform this operation automatically at startup. For
further information about configuring the Math and Logic task, refer to
“Configuring Math & Logic” in the FactoryLink ECS Configuration Guide.

OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 407

• OMRON
• OMRON Data Types and PLC Data Areas
•
•
OMRON D ATA TYPES AND PLC D ATA A REAS
The following table shows the FactoryLink data types and the OMRON data types
that are to be used for each OMRON PLC data area:

Table 16-5 Data Types and PLC Data Areas

FactoryLink Data Type OMRON Data Type OMRON PLC Data Area

D BIN1 ER

BIN1 IR, HR, AR

TCTR TC

A BIN1 ST

BIN1 ER

BIN1 IR, HR, AR

BCD1 LR and DM

BCD1 PV

F BIN2 IR, HR, AR

BCD2 LR and DM

TIM LR and DM

TIMH LR and DM

BCD2 PV

TIM PV

408 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

16
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Omron protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so configured,
writes them to message or analog tags. For information about configuring a

External Device
message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on page 390 of
this guide. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the

Interface
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 393 of this guide.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes,” of this guide.

The ER: string in a message can contain either a single-character or a

double-character error code. In following descriptions, n represents the
significant characters of the error.
• Single-Character Code Format
ER:000n is a single-character format in which one character represents a single
error condition. In some cases, two individual codes appear within a string to
indicate multiple error conditions.
• Double-Character Code Format
ER:00nn is a double-character format in which two characters represent a
single error condition. Decode the ER:00nn string by interpreting nn’s most
significant digit (MSD), the leftmost integer, and least significant digit (LSD),
the rightmost integer.

OMRON

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 409

• OMRON
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
OMRON Error Codes
The following error code values occur in the LSD.
Example:
If: ER:0043
Then: MSD = 4
LSD = 3

Case 0: ER:000e OMRON Response Errors

1
Cause: Not executable in RUN mode.
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device in RUN
mode.

2
Cause: Not executable in MONITOR mode.
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device in
MONITOR mode.

3
Cause: Not executable with PROM mounted.
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device with
PROM mounted.

4
Cause: Address over (data overflow).

B
Cause: Not executable in PROGRAM mode.
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device in
PROGRAM mode.

410 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Run-Time Application Messages

C
Cause: Not executable with PROM mounted. 16
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device with
PROM mounted.

External Device
Interface
D
Cause: Not executable in LOCAL mode.
Action: Command request cannot be performed with the device in
LOCAL mode.

Case 1: ER:001e OMRON Response Errors

0
Cause: Parity error.
Action: Verify the parity setup matches the device.

1
Cause: Framing error.
Action: Verify the number of data and stop bits set up matches the
device.

2
Cause: Overrun.
Action: Verify the number of data and stop bits setup matches the
device.

3
Cause: FCS error.
Action: Verify the parity and the number of data and stop bits setup
OMRON

matches the device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 411

• OMRON
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
4
Cause: Format error (parameter length error).
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

5
Cause: Entry number data error (parameter error, data code error, data
length error).
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

6
Cause: Instruction not found.
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

8
Cause: Frame length error.
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

9
Cause: Command not executable due to inexecutable error clear,
non-registration of I/O table, etc.
Action: Contact OMRON for more information.

412 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Run-Time Application Messages

Case 2: ER:002e OMRON Response Errors

16
0
Cause: I/O table generation impossible due to unrecognized Remote I/O

External Device
Unit, channel over, or duplication of Optical Transmitting I/O
Unit.

Interface
Action: Contact OMRON for more information.

Case 3: ER:003e Read/write Request Aborted

1
Cause: Transmit error.
Action: Verify the cable has been constructed properly and that it is
connected to the logical port and device.

Case 4: ER:004e Read/Write Request Reception Error

2
Cause: Timeout error.
Action: Verify the cable has been connected to the logical port and
device. Also, check that the timeout period has been defined for
the recommended time.

3
Cause: Received invalid response character.
Action: Verify the parity and the number of data and stop bits are
configured properly for the device. Also, verify the cable ground
wire is connected properly.

4
OMRON

Cause: Reception buffer overflow. Response too large for reception

buffer.
Action: Contact Customer Support immediately.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 413

• OMRON
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
5
Cause: Received invalid start of data response character.
Action: Verify the parity and the number of data and stop bits are
configured properly for the device.

6
Cause: Received NAK response for command request.
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Also, verify the parity and the number of data
and stop bits are configured properly for the device and that the
cable ground wire is connected properly.

Case 5: ER:005e OMRON Response Packet Errors

0
Cause: Queuing read request error.
Action: Verify the IBM RIC/ARTIC board and the OMRON protocol
module have sufficient data storage defined. Contact Customer
Support if the problem persists.

1
Cause: Queuing write request error.
Action: Verify the IBM RIC/ARTIC board and the OMRON protocol
module have sufficient data storage defined. Contact Customer
Support if the problem persists.

2
Cause: Read or write request too large for the transmit buffer.
Action: Contact Customer Support immediately.

3
Cause: OMRON read/write response produced an unknown error.
Action: Contact Customer Support immediately.

414 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 OMRON
Run-Time Application Messages

Case A: ER:00Ae OMRON Response Errors

16
0
Cause: Aborted due to parity error in transmit data.

External Device
Action: Verify the parity setup matches the device.

Interface
1
Cause: Aborted due to framing error in transmit data.
Action: Verify the number of data and stop bits setup matches the
device.

2
Cause: Aborted due to overrun in transmit data.
Action: Verify the number of data and stop bits set up matches the
device.

4
Cause: Aborted due to format error in transmit data.
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

5
Cause: Aborted due to entry number data error in transmit data.
Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

8
OMRON

Cause: Aborted due to frame length error in transmit data.

Action: Verify the Read/Write configuration panel entries are valid for
device parameter. Contact Customer Support if the problem
persists.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 415

• OMRON
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Case B: ER:00Be OMRON Response Errors

0
Cause: Not executable because program area is not 16K bytes.

416 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 17

•
•
•
•
Siemens CP525
17

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and the Siemens
CP525 using RK512 with either 3964 or 3964R protocol.

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Siemens CP525

configuration panels, you must complete the External Device
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

When you choose Siemens CP525 from the Configuration Manager Main Menu, the

Siemens CP525
Siemens CP525 configuration panels are displayed.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 417

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: none, even, odd (default=even)

418 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the 17
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 7, 8 (default=8)

External Device
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause

Interface
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default=1)
Response Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the protocol
Timeout 0.1 Sec module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command
before timing out. You must enter a value greater than 0 for the
protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: standard Siemens timeouts, based on the baud
rate (default=0)
LRC Error Enter the type of error detection protocol.

Siemens CP525
Detection
None Siemens Procedure 3964
BCC (Default) Siemens Procedure 3964R
Retry Request Enter the maximum number of times the protocol module will
retry a read or write command to a device communicating
through this logical port if the command response is invalid or is
not received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 65535 (default=3)
Master/Slave Indicate whether the FactoryLink station is the Master or the
Slave of the communications channel.
M (Default) Master
S Slave
Status Msg Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 419

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 17-1 provides sample entries for the Siemens 525 Logical Station Control
panel:

Table 17-1 Sample Siemens 525 Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Logical Port 0 Specifies the logical

communication path configured
by this table.
Baud Rate 9600 Specifies the communication
rate.
Parity EVEN Adds a parity bit to the sum of
the transmitted bits to make it
even.
Data Bits 8 Specifies 8 data bits in the
transmission.
Stop Bits 1 Specifies 1 stop bit in the
transmission.
Response Timeout (0.1 100 The response timeout is 10
Sec) seconds.
LRC Error Detection BCC Specifies the error checking
method.
Retry Request 3 Attempt the request three times
before generating a timeout.
Master/Slave M Master (default).
Status Msg Tag SIEM_LPORT0_ Message tag containing Siemens
MSG error messages.

420 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL

17
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
Siemens CP525
Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error /Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 421

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Max Packet Define the maximum number of bytes the device defined in this
Length row can transmit in one message. Most devices can transmit 256
bytes, or 128 registers of data. The protocol being used
(point-to-point or IEEE 802.3) does not affect the maximum
packet size.
Valid Entry: 32, 64
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 17-2 provides sample entries for the Siemens 525 Logical Station
Information panel:

Table 17-2 Sample Siemens 525 Logical Station Information Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Error/Status Tag Name SIEM_STATION0_ Contains information about

STATUS communication errors.
Logical Station 0 Specifies the logical
communication path.
Max Packet Length 64 Maximum packet length is 64.

422 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL

17
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

External Device
Interface
Siemens CP525
Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 423

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Unsolicited Read For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block read or as
a write operation, accept the default of NO.
If this is an unsolicited read operation, enter YES or FORCE. EDI
will interpret this operation as an unsolicited read and emulate
the device’s addressing structure based on entries you make in
the Read/Write Information panel. The incoming data will be
stored in the real-time database as specified in this field.
If you enter YES, the incoming data will be stored in the element
represented by the tag name specified in the Read/Write
Information panel. If the current value of the element is equal to
the new value, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If a
different value is being stored the element, however, it will
overwrite the current value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
If you enter FORCE, the data is stored in the specified element
and the change-status indicator is automatically set to 1,
regardless of whether the current value matches the new value.
Valid Entry: yes, no, force (default=no)
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES. Do not specify elements expected to change at
frequent and unpredictable intervals in an exception write table.
Any element specified will be written to the device in its own
packet (message) each time it changes. Defining elements that
change value frequently as exception writes can slow down
communications or result in an error message.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)

424 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The 17
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request

External Device
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

Interface
If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, accept the
default of 1. This field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the
operation being defined is a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for unsolicited read operations or for
write operations.

Siemens CP525
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Read Disable element can be used to disable a block read
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block
Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 425

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.

426 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field

defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is 17
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

External Device
Note

Interface
The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced

Siemens CP525
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block

write operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is
self-triggered. The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling,
however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write
table, the Block Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1.
Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for
further details.

Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do

Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 427

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

428 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Table 17-3 provides sample entries for the Siemens 525 Read/Write Control panel:
17
Table 17-3 Sample Siemens 525 Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

External Device
Table Name READ Specifies the table name.

Interface
Unsolicited Read NO Table will not perform
unsolicited reads.
Exception Write NO Table will not perform exception
writes.
Block Read Priority 1 Priority for tables set to 1.
Block Read Trigger SIEM_READ_ When the value of SIEM_READ_
TRIGGER TRIGGER is 1 or (on), a block
read of values specified by the
Read/Write Information panel

Siemens CP525
associated with SIEMBRD
occurs.
Block Write Priority 1 The write priority for this table is
set to 1 by default.
Block Write Trigger Since this is a read table, the
elements specific to write
requests are not defined.
Block Write Complete

Block Write Disable

Block Write State

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 429

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.

430 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device. 17
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.

External Device
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float, message

Interface
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
PLC Region Enter the data area of the PLC to be read/written.
For read operations:
CB Counters
DB Data block

Siemens CP525
DX Extended data block
FB Flag bytes
IB Input bytes
OB Output bytes
PB Peripheral blocks
TB Timers
For write operations:
DB Data block
DX Extended data block
Data Block Enter the data block number of the address to be read or written.
Valid Entry: 3 - 255
Word/ Byte Enter the address of word in word regions or address of byte in
byte regions that is read or written.
0-255 CB, DB, DX, FB, PB, TB
0-127 IB, OB

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 431

• SIEMENS CP525
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Bit/Length (For digital elements) Bit in the word or byte that is read or
written.
0 (LSB) - 15 (MSB): For word regions
0 (LSB) - 7 (MSB): For byte regions
(For message elements) Length in word or byte that is read or
written.
Length in words: (For word regions) Limited to the packet size
for the station: 64 = 64 words; 32 = 32 words
Length in bytes: (For byte regions) Limited to the packet size
for the station: 64 = 128 bytes; 32 = 64 bytes
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.
Valid Entry: Refer to “Siemens CP525 Data Types” on page
435.
Coordination Specify the number of the CPU that is to process the read or write
Flag CPU operation or enter NONE for no CPU.
Valid Entry: NONE, 0 - 4 (default=NONE)
Coordination Specify the byte number of the coordination flag or enter NONE if
Flag Byte no coordination flag is set.
Valid Entry: NONE, 0 - 254 (default=NONE)
Coordination Specify the bit number of the coordination flag or enter NONE if
Flag Bit no coordination flag is set.
Valid Entry: NONE, 0 - 7 (default=NONE)

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

432 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 17-4 provides sample entries for the Siemens 525 Read/Write Information
panel: 17
Table 17-4 Sample Siemens 525 Read/Write Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Table Name READ Specifies the Read/Write table
name.
Tag Name SIEMDIG1 The value read from the device
will be stored in SIEMDIG1.
Logical Station 0 Specifies the path to send the
request.
PLC Region DB Data block.
Data Block 10 Data block in the PLC to write
the value of SIEMDIG1.

Siemens CP525
Word/Byte 6 Word/byte in the PLC to write
the value of SIEMDIG1.
Bit/Length 3 Bit/length of the value written.
Data Type DW Defaults to Siemens data type
BIN.
Coordination Flag CPU NONE
Coordination Flag Byte NONE
Coordination Flag Bit NONE

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 433

• SIEMENS CP525
• Siemens CP525 Switches
•
•
S IEMENS CP525 S WITCHES
For information about setting Siemens CP525 switches, refer to Section 3.4 of
Siemens COM525 for CP524 and CP525 (S5-DOS), Volume 1, order number
6ES5998-1DB21, release 05.

434 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Siemens CP525 Data Types

S IEMENS CP525 D ATA TYPES

17
When you configure the Data Type field of the Siemens CP525 Read/Write
Information panel, each FactoryLink data type has a default Siemens PLC data
type. By using the PLC data type BIN, you may specify the default entry in

External Device
configuration table. (For compatibility with previous versions, the Data Type DW
defaults to BIN.) The following table shows the default conversions for each of the

Interface
FactoryLink data types.

Table 17-5 Default Conversions for FactoryLink Data Types

FactoryLink Data Types Siemens PLC Data Types

Digital DIG

Analog INT2

Longana INT4

Float FLT

Siemens CP525
Message LOHI

Each FactoryLink data type also has a range of valid Siemens PLC data types.
You may choose to specify a Siemens PLC data type. The following table shows the
FactoryLink data types, and the corresponding Siemens PLC data types.

Table 17-6 Digital Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

DIG Single bit of a word or byte is read or written

Table 17-7 Analog Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

INT2 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, signed

integer

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 435

• SIEMENS CP525
• Siemens CP525 Data Types
•
•
Table 17-7 Analog Conversion (Continued)

PLC Type Conversion

INT4 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, signed

integer

BCD3 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, unsigned,

three-digit, binary-coded decimal

BCD7 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, unsigned,

seven-digit, binary-coded decimal

FLT Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, Siemens

PLC floating-point

BYTE (Valid only in byte PLC regions) Converts the FactoryLink value
to or from a single unsigned byte (0 - 255)

Table 17-8 Longana Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

INT2 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, signed

integer

INT4 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte signed

integer

BCD3 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, unsigned,

three-digit, binary-coded decimal

BCD7 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a four-digit,

unsigned, seven-digit, binary-coded decimal

FLT Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte Siemens PLC

floating-point

BYTE (Valid only in byte PLC regions) Converts the FactoryLink value
to or from a single unsigned byte (0 - 255)

436 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Siemens CP525 Data Types

Table 17-9 Floating-Point Conversion

17
PLC Type Conversion

INT2 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, signed

External Device
integer

Interface
INT4 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, signed
integer

BCD3 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 2-byte, unsigned

three-digit, binary-coded decimal

BCD7 Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, unsigned,

seven-digit, binary-coded decimal

FLT Converts the FactoryLink value to or from a 4-byte, Siemens

PLC Floating-point

BYTE (Valid only in byte PLC regions) Converts the FactoryLink value

Siemens CP525
to or from a single, unsigned byte (0 - 255)

Table 17-10 Message Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

HILO Consecutive bytes in the FactoryLink message element are read

or written to the PLC as a high-order (HI) byte followed by a
low-order (LO) byte.

LOHI Consecutive bytes in the FactoryLink message element are read

or written to the PLC as a low-order (LO) byte followed by a
high-order (HI) byte.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 437

• SIEMENS CP525
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Siemens CP525 protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 418. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 421.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes.”

The ER:xxxN string in a message contains a single-digit error code. N represents

significant digits and x represents digits not significant to the error. ER:xxxN is a
single-digit format in which one digit represents a single error condition. In some
cases, two individual codes appear within a string to indicate multiple error
conditions.

0001h
Cause: Internal error.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

0002h
Cause: Unable to successfully communicate with PLC.
Action: Check line parameters (baud rate, data bits, etc.), cable, CP525
programming.

0003h
Cause: Unable to receive response to read/write request.
Action: Check CP525 programming.

0004h
Cause: Internal error.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

438 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS CP525
Run-Time Application Messages

XX05h
Cause: Received error code XXh from Siemens PLC in response packet. 17
Action: Refer to Siemens CP525 documentation.

External Device
0006h

Interface
Cause: After retry count, received more or fewer bytes than requested in
read request packet.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

0007h
Cause: Internal error.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

Siemens CP525

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 439

• SIEMENS CP525
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

440 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 18

•
•
•
•
Siemens H1
18

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and any Siemens
Simatic S5 or S505 PLC using one of the following interfaces:
• CP-535, CP-143 card
• CP-1433, CP-1434
• Ethernet interface card over an Ethernet network

S IEMENS H1 C OMMUNICATIONS
Communication in the Siemens H1 protocol module occurs between the Siemens
Ethernet Interface and the Device Control Module (DCM) using logical entities
called Transport Service Access Points (TSAPs).

TSAPs are communication points that link the Siemens Ethernet Interface and
the DCM. TSAPs work in pairs. A DCM TSAP works with a Siemens Ethernet
Interface TSAP, with one TSAP on each side of the communication link.

Types of Communication
On one side of the communication link, the DCM performs three types of
communication. Each type of communication has an associated TSAP pair. The
DCM performs the following types of communication:
• Solicited Reads—Block reads of data from the Siemens PLC to the real-time
database.
S5—The Read Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Fetch active TSAP in the
DCM and a Fetch passive TSAP in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.
Siemens H1
S505—The Read Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Read active TSAP in
the DCM and a Read passive TSAP in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.
• Solicited Writes—Block and exception writes of data from the real-time
database to the Siemens PLC.
S5—The Write Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Send active TSAP in the
DCM and a Receive passive TSAP in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 441

• SIEMENS H1
• Siemens H1 Communications
•
•
S505—The Write Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Write active TSAP in
the DCM and a Write passive TSAP in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.
• Unsolicited Reads
S5—Siemens PLC-generated writes sending data from the Siemens PLC to the
real-time database. The Write Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Receive
passive in the DCM and a Send active in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.
S505—Siemens PLC-generated writes sending data from the Siemens PLC to
the real-time database. The Write Active/Passive TSAP pair consists of a Write
passive in the DCM and a Write active in the Siemens Ethernet Interface card.

Table 18-1 describes the relationships between the three types of communication
performed by the DCM and the TSAP pairs.

Table 18-1 Communications and the TSAP Pairs

TSAP Pair
Type of Initiator of the Type of Data
Communication Communication Siemens PLC Exchanged
Ethernet DCM
Interface

Solicited Reads/ FactoryLink Fetch passive Fetch active Block reads

Siemens Read (S5) (S5)
Active/Passive Read passive Read active
(S505) (S505)

Solicited Writes/ FactoryLink Receive passive Send active (S5) Block and
Siemens Write (S5) Write active exception writes
Active/Passive Write passive (S505)
(S505)

Unsolicited Reads/ External Send active Receive passive Siemens PLC-

Siemens Write Device generated
Active/Passive writes

where:
Active Describes the Siemens Interface co-processor jobs and denotes
the initiator or “master” of the link.
Passive Describes the Siemens Interface co-processor jobs and denotes
the receiver or “slave” of the link.

442 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Siemens H1 Communications

Fetch Describes the Siemens Interface co-processor jobs that request

information from an external device. These are either Active or 18
Passive.
Send Describes the Siemens Interface co-processor jobs that transmit

External Device
information to an external device. These are only Active.
Receive Describes the Siemens Interface co-processor jobs that receive

Interface
information from an external device. These are only Passive.

Defining a TSAP Pair

Each line you configure in the Siemens H1 Logical Station Information panel
corresponds to a specific Siemens Ethernet Interface on the LAN. The information
you configure in each line enables the Device Control Module to allocate TSAPs
and to connect each DCM TSAP with its corresponding Siemens Ethernet
Interface TSAP.

To define a TSAP pair, you must first obtain the following information:
• The DCM FactoryLink platform Ethernet adapter address
• The Siemens PLC Ethernet adapter address
• The Remote TSAP ID
• The Local TSAP ID

Note

The terms “local” and “remote” are relative to your configuration.

When you configure the Siemens H1 tables, make the FactoryLink
side of the communications link “local” and the Siemens Ethernet
Interface side “remote.”

You must program the Ethernet adapter address of the FactoryLink platform in
the Siemens Ethernet Interface. For further information about the Ethernet
address of the FactoryLink platform, refer to “Siemens H1 Adapter Display
Siemens H1
Utility (H1MPDISP)” on page 493.

The TSAP ID is an eight-character, fixed-length ASCII string. As long as the

Device Control Module and the Siemens Ethernet Interface are programmed with
corresponding values, these fields can be any eight-character ASCII string. The
Siemens Ethernet Interface programming software defaults the TSAP ID based
on the Ethernet Interface's SSNR (CP board number) and ANR (CP job number).

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 443

• SIEMENS H1
• Siemens H1 Communications
•
•
Depending on the version of Siemens programming software used, the TSAP ID
defaults to either:

____SSAA (COM535) or

___SS_AA (COM143)

where
“_” Is a space character in Siemens software programming displays
SS Is the SSNR (card) number if two-digits
_S Is the SSNR (card) number if one-digit
AA Is the ANR (job) number if two-digits
_A Is the ANR (card) number if one-digit

TSAP IDs and ASCII Equivalents

The EDI task processes the TSAP ID fields by space-padding-right-justifying the
8-byte string to the right-most non-space character. The following examples
illustrate the TSAP IDs and their eight-character ASCII equivalents:

Table 18-2 TSAP IDs and ASCII Equivalents

TSAP ID 8-Character ASCII

“1623” “^^^^1623”

“1623^” “^^^^1623”

“1623_” “^^^1623^”

“12_4” “^^^^12^4”

“12_4” “^^^^12^4”

“0^1” “^^^^^0^1”

Note: The “^” is a space and the “_” is a forced-space.

444 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Accessing the Siemens H1 Tables

A CCESSING THE S IEMENS H1 TABLES

18
Note

External Device
Before completing the protocol-specific Siemens H1 configuration
panels, you must complete the External Device Definition panel.

Interface
See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports” on
page 70 for details.

When you choose Siemens Sinec H1 from the Configuration Manager Main Menu,
the Siemens configuration panels are displayed.

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 445

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar
in the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
(default=0)
Ethernet Enter the Ethernet adapter installed in the FactoryLink system
Adapter for use with this logical port.
Number
Valid Entry: 0 or 1 (default=0)
At run time, the remaining fields of the Siemens H1 Logical
Station Control panel (except for the Status Message Tag field)
control the system resources used by the Device Control Module
(DCM) task. (The DCM task runs outside of FactoryLink and
provides the interface between the FactoryLink EDI task and the
external device. For more information about the DCM task, refer
to “Siemens H1 Communications” on page 441.)

446 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Maximum Enter the number of tables configured to perform reads/writes on

Concurrent which the DCM task can operate simultaneously. A table can be a 18
Tables block read table, a block write table, or an exception write entry
in a Read/Write Control panel.
Enter a number that is equal to or smaller than the Maximum

External Device
Concurrent Requests. At startup, the DCM task allocates memory

Interface
for the number of solicited tables specified in this field. Each of
these solicited tables contains one or more solicited requests. If
you enter a number larger than the number specified in the
Maximum Concurrent Requests field, you are using memory
inefficiently.
Valid Entry: 5 - 100 (default=10)
Maximum Enter the number of solicited requests (individual read or write
Concurrent transactions) on which the DCM task can operate simultaneously.
Requests Each request requires slightly over 4 kilobytes of memory.
Valid Entry: 5 - 100 (default=10)
Number Enter the shared pool of memory available for all logical stations
Unsolicited with configured unsolicited operations. The DCM has a structure
Buffers similar to the solicited request for each concurrently active
unsolicited write command received from the PLC transaction.
Each buffer contains slightly over 4 kilobytes of memory.
Valid Entry: 5 - 100 (default=10)
Unsolicited Queue Enter the internal queue size of unsolicited write commands
Size (number of elements on queue) received from the PLC awaiting
formatting for the FactoryLink database.
Valid Entry: 5 - 100 (default=10)
Number Enter the shared pool of DCM allocated buffers used by all logical
Ethernet stations to transmit or receive Ethernet packets. Each buffer is
Buffers slightly over 1500 bytes in length.
Valid Entry: 5 - 250 (default=30) Siemens H1
Solicited Idle Enter the amount of time in seconds a logical station’s solicited
Disconnect connections remain active without solicited transactions
Timeout occurring.
(Seconds)
In the DCM, each connected logical station requires periodic
processing to maintain the connection while no actual solicited
transactions take place with the PLC. Solicited operations to
disconnected stations require additional overhead to reconnect
before a transaction can take place. Therefore, set this time

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 447

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
according to the application. For example, when reading from a
station on a 10- to 11-second trigger, set this field to 12 seconds or
more (to keep the connection active) or less than 10 seconds (to
disconnect).
Valid Entry: 0 (never) - 32767 (default=120)
Unsolicited Idle Enter the amount of time in seconds a logical station’s unsolicited
Disconnect connections remain active without unsolicited transactions
Timeout occurring.
(Seconds)
In the DCM, each connected logical station requires periodic
processing to maintain the connection while no actual unsolicited
transactions are taking place with the PLC. Unsolicited
operations to disconnected stations require additional overhead
to reconnect before a transaction can take place. Therefore, set
this time according to the needs of your application. For example,
when reading from a station on a 10- to 11-second trigger (that is,
if the PLC sends messages every 10 to 11 seconds), set the
unsolicited idle disconnect timeout to 12 seconds or more (to keep
the connection active) or less than 10 seconds (to disconnect).
Valid Entry: 0 (never) - 32767 (default=300)
Status (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Msg Tag text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 18-3 provides sample entries for the Siemens H1 Logical Station Control
panel:

Table 18-3 Sample Siemens H1 Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Logical Port 0 Communications path specified

for this configuration.
Ethernet Adapter 0 Number of the Ethernet adapter
Number used in this configuration.

448 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Table 18-3 Sample Siemens H1 Logical Station Control Panel Entries (Continued)
18
Field Entry Description

Maximum Concurrent 10 The DCM can operate 10

External Device
Tables solicited tables at the same time.

Interface
Maximum Concurrent 10 The DCM can operate 10
Requests solicited requests at the same
time.
Number Unsolicited 10 Ten buffers will be used for
Buffers storage of data from unsolicited
requests for all the logical
stations.
Unsolicited Queue Size Ten elements will be on queue
from unsolicited requests
awaiting formatting in the
FactoryLink real-time database.
Number Ethernet 30 Thirty DCM allocated buffers
Buffers have been configured for use by
all logical stations for Ethernet
packets.
Solicited Idle 120 The logical station’s solicited
Disconnect Timeout connection remains active for 120
(Seconds) seconds without solicited
transactions occurring.
Unsolicited Idle 300 The logical station’s unsolicited
Disconnect Timeout connections remain active for 300
(Seconds) seconds without unsolicited
transactions occurring.
Status Msg Tag H1MP_LPORT0_ The EDI task writes errors for
Siemens H1
MSG this logical port 0 to this message
element.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 449

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

450 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or 18
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.

External Device
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
PLC Type Type of Siemens device associated with this logical station.

Interface
S5 (Default) Siemens S5 series PLC with either
CP-535 or CP-143
S505 Siemens 505 family stations with the following
Ethernet cards installed:
CP-1433
CP-1434
Remote Adapter Enter the 6-byte (12-nibble) Ethernet address of the Siemens H1
Address Ethernet defined on this line.
(hexadecimal)
Valid Entry: six address bytes (set by the Ethernet)
080006 01 0 000
------ -- - ---

Byte 5 (right nibble) and Byte 6

Hexadecimal number of each
module

Byte 5 (left nibble) systems

identifier for Siemens system
each position

Byte 4 Siemens area UBE

Byte 1-3 number for Siemens Siemens H1

Solicited Rd Enter the TSAP ID for the Fetch Passive TSAP on the Siemens
Remote FCHP Interface Card with which the Device Control Module
TSAP ID communicates for solicited read operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 451

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
Solicited Rd Enter the TSAP ID for the Fetch Active TSAP provided by the
Local FCHA Device Control Module with which the DCM communicates for
TSAP ID solicited read operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Rd (Optional) Enter the name of an element that reports the
Station Status connection status of the two TSAPs for solicited (block) reads. A
Tag Name value of 0 (OFF) indicates no connection. A value of 1 (ON)
indicates connection.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Solicited Wr Enter the TSAP ID for the receive passive TSAP on the Siemens
Remote RECV Interface Card with which the DCM communicates for solicited
TSAP ID write operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Wr Enter the TSAP ID for the send active TSAP provided by the
Local SEND Device Control Module with which the DCM communicates for
TSAP ID solicited write operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Wr (Optional) Enter the name of an element that reports the
Station Status connection status of the two TSAPs for solicited (block and
Tag Name exception) writes. A value of 0 (OFF) indicates no connection. A
value of 1 (ON) indicates connection.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Unsolicited Rd Enter the TSAP ID for the Send Active TSAP on the Siemens
Remote SEND Interface Card with which the DCM communicates for unsolicited
TSAP ID read operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string
Unsolicited Rd Enter the TSAP ID for the Receive Passive TSAP provided by the
Local RECV DCM with which the DCM communicates for unsolicited read
TSAP ID operations on this logical station.
Valid Entry: any 8-character ASCII string

452 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Unsolicited Rd (Optional) Enter the name of an element that reports the

Station Status connection status of the two TSAPs for unsolicited reads. A value 18
Tag Name of 0 (OFF) indicates no connection. A value of 1 (ON) indicates
connection.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: digital

Interface
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 18-4 provides sample entries for the Siemens H1 Logical Station
Information panel:

Table 18-4 Sample Siemens H1 Logical Station Information Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Error Status Tag Name H1MP_STATION0_ (Optional) Errors for this logical
STATUS station are written to this analog
element.
Logical Station 0 Communications path for the
communication.
Remote Adapter 0800006010001 Remote Ethernet address (in
Address (hexadecimal) hexadecimal).
Solicited Rd Remote 85 Fetch Passive TSAP SSNR 8,
FCHP TSAP ID ANR 5.
Solicited Rd Local 81 Fetch Active TSAP SSNR 8,
FCHA TSAP ID ANR 1. Siemens H1
Solicited Rd Station H1MP_LS0_R (Optional) Digital element
Status Tag Name containing the status of the
TSAP for solicited read
operations for logical station 1.
Has a value of 0 (OFF) when
disconnected and 1 (ON) when
connected.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 453

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
Table 18-4 Sample Siemens H1 Logical Station Information Panel Entries (Continued)

Field Entry Description

Solicited Wr Remote 84 Receive Passive TSAP SSNR 8,

RECV TSAP ID ANR 4.
Solicited Wr Local 82 Send Active TSAP SSNR 8,
SEND TSAP ID ANR 2.
Solicited Wr Station H1MP_LS0_W (Optional) Digital element
Status Tag Name containing the status of the
TSAP for solicited write
operations for logical station 1.
Has a value of 0 (OFF) when
disconnected and 1 (ON) when
connected.
Unsolicited Rd Remote 87 Send Active TSAP SSNR 8,
SEND TSAP ID ANR 7.
Unsolicited Rd Local 8 10 Receive Passive SSNR 8,
SEND TSAP ID ANR 10.
Unsolicited Rd Station H1MP_LS0_U (Optional) Digital element
Status Tag Name containing the status of the
TSAP for unsolicited read
operations for logical station 1.
Has a value of 0 (OFF) when
disconnected and 1 (ON) when
connected.
Comment (Optional) Information about this
logical station.

454 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL

18
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

External Device
Interface
Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
Siemens H1
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 455

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Unsolicited Read For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block read or as
a write operation, accept the default of NO.
If this is an unsolicited read operation, enter YES or FORCE. EDI
will interpret this operation as an unsolicited read and emulate
the device’s addressing structure based on entries you make in
the Read/Write Information panel. The incoming data will be
stored in the real-time database as specified in this field.
If you enter YES, the incoming data will be stored in the element
represented by the tag name specified in the Read/Write
Information panel. If the current value of the element is equal to
the new value, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If a
different value is being stored the element, however, it will
overwrite the current value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
If you enter FORCE, the data is stored in the specified element
and the change-status indicator is automatically set to 1,
regardless of whether the current value matches the new value.
Valid Entry: no, yes, force (default=no)
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: no, yes (default=no)

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

456 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The 18
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request

External Device
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

Interface
If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, accept the
default of 1. This field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the
operation being defined is a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for unsolicited read operations or for
write operations.

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Read Disable element can be used to disable a block read
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block
Siemens H1
Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 457

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
State
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.

458 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field

defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is 18
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

External Device
Note

Interface
The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block

write operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is
self-triggered. The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling,
however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write
table, the Block Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1.
Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for
further details.
Siemens H1
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 459

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

460 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Table 18-5 provides sample entries for the Siemens H1 Read/Write Control panel:
18
Table 18-5 Sample Siemens H1 Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

External Device
Table READ The name of this table is READ.

Interface
Name

Unsolicited NO This is not an unsolicited read table.

Read

Exception NO This is not an exception write table.

Write

Block Read 1 The block read priority, which is set

Priority automatically if you do not enter a
value, is set to the default of 1, the
highest priority.
Block Read H1MP_READ_TRIGGER When the value of
Trigger H1MP_READ_TRIGGER is 1,
FactoryLink reads the configured
address and writes its value to the
element configured for this table (in
the Read/Write Information panel).
Block Read H1MP_READ_DISABLE When the value of
Disable H1MP_READ_DISABLE is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger
element, H1MP_READ_TRIGGER,
and does not process the READ table.
Block Read H1MP_READ_COMPLETE Once the data is read and stored in
Complete the database element defined (in the
Read/Write Information panel) to
receive it, FactoryLink forces a value
Siemens H1
of 1 to H1MP_READ_COMPLETE.
Block Read H1MP_READ_STATE Once the data is read and stored in
State the database element defined to
receive it, FactoryLink forces a value
of 1 to H1MP_READ_STATE. During
the read operation,
H1MP_READ_STATE is set to 0.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 461

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 18-5 Sample Siemens H1 Read/Write Control Panel Entries (Continued)

Column Entry Description

Block Write 1 The write priority for this table is set

Priority to 1 by default.
Block Write Since this is a read table, the
Trigger elements specific to write requests are
not defined.
Block Write
Complete

Block Write
Disable

Block Write
State

462 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

18
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.
Siemens H1

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float, message

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 463

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Region Enter the PLC region to be read or written.
For valid data regions, refer to the Data Region tables listed
under the Region Index field.
For special DCM commands for a specific logical station, enter
LSCMD. Data regions that accept LSCMD and logical station
variables are marked with an asterisk (*) in the data regions
tables listed under the Region Index field. For further information,
see “Logical Station Commands” on page 474.
Region Index For DB, DX, or DE regions, enter the region index number.
For S505 stations, enter the first index number.
For valid entries, refer to Table 18-6 and Table 18-7.
For regions that specify a logical station variable which you can
modify at run time using a logical station command, enter a
nonzero negative number from -1 to -8. Refer to “Logical Station
Commands” on page 474 for more information.
Table 18-6 and Table 18-7 describe the data regions supported by
the Siemens H1 protocol module:

Table 18-6 S5 Data Regions

Element Max Max

Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

CB Counters 2 0 255 BIN No

DB Data Block 2 255* 2047 BIN No

DE External Data Block 2 255* 2047 BIN No

DX Expanded Data Block 2 255* 2047 BIN No

EB Expanded Peripheral 1 0 255 BYTE No

464 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 18-6 S5 Data Regions (Continued)

18
Element Max Max
Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

External Device
FB Flags 1 0 255 BYTE No

Interface
IB Input Image 1 0 127 BYTE No

OB Output Image 1 0 127 BYTE No

QB Output Image 1 0 127 BYTE No

PB Peripheral 1 0 255 BYTE No

TB Timers 2 0 255 BIN No

RS System Data Area 2 0 511 BIN No

Note: Max Region Index values with an asterisk (*) indicate data regions that accept logical
station variables.

Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions

Element Max Max

Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

AACK Analog Alarm Ack Flags 2 0 65535* INT2 No

AADB Alarm Deadband 4 0 65535* FLT No

ACFH High Word Alarm C-Flag 2 0 65535* INT2 No Siemens H1

ACFL Low Word Alarm C-Flag 2 0 65535* INT2 No

AERR Error 4 0 65535* FLT Yes

AHA High Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 465

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions (Continued)

Element Max Max

Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

AHHA High-High Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ALA Low Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ALLA Low-Low Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

AODA Orange Deviation Alarm 4 0 65535* FLT No

Limit

APV Process Variable 4 0 65535* FLT No

APVH PV High Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

APVL PV Low Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ARCA Rate of Change Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ASP Setpoint 4 0 65535* FLT No

ASPH Setpoint High Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ASPL Setpoint Low Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

ATS Sample Rate in Seconds 4 0 65535* FLT No

AVF V-Flags 2 0 65535* BIN Yes

AYDA Yellow Deviation Alarm 4 0 65535* FLT No

Limit

C Control Register Boo1 0 16383 BIN No

DCC Drum Current Count 4 255* 255 BIN Yes

DCP Drum Count Preset 2 255* 255 INT2 No

DSC Drum Step Current 2 255* 255 INT2 No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

466 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions (Continued)

18
Element Max Max
Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

External Device
DSP Drum Step Preset 2 255* 255 INT2 No

Interface
G G (Local App global 2 0 65535 INT2 No
Variables)

GA G (App A global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GB B (App B global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GC G (App C global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GD G (App D global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GE G (App E global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GF G (App F global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GG G (App G global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GH G (App H global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GI G (App I global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GJ G (App J global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GK G (App K global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GL G (App L global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GM G (App M global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GN G (App N global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

Siemens H1

GO G (App O global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GP G (App P global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GQ G (App Q global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 467

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions (Continued)

Element Max Max

Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

GR G (App R global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GS G (App S global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GT G (App T global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GU G (App U global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GV G (App V global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GW G (App W global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GX G (App X global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GY G (App Y global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

GZ G (App Z global Variables) 2 0 65535 INT2 No

K Constant 2 0 16777215 INT2 No

LACK Loop Alarm Acknowledge 2 0 65535* INT2 No

Flags

LADB Alarm Deadband 4 0 65535* FLT No

LCFH High Word Loop C-Flags 2 0 65535* INT2 No

LCFL Low Word Loop C-Flags 2 0 65535* INT2 No

LERR Error 4 0 65535* FLT Yes

LHA High Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LHHA High-High Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LKC Gain 4 0 65535* FLT No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

468 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions (Continued)

18
Element Max Max
Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

External Device
LKD Derivative Gain Limiting 4 0 65535* FLT No

Interface
Coefficient

LLA Low Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LLLA Low-Low Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LMN Output (percent) 4 0 65535* FLT No

LMX Bias 4 0 65535* FLT No

LODA Orange Deviation Alarm 4 0 65535* FLT No

Limit

LPV Process Variable 4 0 65535* FLT No

LPVH PV High Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LPVL PV Low Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LRCA Rate of Change Alarm Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LRSF RAMP/SOAK Status Flags 2 0 65535* BIN Yes

LRSN RAMP/SOAK Step Number 2 0 65535* INT2 No

LSP Setpoint 4 0 65535* FLT No

LSPH Setpoint High Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No

LSPL Setpoint Low Limit 4 0 65535* FLT No Siemens H1

LTD Rate Time (minutes) 4 0 65535* FLT No

LTI Reset Time (minutes) 4 0 65535* FLT No

LTS Sample Rate (seconds) 4 0 65535* FLT No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 469

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table 18-7 S505 Data Regions (Continued)

Element Max Max

Default Read
Key Description Size Region Element
Type Only
(bytes) Index Number

LVF V-Flags 2 0 65535* BIN No

LYDA Yellow Deviation Alarm 4 0 65535* FLT No

Limit

STW System Status Words 2 0 65535 BIN No

TCC Timer/Counter Current 2 0 65535 BCD4 No

TCP Timer/Counter Preset 2 0 65535 BCD4 No

V Variable Memory 2 0 16777215 INT2 No

WX Word Input 2 0 65535 INT2 No

WY Word Output 2 0 65535 INT2 No

X Discrete Input Boo1 0 16383 BIN No

Y Discrete Output Boo1 0 16383 BIN No

Note: Max Region Index values and Max Element Numbers with an asterisk (*) indicate
data regions that accept logical station variables.

Element Enter the element in the data region to be read or written:

a bit-number in bit-regions, a byte-number in byte-regions,
a word-number in word-regions, or a floating-point-number
in floating-point-regions.
Valid Entry: For valid data regions, refer to the data region
tables in the description for the previous field,
Region Index.

470 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Bit or Length (Use with digital or message elements only) Enter the bit or
length in the PLC the Siemens H1 protocol module reads. 18
For digital elements: The bit to be read or written.
For message elements: The message length to be read or

External Device
written. The bit or length denotes the number of PLC elements to
place in the message.

Interface
0 - 15 (S5) Word regions: data block, counters, timers
1 - 16 (S505) Word regions: data block, counters, timers
1 - 32 (S505) Double word (4 byte) element regions
0-7 (S5) Byte regions: flags, input, output, peripheral
1 - 8 (S505) Byte regions
1 - 127 Word regions: message length in words
1 - 255 Byte regions: message length in bytes
1 - 63 (S505) Double word region message length
PLC Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field. For more
information about valid combinations of FactoryLink data types,
PLC regions, and PLC data types, refer to “Siemens H1 Data
Types” on page 489.
BIN Default conversion based on the type of
FactoryLink real-time database element.
BYTE (Use with PLC byte-regions only) 1-byte unsigned
integer.
INT2 2-byte signed integer.
INT4 4-byte signed integer.
BCD3 2-byte, 3-digit signed Binary Coded Decimal in the
high-order nibble.
Siemens H1

BCD7 4-byte, 7-digit signed Binary Coded Decimal in the

high-order nibble.
FLT 4-byte Siemens Floating Point Representation.
DIG The bit specified to be read or written to or from a
FactoryLink real-time database element.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 471

• SIEMENS H1
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
HILO A character-string high-order byte followed by a
low-order byte.
LOHI A character string low-order byte followed by a
high-order byte.
DEF The default PLC data type for the data region. For
definitions of the default types by data region,
refer to “Siemens H1 Data Types” on page 489.
BCD4 Two bytes containing four Binary Coded Decimal
(BCD) digits.
UINT2 2-byte unsigned integer.
UINT4 4-byte unsigned integer.
TRNS2 Transparent 2-byte entity. Two-bytes to or from
the communication packet will be transferred to or
from the highest 2-bytes (in memory) of the
FactoryLink real-time database element. Any
additional space in the element will be zeroed on
reads and ignored on writes.
TRNS4 Transparent 4-byte entity. Four-bytes to or from
the communication packet will be transferred to or
from the highest 4-bytes (in memory) of the
FactoryLink real-time database element. Any
additional space in the element will be zeroed on
reads and ignored on writes.

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

472 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 18-8 provides sample entries for the Siemens H1 Read/Write Information
panel: 18
Table 18-8 Sample Siemens H1 Read/Write Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Table Name READ The table name defined in the Read/Write
Control panel is displayed.
Tag Name H1MPDIG1 When the READ table is triggered by
H1MP_READ_TRIGGER (defined in the
Read/Write Control panel), FactoryLink
processes the table. The value read from
the device is stored in H1MPDIG1.
Logical Station 0 The value stored in this element is read
from the Siemens H1 device configured as
logical station 0.
PLC Region FB PLC region that is being read.
Region Index

Element 100
Bit or Length 3
PLC Data Type DIG The data being read from the device is
digital.

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 473

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
L OGICAL STATION C OMMANDS
The Siemens H1 protocol module supports three run-time logical station
commands:
• Activate/Deactivate Station—Activates or deactivates the logical station and
stops or resumes operation of a specified logical station. This command is valid
only in exception write tables.
• Set Remote Parameters—Reconfigures information in the Logical Station
Information panel so a single logical station can access multiple remote
stations. This command is valid only in block write tables.
• Set Logical Station Variables—Provides flexible indexing that allows you to
access multiple data regions within a PLC by changing a logical station variable
referenced by the Region Index field or element in a Read/Write table.

To specify these commands in the Siemens H1 Logical Station Information panel,

use the special PLC data region, LSCMD (logical station command). For other
information about the PLC data region, refer to “Configuring the Read/Write
Information Panel” on page 463.

Activate/Deactivate Station Command

At run time, the following command activates or deactivates the logical station. To
configure this command, enter the following information in the Siemens H1
Read/Write Information panel:

Field Name Entry

Tag Name Digital element containing the desired

station state, either:
Activate (set, 1, true)
or
Deactivate (reset, 0, false)
Logical Station 0 - 999 (station to activate or
deactivate)
PLC Region LSCMD
Data Block 1
Word or Byte Not applicable

474 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

Field Name Entry 18

Bit or Length Not applicable

External Device
PLC Data Type Not applicable

Interface
Active/inactive Status

At run time, the status of each logical station is either active or inactive. The
following conditions define the status of each logical station:
• Active logical stations (set at program initiation) respond to solicited or remote
station requests.
• Inactive logical stations abort solicited operations and reject any attempts by a
remote station to connect.
• During the transition between active and inactive, the logical station aborts any
new or pending solicited request, disconnects all TSAPs for that logical station,
and handles the transition from inactive to active in the same way as it handles
recovery from a disconnected station.

Set Remote Parameters Command

To allow a single logical station access to multiple remote stations, configure
information in the Siemens H1 Logical Station Information panel using the Set
Remote Parameters command. While processing a Set Remote Parameters
command, the Siemens H1 protocol module deactivates the logical station. Once
the command is complete, the Siemens H1 protocol module reactivates the logical
station.

Note

Use the Set Remote Parameters command only when changing the
parameters of remote physical stations of the same device type. If
you change remote physical stations of different device types (such
Siemens H1
as redefining an S5 logical station as an S505 physical station or
an S505 logical station as an S5 physical station), undesirable
results may occur in your application. The EDI task does support
nor check for dissimilar device-type changes.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 475

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
Configuring the Set Remote Parameters Command

To set the logical station remote parameters, enter the following information in
the Siemens H1 Read/Write Information panel:

Field Name Entry

Tag Name Message element

Logical Station 0 - 999 (logical station to reconfigure
set parameters)
PLC Region LSCMD
Region Index 2
Element Not applicable
Bit or Length Not applicable
PLC Data Type Not applicable

If a block write table with the Set Remote Parameters command contains any
other commands, a row error may occur. For information about row errors, refer to
“Set Logical Station Commands and Row Errors” on page 486.

Format

The message element you configured as a Set Remote Parameters command in the
Siemens H1 Read/Write Information panel contains an ASCII representation of
the Siemens Logical Station Information panel. This message element is used to
reconfigure the logical station at run time.

Each field in the Logical Station Information panel is represented in the message
element by an ASCII string. Each ASCII string in the message element is
separated by a semicolon. When reconfiguring the Logical Station Information
panel using the Set Remote Parameters command, you only specify the fields you
want to change. If one of the Logical Station Information fields is unchanged, a
semicolon place holder must be used in the Set Remote Parameters command
message element. When reconfiguring the Logical Station Information panel
using this message element, refer to “Siemens H1 Communications” on page 441.

476 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

You must always construct the message element to be the following ASCII
representation of the Siemens H1 Logical Station Information panel fields. 18

Field Name Description

External Device
Remote Adapter Address Enter 12-hexadecimal digits

Interface
Solicited Rd Remote FCHP TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Rd Local FCHA TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Wr Remote RECV TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string
Solicited Wr Local SEND TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string
Unsolicited Rd Remote SEND TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string
Unsolicited Rd Local RECV TSAP ID Any 8-character ASCII string

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 477

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
Example 1: Message Element

The following is a Set Remote Parameters message element example:

080006010005;RMT_FCHP;LCL_FCHA;RMT_RECV;LCL_SEND;RMT_SEND;LCL_REC;

where
080006010005; Is the hexadecimal remote adapter address of the Siemens H1
Ethernet
RMT_FCHP; Is the Solicited Rd Remote FCHP TSAP ID
LCL_FCH; Is the Solicited Rd Local FCHA ID TSAP ID
RMT_RECV; Is the Solicited Wr Remote RECV TSAP ID
LCL_SEND; Is the Solicited Wr Local SEND TSAP ID
RMT_SEND; Is the Unsolicited Rd Remote SEND TSAP ID
LCL_REC Is the Unsolicited Rd Local RECV TSAP ID
; (Semicolon) Terminates the message string

Delimit each remote parameter field with a semicolon.

478 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

Example 2: Message Element Using the Current TSAP ID

18
The Set Remote Parameters command is configured as a message element. You
change this element at run time to represent the new field values for the Siemens
Logical Station Information panel. The value of each field is separated by a

External Device
semicolon. When reconfiguring the Siemens Logical Station Information panel
using the Set Remote Parameters command, you only need to specify the fields

Interface
that change. If one of the Siemens Logical Station Information panel fields
remains unchanged, a semicolon place holder must be used in the Set Remote
Parameters command message element. You must always construct the message
element to be an ASCII representation of the Siemens Logical Station Information
panel.

For example, the following message element changes the Ethernet address of a
logical station but keeps the current TSAP ID (does not change the TSAP IDs):

80006010005;;;;;;;

where
080006010005 Is the hexadecimal remote adapter address of the Siemens H1
Ethernet
;;;;;; (Six semicolons) Are placeholders for the unchanged fields in the
Siemens Logical Station Information panel
; (Semicolon) Terminates the message string

Set Remote Parameters Example

The Siemens H1MP allows you to use logical station commands to change the
physical station address within the logical station at run time using the Set
Remote Parameters command.

In this example, read/write table 2 is configured to read ten 2-byte integers from
an external PLC. The logical station number is configured as 1. In Siemens
read/write table 1, the message element set_param_msg is configured to be logical
station command, Set Remote Parameters. This means you can construct
Siemens H1
set_param_msg to alter the physical station address inside logical station 1. Then,
before table 1 is triggered, you can trigger table 1 which will override the Siemens
Logical Station Information panel fields, allowing you access to different PLCs at
run time without configuring separate Read/Write and Logical Station tables.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 479

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
Figure 18-1 Set Remote Parameters

Protocol
Module
Base
Module
set_param_msg

CML

480 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

To take advantage of the H1MP protocol module’s Set Remote Parameters

command, you must configure at least two read/write tables. In this example, 18
table 1 declares the element set_param_msg as a Set Remote Parameters
command (LSCMD 2).

External Device
Interface
Table 2 defines a read/write table to access ten 2-byte integers in logical station 1.
The set_param_msg element in table 1 is configured to change the physical
station configured as logical station 1 at run time. Therefore, you do not need to
configure any more read/write tables to read ten 2-byte integers. Table 2 alone can
be used to read ten 2-byte integers from any external device by setting
set_param_msg and triggering table 1 before you trigger table 2.

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 481

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
Set Logical Station Variables Command
The Set Logical Station Variables command provides flexible indexing that allows
you to access multiple data areas at run time without having to configure a
separate Read/Write table for each one.

Configuring the Set Logical Station Variables Command

To configure a message element as a Set Logical Station Variables command,

enter the following information in the Siemens H1 Read/Write Information panel:

Field Name Entry

Tag Name Message element

Logical Station 0 - 999
PLC Region LSCMD
Region Index 3

Element, Bit or Length, PLC Data Type Not applicable

Logical Station Variables

Instead of hard-coding the index values into a line of the Siemens H1 Read/Write
Information panel, the Set Logical Station Variables command allows each logical
station to have eight variable index values called logical station variables. These
variables have the following characteristics:
• For both the S5 and S505 logical stations, they are unsigned-bytes with values
ranging from 0 - 255.
• For S5 logical stations with zero-based addressing (addresses begin with zero)
on the communications line, the variable index values equal the value specified.
(For example, for a specified value of 3, the variable value is 3.)
• For S505 stations with zero-based addressing on the communications line and
one-based addressing (addresses begin with one) in the address description, the
variable index values equal the specified value decremented by one. (For
example, for a specified value of 3, the variable value is 2.)
• At DCM startup, the S5 variable index values default to 0. The S505 variable
index values default to 1.

482 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

Format
18
The Set Logical Station Variables command is configured as a message element.
You change this element at run time to represent the new values for the logical
station variables. The value of each variable is separated by a semicolon. When

External Device
reconfiguring the logical station variables using the Set Logical Station Variables
command, you only need to specify the variables that change. If one of the logical

Interface
station variables is unchanged, a semicolon place holder must be used in the Set
Logical Station Variables command message element. You must always construct
the message element to be an ASCII representation of the logical station
variables.

For example, to set the logical station variables for an S5 logical station at start
up to:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
5 0 0 0 0 12 0 15

Create the following message element string:

Set_Station_Msg =“5;;;;;12;;15;”

You can use these variables for the element number in S505 Loop and Alarm
variables, or as the first index in double index regions in either S5 or S505 logical
stations.

Note

Ensure this message contains seven semicolons plus a terminating

semicolon.

Set Logical Station Variables Example

The Siemens H1MP allows you to use logical station variables to control the Siemens H1
Region Index in the Read/Write Information panel at run time. This provides the
flexibility to change the data blocks you access within the PLC at run time using a
Math and Logic procedure without having to configure a new read/write table.

In this example, read/write table 2 is configured to read ten 2-byte integers from
an external PLC. The Region Index value is configured to be logical station variable
number 3. This means when table 2 is triggered, it will look in the third logical
station variable for the Region Index value.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 483

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
A message element, set_sta_msg, is configured as a Set Logical Station Variable
command 3 in read/write table 1. In this example, set_sta_msg is used in the
Math and Logic procedure to change the value of the logical station variables.
Before read/write table is 2 is triggered to read the ten 2-byte integers, table 1 is
triggered to set the logical station variable 3. This allows you to access a different
data region in the PLC with each triggered read because you have the power to
change the value of logical station variable 3 where the read/write table Region
Index field is pointing to get its value.

Figure 18-2 Logical Station Variables

Logical Station Variables
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

PLC
Protocol
Module
Base
Module
set_sta_msg

CML

484 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Logical Station Commands

To take advantage of the H1MP protocol module’s Logical Station Variables

command, you must configure at least two read/write tables. In this example, 18
table 1 declares the element set_sta_msg as a Set Logical Station Variables
(LSCMD) 3.

External Device
Interface
You can use this element at run time to dynamically set Region Index 3 for table 2.
Once you set the value of set_sta_msg in an IML procedure and trigger the table,
the logical station variables take on the values as specified in the element
set_sta_msg. You then trigger table 2 and read the ten 2-byte integers. Notice in
table 2 the Region Index starts with a negative number. This indicates that logical
station variable 3 contains the actual Region Index table 2 will read.

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 485

• SIEMENS H1
• Logical Station Commands
•
•
Set Logical Station Commands and Row Errors

A block write table which contains logical station commands can only contain
logical station commands; otherwise row errors occur. Row errors may result from
any of the following conditions:
• If a table has a Set Parameters command as its first entry (by logical port), for
example, and a command other than a Set Parameters command is given.
• If a table does not contain a logical station command as its first entry (by logical
port) and a logical station command is given.

A row error is a line in the Siemens H1 Read/Write Information table containing

an invalid entry. If a row error is detected during start up, an error message is
displayed on the screen and the entry is ignored. For further information about
logical station command error codes that can be generated and displayed at start
up, refer to “Run-Time Application Messages” on page 494.

In a single block write table, the Siemens H1 protocol module can define multiple
logical station Set Parameters commands (instead of defining multiple logical
stations in multiple block write tables). However, no provisions are made in the
Siemens H1 to check for multiple commands to the same logical station.
Therefore, should multiple commands be made to the same logical station, the last
command processed defines the values for the logical station.

Note

The last command entered may not be the last command

processed. To avoid row errors, ensure you enter only Set
Parameters commands in block write tables containing Set
Parameters commands.

486 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Cable Diagrams

C ABLE D IAGRAMS
18
This section contains information about connecting the Siemens H1 Ethernet
system using a thick net or thin net bus.

External Device
Thick Net Bus

Interface
Figure 18-3 illustrates two PCs running FactoryLink using a thick net bus. The
first PC uses a transceiver cable through a transceiver to connect to the Ethernet
bus. The second PC uses a thin net coax cable through a thick-to-thin transceiver
to connect with the Ethernet bus. A transceiver cable through a transceiver to the
Ethernet bus connects the Siemens S5 PLC with a CP535 or CP143 card.
Figure 18-3 Thick Net Bus

PC with FactoryLink
CP535/CP143

Siemens
S5 PLC

Transceiver Cable
(Thick to Thin)
Bus Cable Transceiver Cable Bus Cable

Thick Net Thin Net Coax

Transceiver Transceiver Transceiver
PC with FactoryLink

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 487

• SIEMENS H1
• Cable Diagrams
•
•
Thin Net Bus
Figure 18-4 illustrates a PC running FactoryLink using a cable connected to an
Ethernet thin net coax cable. A second part of the diagram illustrates a Siemens
S5 PLC with a CP535 or CP143 card connected using a transceiver cable through
a transceiver to the Ethernet thin net coax cable.
Figure 18-4 Thin Net Bus

Coax Cable
(Thin Net)

PC with FactoryLink

CP535/CP143

Siemens
S5 PLC

Thin Transceiver
Transceiver Cable

488 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Siemens H1 Data Types

S IEMENS H1 D ATA TYPES

18
The Siemens H1 multiplatform protocol module provides data conversions
between the FactoryLink real-time database and the Siemens PLC. The specific
conversion performed depends on the FactoryLink data type and the specific PLC

External Device
type.

Interface
This section lists the data conversions for FactoryLink real-time database
elements:
• Digital
• Analog
• Floating-point
• Floating long analog
• Message

Table 18-9 Digital Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

BIN Same as DIG

BCD3 Invalid PLC type for digital

BCD7 Invalid PLC type for digital

BYTE Invalid PLC type for digital

DIG Specified bit read or write to or from the FactoryLink element

FLT Invalid PLC type for digital

INT2 Invalid PLC type for digital

INT4 Invalid PLC type for digital Siemens H1

HILO Invalid PLC type for digital

LOHI Invalid PLC type for digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 489

• SIEMENS H1
• Siemens H1 Data Types
•
•
Table 18-10 Analog Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

BIN Same as INT2

BCD3 2-byte 3-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum: 999;
minimum: -999

BCD7 4-byte 7-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum: 32767;
minimum: -32768

BYTE Valid only in byte regions, unsigned byte maximum: 0;

minimum: 255

DIG Invalid PLC type for analog

FLT 4-byte signed Siemens floating-point maximum: 32767;

minimum: -32768

INT2 2-byte signed integer maximum: 32767; minimum: -32768

INT4 4-byte signed integer maximum: 32767; minimum: -32768

HILO Invalid PLC type for analog

LOHI Invalid PLC type for analog

490 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Siemens H1 Data Types

18
Table 18-11 Floating Point Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

External Device
BIN Same as FLT

Interface
BCD3 2-byte 3-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum: 999;
minimum: -999

BCD7 4-byte 7-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum:

9999999; minimum: -9999999

BYTE Valid only in byte regions, unsigned byte maximum: 0;

minimum: 255

DIG Invalid PLC type for float

FLT 4-byte Siemens floating-point

INT2 2-byte signed integer maximum: 32767; minimum: -32768

INT4 4-byte signed integer maximum: 2147483647; minimum:

-2147483648

HILO Invalid PLC type for float

LOHI Invalid PLC type for float

Table 18-12 Floating Long Analog Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

BIN Same as INT4

BCD3 2-byte 3-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum: 999;
Siemens H1
minimum: -999

BCD7 4-byte 7-digit Binary Coded Decimal with sign maximum:

9999999; minimum: -9999999

BYTE Valid only in byte regions, unsigned byte maximum: 0;

minimum: 255

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 491

• SIEMENS H1
• Siemens H1 Data Types
•
•
Table 18-12 Floating Long Analog Conversion (Continued)

PLC Type Conversion

FLT 4-byte signed Siemens floating-point maximum: 2147483647;

minimum: -2147483648

INT2 2-byte signed integer maximum: 32767; minimum: -32768

INT4 4-byte signed integer maximum: 2147483647; minimum:

-2147483648

HILO Invalid PLC type for long analog

LOHI Invalid PLC type for long analog

Table 18-13 Message Conversion

PLC Type Conversion

BIN Same as HILO

BCD3 Invalid PLC type for message

BCD7 Invalid PLC type for message

BYTE Invalid PLC type for message

DIG Invalid PLC type for message

FLT Invalid PLC type for message

INT2 Invalid PLC type for message

INT4 Invalid PLC type for message

HILO Character string high-order byte followed by low-order byte

LOHI Character string low-order byte followed by high-order byte

492 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Siemens H1 Adapter Display Utility (H1MPDISP)

S IEMENS H1 A DAPTER D ISPLAY U TILITY (H1MPDISP)

18
This section discusses the adapter display utility, HLMPDISP.

For each FactoryLink platform, the Siemens H1 EDI package contains an adapter

External Device
display utility, H1MPDISP.EXE, that provides the following services:

Interface
• Verifies the configuration of the Ethernet adapter
• Provides the proper address to be programmed into the Siemens Ethernet
Interface card

This utility program resides in the ${FLINK}/EDI/H1MP directory. The method

for invoking the program depends on the platform being used.

The program displays the following information:

Adapter# Accessible CP Address
00 YES AA0004003105
01 NO —————

where
Adapter# Is the LAN adapter number of the LAN adapter described in the
remainder of the line.
Accessible Indicates whether the adapter is properly configured and
accessible to the DCM task:
If YES, then the adapter can be accessed and is valid for the
Siemens H1.
If NO, then the adapter cannot be accessed and is either not
installed or improperly configured.
CP Address Is a 12-character hexadecimal address you must program into the
Siemens CP535/CP143 Ethernet Interface card. It is the remote
adapter address for each job (ANR) that communicates with this
adapter.
Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 493

• SIEMENS H1
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Siemens H1 protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 446. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 450.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes.”

0001h
Cause: Internal protocol module error.
Action: Call Customer Support for assistance.

0002h
Cause: Communication error.
Action: Verify you have properly configured the External Device
Definitions and Logical Station Information tables and the
Ethernet installation and the Siemens CP535 programming
parameters are correct.

0003h
Cause: Communication error.
Action: Verify the Siemens CP535 and the PLC programming
parameters are correct.

0004h
Cause: Internal protocol module error.
Action: Call Customer Support for assistance.

494 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Run-Time Application Messages

XX05h
Cause: Received Siemens error code ’XX’h in response packet. 18
Action: For a list of error codes that correspond to the XX values in this
error message, consult the Siemens Communication Processor

External Device
CP535 with COM 535 Programming Package (S5 DOS Version),
Chapter 8, Order No. 6ES5998-6SA21, Release 04.

Interface
0006h
Cause: Invalid response packet length.
Action: Call Customer Support for assistance.

0007h
Cause: Internal protocol module error.
Action: Call Customer Support for assistance.

0008h
Cause: A “FLT” value in the PLC contains invalid floating-point data.
Action: Verify the value being read is an “FLT.”

0009h
Cause: Inactive station. A solicited (read or write) operation was
requested to an inactive station. This may occur at start up of
the protocol module.
Action: Allow sufficient time to establish communication before
initiating a solicited operation. If the error persists, ensure the
Siemens H1 Logical Station Information panel and Siemens CP
programming parameters match. Verify the station has not been
disabled through a logical station activate/deactivate command. Siemens H1

AXXXh
Cause: Invalid value was entered for the logical station commands (set
parameters or activate/deactivate station).
Action: For a list of the logical station command error codes, refer to
“Run-Time Logical Station Command Error Codes” on page 496.
Correct the value in the field that is specified by the error code.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 495

• SIEMENS H1
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Run-Time Logical Station Command Error Codes
For the Siemens H1 Ethernet, the only errors possible for the logical station
commands come from invalid element values for the set parameters and
activate/deactivate station commands at run time. The logical station generates
two commands:
• 0xAyXX
• 0xA101

For an invalid element value, the logical station generates the error code 0xAyXX

where
A Is an error from a logical station command
y Is the specific command
y=1 is the Activate/Deactivate Station command
y = 2 is the Set Remote Parameters command
y = 3 is the Set Logical Station Variables command
XX Is the error code for the specified field in error

When the protocol module detects an error, it puts the logical station in an
unknown configuration state, and the logical station becomes inactive. To free the
station from this unknown state, issue a set parameters command for that logical
station or restart the logical port.

For the Activate/Deactivate Station command, the logical station generates error
code 0xA101. Theoretically, the Activate/Deactivate command cannot produce
errors since it uses only digital elements whose values, set and reset, are both
valid. However, for consistency in error reporting, the logical station generates
this error code. The logical station generates error code 0xA2XX for the Set
Parameters command.

496 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SIEMENS H1
Run-Time Application Messages

The following list defines the codes for both the Activate/Deactivate and Set
Parameters commands: 18
Table 18-14 Activate/Deactivate and Set Parliamentary Codes

External Device
Code Description

Interface
0xA101 Activate/Deactivate command

0xA2XX Set Logical Station parameters

0xA200 Invalid number of fields

0xA201 Invalid field 1, adapter address

0xA202 Invalid field 2, rmt sol read TSA ID

0xA203 Invalid field 3, lcl sol read TSA ID

0xA204 Invalid field 4, rmt sol write TSA ID

0xA205 Invalid field 5, lcl sol write TSA ID

0xA206 Invalid field 6, rmt usl read TSA ID

0xA207 Invalid field 7, lcl usl read TSA ID

For further information about activate/deactivate station commands, set

parameters commands, and row errors, refer to “Siemens H1 Adapter Display
Utility (H1MPDISP)” on page 493.

Siemens H1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 497

• SIEMENS H1
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

498 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 19

•
•
•
•
Square D
19

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and Square D
SY/MAX devices using the IEEE 802.3 communications protocol or SY/MAX
point-to-point serial communications.

Note

Before completing the protocol-specific Square D configuration

panels, you must complete the External Device Definition panel.
See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining Logical Ports” on
page 70 for details.

When you Choose Square D from the Configuration Manager Main Menu, the

Square D
Square D configuration panels are displayed:

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 499

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in
the display of all Square D configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.

Note

In this panel, “source” refers to the FactoryLink station and

“destination” refers to the Square D device.

Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Device Enter a tag name for a message element to which a text string
Message Tag will be written to indicate a communications error associated
with this logical port. For information about displaying the text
stored in a Device Message Tag element for an operator using this
application, see the Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

500 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Number Define the maximum number of consecutive times a read or write

of command will be sent to a logical station after an unsuccessful 19
Retries first transmission attempt.
Valid Entry: 0 - 99 (default=3)

External Device
Source A text string that identifies the source route address defined in
Route the SR1 column is displayed.

Interface
Address
Valid Entry: leave blank (display only)
SR1 Enter the source route address or drop number of a network
interface module not being used on the Sylink network.
For serial communications, enter the source route address. If you
do not need additional routing, accept the system default of 255.
For Ethernet communications, enter the source drop number (see
the description for Source Drop Number).
Valid Entry: 0 - 255 (default=255)
Source Drop For Ethernet communications, enter the source drop number on
Number the Ethernet network. If you enter a number in this column,
enter the same number in the previous column, SR1.

Square D
For serial communications, accept the system default of 255.
Valid Entry: 0 - 255 (default=0)

Note

For the fields Baud Rate through Stop Bits, be sure to enter values
that correspond to the device hardware configuration for all
devices communicating through the specified logical port. To
determine the proper settings, refer to the device manufacturer’s
documentation.

Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110 - 115200 (default=9600)
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this
logical port.
Valid Entry: even

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 501

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this
logical port.
Valid Entry: 8
Stop Bits Enter the stop bit interval that provides the destination a pause
before the start of the next character.
Valid Entry: 1
Comment Optionally, enter descriptive reference information about this
logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 19-1 provides sample entries for a row defining an Ethernet logical port (the
entry in the Function column in the External Device Definition panel is
ETHERNET):

Table 19-1 Sample Square D Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

Logical Port 0 The communication path to be used for

read and write operations between
FactoryLink and devices communicating
via this port is represented as 0.
Device SQRD_LPORT0_MSG The EDI task will write communications
Message Tag error messages associated with this
logical port to a message element,
SQRD_LPORT0_MSG.
Number of 3 A read or write command to any device
Retries communicating via this port will be
retried three times before an error
message is generated.
SR1 126 The network source route address for the
device is 126.
Source Drop 126 The source drop number on the network
Number is 126.

502 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Table 19-1 Sample Square D Logical Station Control Panel Entries (Continued)
19
Column Entry Description

Baud Rate 9600 This baud rate entry (the speed at which

External Device
the FactoryLink station communicates
with the device) of 9600 must match the

Interface
baud rate configuration of the Square D
devices communicating with
FactoryLink via logical port 0.
Parity EVEN The parity error correction for
transmission via logical port 0 is even
and must match the parity configuration
of the devices using this port.
Data Bits 8 The devices configured for
communications via logical port 0
require 8 data bits.
Stop Bits 1 The devices configured for
communications via logical port 0

Square D
require a stop bit of 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 503

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to store
Name communications error codes associated with this device (logical
station). For information about displaying the codes stored in an
Error/Status Tag Name element for an operator using this
application, see the Application Editor User Guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
Station information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999

504 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Timeout Enter the maximum amount of time, in milliseconds, the protocol

m sec module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command 19
before timing out. For the protocol module to time out, you must
enter a value greater than 0.
Valid Entry: 0 - 9999 (default=100 or 0.1 second)

External Device
Destination Route A text string that identifies the destination route address defined

Interface
Address in the DRn column for this row is displayed.
Valid Entry: leave blank (display only)
DR1 Enter the destination route address or drop number of a network
interface module connecting to a separate Sylink network.
For serial communications, enter the destination route address. If
you do not need additional routing, accept the system default of
255.
For Ethernet communications, enter the destination drop number
(see the description for Destination Drop Number).
Valid Entry: 0 - 255 (default=255)
DR2 through DR7 If needed, define up to six additional destination route addresses.
If not needed, accept each field’s default of 255.

Square D
Valid Entry: 0 - 255 (default=255)
Destination Drop For Ethernet communications, enter the destination drop number
Number on the Ethernet network. If you enter a number in this column,
enter the same number in the DRn column for this row.
For serial communications, accept the system default of 255.
Valid Entry: 0 - 255 (default=255)
Maximum Define the maximum number of bytes the device defined in this
Packet row can transmit in one message. Most Square D devices can
size transmit 256 bytes, or 128 registers of data. The protocol being
used (point-to-point or IEEE 802.3) does not affect the maximum
packet size.
Valid Entry: 0 - 256 (default=256)

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 19-2 provides sample entries for a row defining a logical station
communicating via the logical port specified on the Logical Station Control panel.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 505

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
Table 19-2 Sample Square D Logical Station Information Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

Logical Port 0 The logical port number defined in the

Logical Station Control panel is displayed.
Error/Status SQRD_STATION0_ Communications error codes generated for
Tag Name STATUS this logical station will be stored in an
analog element,
SQRD_STATION0_STATUS.
Logical 0 A device communicating with FactoryLink
Station via logical port 0 is assigned a logical
number of 0.
Timeout m 100 Each of the retries (3) specified in the
sec Logical Station Control panel will time out
after 100 milliseconds if the device does
not respond.
DR1 54 The destination route address of the device
is 54.
DR2 255 This configuration only requires one
destination route address so the additional
DRn fields default to 255.

DR3 255
DR4 255
DR5 255
DR6 255
DR7 255
Destination 54 The drop location of the device on the
Drop Number network path is 54.
Maximum 256 The device defined as logical station 0 can
Packet Size transmit up to 256 bytes in one message.

506 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL

19
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels or click Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

External Device
Interface
Square D
Complete a row for each read or write table.

Tip

Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for

information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 507

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Unsolicited Read If this is a triggered block read or as a write operation, accept the
default of NO.
If this is an unsolicited read operation, enter YES. EDI will
emulate the device’s addressing structure based on entries you
make in the Read/Write Information panel. The incoming data
will be stored in the element represented by the tag name
specified in the Read/Write Information panel. If the current
value of the element is equal to the new value, the change-status
indicator is unaffected. If a different value is being stored the
element, however, it will overwrite the current value and the
element’s change-status indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)
Exception Write For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default=no)

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
Priority priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.

508 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, accept the

default of 1. This field defaults to 1 regardless of whether the 19
operation being defined is a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

External Device
Note

Interface
The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for unsolicited read operations or for
write operations.

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Square D
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block read operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block Read Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 509

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is an unsolicited read or a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default=1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

510 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field. 19
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values

External Device
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses

Interface
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this

Square D
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

This element can be used to disable a block write operation that is

either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering
cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded
loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block Write Trigger element
must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8, “Application
Design Tips and Techniques,” for further details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 511

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

512 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Table 19-3 provides sample entries for a row defining a triggered read table:
19
Table 19-3 Sample Square D Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

External Device
Table READ The name of this table is READ.

Interface
Name

Unsolicited NO This is not an unsolicited read table.

Read

Exception NO This is not an exception write table.

Write

Block Read 1 The block read priority, which is set

Priority automatically if you do not enter a
value, is set to the default of 1, the
highest priority.
Block Read SQRD_READ_TRIGGER When the value of
Trigger SQRD_READ_TRIGGER is 1,

Square D
FactoryLink reads the configured
address and writes its value to the
element configured for this table (in
the Read/Write Information panel).
Block Read SQRD_READ_DISABLE When the value of
Disable SQRD_READ_DISABLE is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger
element, SQRD_READ_TRIGGER,
and does not process the READ table.
Block Read SQRD_READ_COMPLETE Once the data is read and stored in
Complete the database element defined (in the
Read/Write Information panel) to
receive it, FactoryLink forces a value
of 1 to SQRD_READ_COMPLETE.
Block Read SQRD_READ_STATE Once the data is read and stored in
State the database element defined to
receive it, FactoryLink forces a value
of 1 to SQRD_READ_STATE. During
the read operation,
SQRD_READ_STATE is set to 0.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 513

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 19-3 Sample Square D Read/Write Control Panel Entries (Continued)

Column Entry Description

Block Write 1 The write priority for this table is set

Priority to 1 by default.
Block Write Since this is a read table, the
Trigger elements specific to write requests are
not defined.
Block Write
Complete

Block Write
Disable

Block Write
State

514 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

19
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
Square D
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 515

• SQUARE D
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Type For each element defined in the Tag Name field, specify the type of
data being read from or written to the device.
Valid Entry: register, status (default=register)
Address For a read table, enter the address in the device's memory where
the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device's memory to
which the element value will be written.
Valid Entry: 1 - 8192
Bit Offset If the element (entry in the Tag Name column) associated with
this entry is digital, enter the bit offset within the word that
contains the value to be read or to which the element value is to
be written. Bit 1 is the most significant bit (MSB) and bit 16 is
the least significant bit.
For all other FactoryLink data types, leave this field blank.
Valid Entry: 1 - 16 if data type is digital
Priority If this is an unsolicited read operation (that is, you entered YES
in the Unsolicited Read field on the Read/Write Control panel),
enter PRIORITY. Otherwise, accept the default of NORMAL.
Valid Entry: priority, normal (default=normal)

When the panel is complete, click Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, long analog, or floating-point) for any tag names
displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

516 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 19-4 provides sample Read/Write Information panel entries for the triggered
read table defined in Table 19-3 on page 513. 19
Table 19-4 Sample Square D Read/Write Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Table Name READ The table name defined in the Read/Write
Control panel is displayed.
Tag Name REG_DIG1 When the READ table is triggered by
SQRD_READ_TRIGGER (defined in the
Read/Write Control panel), FactoryLink
processes the table. The value read from the
device is stored in REG_DIG1.
Logical Station 0 The value stored in this element is read
from the Square D device configured as
logical station 0.
Data Type REGISTER A register address is being read.

Square D
Address 426 The address of the register is 426.
Bit Offset 12 The bit offset containing the value being
read is 12.
Priority NORMAL This read operation will be processed
according to the priority specified in the
Read/Write Control panel.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 517

• SQUARE D
• Cable Diagram
•
•
C ABLE D IAGRAM
The following figure illustrates how to connect the computer running FactoryLink
to a Square D device. This connection occurs from the host through an RS-232
25-pin ribbon cable to a 25-pin converter, through the converter’s four-wire
RW-422 cable to the Square D’s 9-pin port.
Figure 19-1

Host RS-232 to RS-422 converter Square D

RS-232 25-pin 9-pin

RD- Pin 1 is TX-

RS-232 null
FactoryLink
modem cable RD+ Pin 2 is TX+

SD- Pin 3 is RX-

SD+ Pin 4 is RX+

Pins 5 and 6
are jumped
together.

Pins 7 and 8
are jumped
together.

518 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

19
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Square D protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so configured,
writes them to message or analog tags. For information about configuring a

External Device
message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on page 500. For
information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station

Interface
Information Panel” on page 504.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes,” of this guide.

SQRD8023 Messages

SQRD8023: Error closing Multicast Service Access Point

Cause: Task was unsuccessful in closing the SAP address. This error
should occur only when stopping the task.
Action: No action is required.

Square D
SQRD8023: Error sending connect command
Cause: Task was unsuccessful in sending the connect command. This
command is part of initialization and terminates with this error.
Action: Device address of drop may be incorrect.

SQRD8023: Process unsolicited XMIT_ERROR

Cause: Task error attempting to process an unsolicited message.
Action: Change the format of the message sent from the PLC.

SQRD8023: Protection bit failure

Cause: Task has attempted to start, but the FactoryLink protection bit
51 could not be located.
Action: Verify that bit 51 was properly installed.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 519

• SQUARE D
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
SQRDRCOM and SQRDSCOM Messages
If using SY/MAX point-to-point serial communications, the following messages
can appear:

SQRDCPT: PPORT-%d port setup failed

Cause: Task has unsuccessfully attempted to configure the physical port
indicated by the %d. This error indicates that a physical problem
has occurred.
Action: Verify that the physical port is correctly defined.

SQRDCPT: Protection bit failure

Cause: Task has attempted to start, but the FactoryLink protection bit
51 could not be located.
Action: Verify that bit 51 was properly installed.

SQRDDSF: PPORT-%d start failed

Cause: Task has unsuccessfully attempted to configure the physical port
indicated by the %d. This error indicates that a physical problem
has occurred.
Action: Verify that the physical port is correctly defined.

SQRDRCOM, SQRDSCOM and SQRDENET Messages

Error messages in the following format can occur with the SY/MAX point-to-point
serial communication or with the 802.3 Ethernet communication protocol module:

SQRDDSF: LSTA - yyy Error - xxx: sss

These errors are associated with return data to the FactoryLink EDI task and the
logical port error message element. They appear in the format described in “EDI
Run-Time Manager Line Format” on page 186.

The following information is also returned to the Device Message Tag element
defined in the Logical Station Control panel:
SQRDDST: LSTA - yyy Error - xxx:sss

where:
yyy Is the logical station where the error occurred

520 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SQUARE D
Run-Time Application Messages

zzz Is the error number

sss Is the ASCII string describing the error message (see Table 19-5 19
on page 522)

External Device
Interface
Square D

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 521

• SQUARE D
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 19-5 ASCII String Meanings and Descriptions

sss Is an ASCII String

If xxx Is: Description
Meaning:

1 Receive error An error occurred while the packet was

being received.

2 Timeout Did not receive a response from the

request.

3 Invalid error code Invalid error code.

4 Invalid FactoryLink type Invalid FactoryLink element type.

for conversion

5 SY/MAX error XXX XXX-SY/MAX error (see Bulletin

30598-713-01).

6 Received too many NAKs Resent the packet the retry number
without receiving ACK.

7 Received unsupported Received an unsupported Unsolicited

Unsolicited Opcode-YYY Opcode-YYY.

8 Transmit error An error occurred during the

transmission of the packet.

522 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 20

•
•
•
•
Texas Instruments
20

External Device
Interface
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and various devices
in either of two ways:
• Directly (point-to-point mode) via a COM port on the system unit
• Over a TIWAY Serial Unilink network (TIWAY mode) via a COM port on the
system unit through the TIWAY Host Adapter module

The following table lists the supported device types for point-to-point and network
communications:

Table 20-1 Bidirectional Communications

Point-to-Point TIWAY Serial Unilink

Texas Instruments 525 Texas Instruments 520C

Texas Instruments 530C Texas Instruments 525

Texas Instruments 530T Texas Instruments 530C

Texas Instruments 535 Texas Instruments 530T

Texas Instruments 540 Texas Instruments 535

Texas Instruments 545 PM550

Texas Instruments 565 PM550C

Texas Instruments 545 Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments 560

Texas Instruments 565

Texas Instruments RTU

Texas Instruments 5TI

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 523

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Texas Instruments Setup
•
•
TEXAS I NSTRUMENTS S ETUP
Before completing the Texas Instruments protocol module configuration panels,
set up the devices as described in the following sections.

DIP Switches
Set the following switches on the Host Adapter. (See Dip Switch Settings for NITP
Protocol Table.)
DIP switch 1 switch 1 up
switch 2 up
switch 3 down
switch 4 down
switch 5 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 6 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 7 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 8 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 9 configurable (See Host Command Timeout Table.)
switch 10 configurable (See Host Command Timeout Table.)
DIP switch 2 switch 1 up
switch 2 down
switch 3 up
switch 4 down
switch 5 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 6 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 7 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 8 configurable (See Baud Rate Table.)
switch 9 down
switch 10 down

524 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Texas Instruments Setup

Figure 20-1 DIP Switch Settings for the NITP Protocol

Dipswitch Settings for NITP Protocol

20

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

External Device
U
P
Dipswitch 1

Interface
Host Command timeout
TIWAY I Baud Rate

Up Synchronous
Down Asynchronous

Up Full Duplex
Down Half Duplex

Up NRZI
Down NRZ

Up NITP

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
U
P
Dipswitch 2

Up Test Mode
Down Run Mode

Up HIU/EHA &
IO Loop Test
Down MHIU/EHA

Host Port Baud Rate

Up Synchronous
Down Asynchronous

Up Full Duplex Texas Instruments

Down Half Duplex

Up Even Parity
Down Odd Parity

Up Parity Enabled

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 525

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Texas Instruments Setup
•
•
Baud Rate
Set the TIWAY Serial Unilink network baud rate with DIP switch 1 switches 5, 6,
7, and 8. Set the host PC’s (PC running FactoryLink) port baud rate with DIP
switch 2 switches 5, 6, 7, and 8. Baud rates for the TIWAY Serial Unilink network
and the host PC’s port may be configured differently.

Use Figure 20-2 to set the baud rate on DIP switches 1 and/or 2:
Figure 20-2 DIP Switch Baud Rates

Switches Baud Rate

0 1 0 0 110
0 1 0 1 150
0 1 1 0 300
0 1 1 1 600
1 0 0 0 1200
1 0 0 1 2400
1 0 1 0 4800
1 0 1 1 9600
1 1 0 0 19200
1 1 0 1 38400
1 1 1 0 57600*
1 1 1 1 115200*

0 = Down 1 = Up

*These values are not available on the Host Port

Up Down
1 0

526 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Texas Instruments Setup

Timeout
20
Use Figure 20-3 to set the host PC’s command timeout:
Figure 20-3 Host Command Timeout Table

External Device
Interface
DIPSWITCH 1

Position

9 10 Description

Down Down 0 sec - Accepts No

Host Commands (SANM)

Down Up 10 sec Timeout

Up Down 20 sec Timeout

Up Up 40 sec Timeout

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 527

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Texas Instruments Setup
•
•
DIP Switches for TIWAY NIM
Use Figure 20-4 to set DIP switches for each NIM:

Figure 20-4 Dipswitch Settings for TIWAY NIM

Dipswitch Settings for TIWAY NIM

Switch Desired Setting

LOCAL/REMOTE REMOTE (ONLINE)

KEYDELAY OFF
LCKBIT OFF
NRZI/NRZ NRZI
X.25/HDLC HDLC
FULL/HALF HALF
SYNC/ASYNC ASYNC
BAUD 115.2K
NETWORK ADDRESS 1-254 ARE VALID ADDRESSES

Note

If changing the baud rate of the TIWAY Serial Unilink network,

change the corresponding switches for the Host Adapter.

528 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Accessing the Texas Instruments Tables

A CCESSING THE TEXAS I NSTRUMENTS TABLES

20
Note

External Device
Before completing the protocol-specific Texas Instruments
configuration panels, you must complete the External Device

Interface
Definition panel. See “Identifying Protocol Types and Defining
Logical Ports” on page 70 for details.

When you choose Texas Instruments TIWAY/Point-to-Point from the Configuration

Manager Main Menu, the Texas Instruments configuration panels are displayed.

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 529

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Unilink Setup Table
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE U NILINK S ETUP TABLE
To bring the Unilink Setup panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in the
display of all configuration panels.

If you are communicating directly (point-to-point) with a single TI PLC, you do not
need to configure this table.

Specify the following information:

Logical Port for Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
UNILINK Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a TI device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Comment Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 31 characters

When the panel is complete, choose Next.

530 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Unilink Setup Table

Table 20-2 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments TIWAY Unilink
Setup panel: 20
Table 20-2 Sample Texas Instruments TIWAY Unilink Setup Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Logical Port for 0 Specifies the logical
UNILINK communication path configured
by this table
Comment Port 1 as MHIU Port 1 communicates with a
TIWAY Host Adapter

From the Unilink Setup panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Unilink Setup Information panel to the
foreground.

Texas Instruments

Specify the following information:

Adapter Mode Specify whether a Host Adapter is the network manager.
MHIU Network Manager
HIU Any other Host Adapter on the network

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 531

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Unilink Setup Table
•
•
Adapter Station Enter the address of a Host Adapter on a network. Each Host
Adapter on a TIWAY network must have a unique address.
Valid Entry: 1 - 254
Adapter Max Enter the number of the highest physical station address on the
Station Address TIWAY Serial Unilink network associated with a logical station
specified in the Texas Instruments Logical Station Table.
Valid Entry: 1 - 254
NM Option 1 (Optional) Thirteen fields that allow you to configure optional
through NM parameters for an MHIU Host Adapter. For a description of these
Option E optional parameters, refer to the section on configuring the
network manager in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.
Valid Entry: Refer to the section on configuring the MHIU
command in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host
Adapter User’s Manual (default=0)
HIU Option 1 (Optional) Three fields that allow you to configure optional
through HIU parameters for an HIU Host Adapter. For more information about
Option 3 optional parameters for this field, refer to the section on
configuring the HIU in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter
User’s Manual.
Valid Entry: Refer to the section on configuring the HIU in the
TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s Manual.
(default=0)

When the panel is complete, choose Next.

532 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Unilink Setup Table

Table 20-3 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments TIWAY Unilink
Setup Information panel: 20
Table 20-3 Sample Texas Instruments TIWAY Unilink Setup Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Adapter Mode MHIU Host Adapter is configured for
MHIU mode
Adapter Station 5 Address for Host Adapter on the
network
Adapter Max Station 1 The highest NIM address on the
Address network is 1
NM Option 1 - 9, A-E 1 Not configured because the Host
Adapter is configured in MHIU
mode
HIU Option 1-3 0

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 533

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar
in the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.
Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition panel
Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication path
to a TI device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module communicates with
the devices linked to FactoryLink via this logical port. This entry
must match the baud rate configuration of the devices. Refer to
the device manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 3600, 4800, 7200,
9600, 19200 (default=9600)
Recommended entry is 19200 if using a TI PLC on a TIWAY
network or 9600 if using a point-to-point TI PLC. However, if
using hardware requiring special parameters, you may need to
enter a different baud rate.

534 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via this
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the 20
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: odd, even, none

External Device
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via this

Interface
logical port. This entry must match the configuration of the
devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 5, 6, 7, 8
The recommended entry is 7. However, if using hardware
requiring special parameters, you may need to enter a different
data bit.
Stop Bits Enter the number of bits sent after a character to create a pause
before the start of the next character. This entry must match the
configuration of the devices communicating via this port. Refer to
the device manufacturers documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2
The recommended entry is 1. However, if using hardware
requiring special parameters, you may need to enter a different
stop bit.
Timeout Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the protocol
module will wait to receive a response to a read or write command
before timing out. You must enter a value greater than 0 for the
protocol module to timeout.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32000
Error Msg (Optional) Enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Tag Name text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name Texas Instruments
Valid Data Type: message

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (message) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 535

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
Table 20-4 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments Logical Station
Control panel:

Table 20-4 Sample Texas Instruments Logical Station Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Logical Port 0 Specifies the logical

communication path configured
by this table.
Baud Rate 9600 Specifies the communication
rate.
Parity ODD Odd parity checking.
Data Bits 7 Specifies 7 data bits in the
transmission.
Stop Bits 1 Specifies 1 stop bit in the
transmission.

Timeout 30 The response timeout is 3

seconds.
Status Msg Tag TI_LPORT0_MSG Error messages are written to
the message element
logical port 0.

536 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL

20
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.
Error/Status Tag (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
Name store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information. Texas Instruments
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 537

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Device Type Enter the TI PLC type to which communications are to be
directed. (When using a TI545, enter TWY565 or PLC 565.)

Valid Entry Unilink Network

TWY520C PLC525

TWY525 PLC530C

TWY530C PLC530T

TWY530T PLC535

TWY535 PLC540

TWY560 PLC565

TWY565

TWYRTU

TWY5TI

TWY550 (indicates PM550)

TWY550C (indicates PM550C)

Physical Station Physical station address of the device with which the EDI task
communicates when using this logical station in a Read/Write
table.
Valid Entry: 1 - 254 (Normally, the physical station number is
the same as the logical station number.)
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 31 characters

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

538 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Table 20-5 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments Logical Station
Information panel: 20
Table 20-5 Sample Texas Instruments Logical Station Information Panel Entries

External Device
Field Entry Description

Interface
Error/Status Tag Name TI_STATION0_ Contains information about
STATUS communication errors
Logical Station 0 Specifies the logical
communication paths.
Device Type TWY565 Specifies the type of device
connected to the communication
path.
Physical Station 1 Specifies the physical station
numbers associated with the
logical path.
Comment TI, PORT 0

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 539

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the Logical Station
Information panel.

Note

If using the loop indexing feature, refer to “Configuring Tables for

Loop Indexing” on page 554 before configuring any Read/Write
tables.

540 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Complete a row for each read or write table.

20
Tip

External Device
Refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for
information about triggering schemes using elements defined in

Interface
this panel.

Table Name Give this read or write request a name. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the trigger
element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block Write
Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in
which the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Exception For EDI to interpret this operation as a triggered block write or
Write as a read operation, accept the default of NO.
For EDI to interpret this operation as an exception write and
write element values to the device only when those values
change, enter YES. Do not specify elements expected to change at
frequent and unpredictable intervals in an exception write table.
Any element specified will be written to the device in its own
packet (message) each time it changes. Defining elements that
change value frequently as exception writes can slow down
communications or result in an error message.
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator within
the element containing the data to be written prompts the write
operation. If an element is configured for an exception write and Texas Instruments
EDI recognizes this indicator has been set since the last scan of
the real-time database (indicating the value of the element has
changed), EDI writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: yes, no (default = no)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 541

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read Priority If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate the
priority of this table, relative to other read operations. The
highest priority is 1. This number influences the order in which
the EDI task handles the queuing of block read requests. If EDI
receives two requests at the same time, it processes the request
with the highest priority first. The default is 1.
If this is a write operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block read.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations.
Do not define these elements for write operations.

Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

Trigger
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is required. Enter a
tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of the
addresses specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When
this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Read Disable element can be used to disable a block read
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block
Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

542 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.

Disable
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you 20
need a digital element to disable a block read of the elements
specified in this table, enter a tag name. When this tag’s value is
forced to 1 (ON), the read operation is not executed, even when

External Device
the block read trigger is set to 1.

Interface
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate when this operation is
complete, enter a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at
startup. After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State If this is a write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a triggered read operation, this field is optional. If you
need a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements defined in the Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name Texas Instruments
Valid Data Type: digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 543

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a number to
Priority indicate the priority of this table, relative to other write
operations. The highest priority is 1. This number influences the
order in which the EDI task handles the queuing of write
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first. The default
is 1.
If this is a read operation, accept the default of 1. This field
defaults to 1 regardless of whether the operation being defined is
a block or exception write.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Do not
define these elements for read operations.

Block Write Trigger If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do
not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field.
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is required. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to initiate a block write of the element values
specified in the Read/Write Information panel to the addresses
defined to receive the values. When this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON), FactoryLink writes the values.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block write
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block
Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and Techniques,” for details.

544 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation you do

Disable not plan to periodically disable, ignore this field. 20
If this is a block write table or an exception write table you plan
to periodically disable, this field is optional. Enter a tag name for
a digital element to disable a block write to the addresses

External Device
specified in this table. When this tag’s value is forced to 1 (ON),

Interface
the write operation is not executed, even when the block write
trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
Complete
If this is a block write table, this field is optional. If you need a
digital element to indicate when this operation is complete, enter
a tag name. This element is forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the
data defined in this table’s Read/Write Information panel has
been written to the device, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State If this is a read or exception write operation, ignore this field.
If this is a block write operation, this field is optional. If you need
a digital element to indicate the state of this operation (in
progress or complete), enter a tag name. This element is forced to
1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being processed, the element
is set to 0 (OFF). After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the state Texas Instruments
element is forced back to 1.
Do not use this element when more than one logical port is
specified in a single table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 545

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 20-6 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments Read/Write Control
panel:

Table 20-6 Sample Texas Instruments Read/Write Control Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Name of the read/write table.

Exception Write N Table READ will perform
exception writes.
Block Read Priority 1 Priority is set to 1.
Block Read Trigger TI_READ_TRIGGER When the value of
TI_READ_TRIGGER is 1 or (on),
a block read of values specified
by the Read/Write Information
panel associated with table
READ occurs.
Block Read Disable TI_READ_DISABLE The element TI_READ_
DISABLE disables the block read
of table READ when the value is
1.
Block Read State TI_READ_STATE The value for TI_READ_STATE
is set to 1 if a read operation of
table READ is in progress, and
the value is 0 if it is inactive.
Block Write Priority 1 Default=1
Block Write Trigger

Block Write State

546 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

20
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the
foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

Tip
Texas Instruments
Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write
Information panel can be configured in the tag definition dialog in
the Application Editor. Refer to the Application Editor User Guide
for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 547

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, float
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field. Refer to the
TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s Manual for valid data
types for each channel. If using the loop indexing feature, refer to
“Configuring Tables for Loop Indexing” on page 554 for
information about valid entries for this field.

Valid Entry FactoryLink Type

NONE - (default) No data type

V - variable memory Analog

K - constant memory Analog

X - X input packed Digital

Y - Y input packed Digital

C - CR packed Digital

WX - word input Analog

WY - word output Analog

TCP - timer counter preset Analog

TCC - timer counter current Analog

DSP - drum step preset Analog

548 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Valid Entry FactoryLink Type 20

DSC - drum step current Analog

External Device
DCP - drum count preset Analog

Interface
STW - status word Analog

TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs with s-memory (special-function memory)

can also use the following entries:

Valid FactoryLink
Description
Entry Type

** LVF Loop V-flags Analog

** LRSF Loop ramp/soak status Analog

*** AVF Analog alarm V-flags Analog

AACF Analog alarm C-flags Floating-point

LCF Loop C-flags Floating-point

LKC Loop gain Floating-point

LTI Loop reset Floating-point

LTD Loop rate Floating-point

LHA Loop high alarm Floating-point

LLA Loop low alarm Floating-point

LPV Loop process variable Floating-point Texas Instruments

LPVH Loop pv high limit Floating-point

LPVL Loop pv low limit Floating-point

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use AVF_

instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 549

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•

Valid FactoryLink
Description
Entry Type

LODA Loop orange deviation Floating-point

LYDA Loop yellow deviation Floating-point

LTS Loop sample rate Floating-point

LSP Loop setpoint Floating-point

LMN Loop output Floating-point

** LERR Loop error Floating-point

LMX Loop bias Floating-point

LHHA Loop high alarm limit Floating-point

LLLA Loop low alarm limit Floating-point

LRCA Loop rate of change limit Floating-point

LRDS Loop ram dest. setpoint Floating-point

LRRC Loop ramp rate of change Floating-point

LRST Loop soak time Floating-point

LSDB Loop soak deadband Floating-point

AHA Analog alarm high limit Floating-point

ALA Analog alarm low limit Floating-point

APV Analog alarm process Floating-point

variable

APVH Analog alarm PV high limit Floating-point

APVL Analog alarm PV low limit Floating-point

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use AVF_

instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

550 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Valid FactoryLink 20
Description
Entry Type

AODA Analog alarm orange Floating-point

External Device
deviation

Interface
AYDA Analog alarm yellow Floating-point
deviation

ATS Analog alarm sample rate Floating-point

ASP Analog alarm setpoint Floating-point

** AERR Analog alarm error Floating-point

AHHA Analog alarm high limit Floating-point

ALLA Analog alarm low limit Floating-point

ARCA Analog alarm rate of change Floating-point

LCFH Analog C flags high order Analog

LCFL Analog C flags low order Analog

ACFH Analog C flags high order Analog

ACFL Analog C flags low order Analog

*** PORT Port ON/OFF element type Digital

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use AVF_

instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.
Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 551

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•

Note

Use the PORT data type only with an exception write element. A 1
(one) written to this element closes the port associated with the
logical station for this element. No further reads or writes occur. A
0 (zero) written to this element opens the port. Use of the TIWAY
Network reinitializes the Unilink Host Adapter before further
reads or writes occur. After the port is reopened, reads and writes
will operate normally.

Address Enter the address of the memory location (word) being read or
written to. The system reads the value at the address and
transfers it to the element specified in the Tag Name column. The
amount of memory assigned to each PLC data type depends on
several factors, including the PLC model and the amount of
memory installed in the system. If not using the loop indexing
feature, do not configure more than one Read/Write table to write
to the same address.
If using the loop indexing feature, the Address field may need to
be left blank. Refer to “Loop Indexing” on page 554 for
information about configuring tables for loop indexing.
DCP, LRDS, LRRC, LRST, and LSDB data types require you
employ additional parameters to determine the Address field
entry. Refer to “Additional Parameters for TI Data Types” on page
564 for information about these parameters.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32767, 1 - 64 (used with TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs
with s-memory; see additional data types listed
in the preceding table)
Loop Index If not using loop indexing, leave this field blank.
(Optional; use only with TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs having s-memory)
Alphanumeric string representing an analog element whose
value determines the loop element. The system reads the PLC
address specified in the Logical Station and Data Type fields and
writes the returned data to the loop element specified by the
value of the loop index variable. The value of this loop index
variable designates one of the elements specified in the Tag Name
field. The loop index variable is valid only for s-memory data
types such as loop variable and analog alarms.

552 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Refer to the Data Type field description on page 548 for valid
s-memory data types. Refer to “Configuring Tables for Loop 20
Indexing” on page 554 for more information about loop indexing.
Valid Entry: NONE, LOOP1, LOOP2, LOOP3, LOOP4,

External Device
LOOP5, LOOP6, LOOP7, LOOP8, LOOP9,
LOOP10, LOOP11, LOOP12, LOOP13, LOOP14,

Interface
LOOP15, LOOP16 (default = NONE)

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital, analog, or floating-point) for any tag names displayed in the
Tag Definition dialog.

Table 20-7 provides sample entries for the Texas Instruments Read/Write
Information panel:

Table 20-7 Sample Texas Instruments Read/Write Information Panel Entries

Field Entry Description

Table Name READ Specifies the Read/Write table

name
Tag Name TX_DIG_01 Destination elements in the
real-time database for the
addresses read from the PLC
Logical Station 0 Specifies the path to send the
request
Data Type Y Variables in memory addresses 1
and 50
Address 1 Memory addresses
Loop Index NONE
Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 553

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Loop Indexing
•
•
L OOP I NDEXING
You can configure a TI PLC to read and write to up to 64 loop elements in the
FactoryLink real-time database using a loop index variable.

A loop index variable is an analog element whose value specifies which of up to 64

elements (loop elements) in the real-time database that it will read or write to.

Up to 16 loop index variables can be defined. These loop index variables constitute
a loop index.

Configuring Tables for Loop Indexing

To implement the loop indexing option, configure the following tables:
• One initial Read/Write table that references up to 16 loop index variables
• One or more Read/Write tables that reference the loop index variables specified
in the initial Read/Write table and defined in the Application Editor task

Initial Read/Write Table

First, configure one Texas Instruments Read/Write table that references up to 16

loop index variables.

Next, to implement the loop indexing option, in the Texas Instruments Read/Write
Control panel, configure either a write trigger or enable the exception write.

The entries in the loop indexing Texas Instruments Read/Write Information panel
identify the analog loop index variables. The panel can include up to 16 loop index
variables. The value of each loop index variable specifies a different loop element
in the FactoryLink real-time database. Configure only one Texas Instruments
Read/Write Information panel to identify these loop index variables.

Specify the following information for each loop index variable:

Tag Name (Optional) Enter a tag name for an analog element in which to
store communications error codes associated with this device
(logical station).
You can animate output-text objects to display the codes stored in
an Error/Status Tag Name element on a graphics screen. Refer to
the Application Editor User Guide for more information.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

554 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Loop Indexing

Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the 20
combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this
logical port.

External Device
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or write

Interface
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.
Valid Entry: register, status
Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where
the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to
which the element value will be written.
Valid Entry: 1 - 8192
Loop Index Enter an alphanumeric string representing a real-time database
analog element whose value determines the TI 545 or TI 565 loop
element. Loop index variable used only with TI 545 or TI 565
PLCs having s-memory.
Valid Entry: NONE, LOOP1, LOOP2, LOOP3, LOOP4,
LOOP5, LOOP6, LOOP7, LOOP8, LOOP9,
LOOP10, LOOP11, LOOP12, LOOP13, LOOP14,
LOOP15, LOOP16, (default = NONE)

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 555

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Loop Indexing
•
•
When all appropriate information has been specified, the panel should resemble
the following panel:

In this example, table FB references the 16 loop elements (listed in the Tag Name
field) previously defined in the Graphics Mode Input task. The entries in the Loop
Index field reference the loop elements in the Tag Name field that are used by the
loop indexing Read/Write tables. For example, if a loop indexing Read/Write table
needs to reference the analog value contained in the element LOOPNDX1, you
must enter LOOP1 in its Loop Index field.

When the Texas Instruments Read/Write table is complete, choose Enter to accept
the information.

Loop Indexing Read/Write Table

Next, configure one or more Read/Write tables for each loop index variable defined
in the initial Read/Write table.

The entries in the loop indexing Texas Instruments Read/Write Information panel
reference each loop index variable referenced in the initial Read/Write table and
the corresponding loop elements read by this variable. These entries also use the
loop index variable specified in the initial Read/Write table to identify loop
elements in the FactoryLink real-time database to be read or written to. The
panel can include up to 1,000 entries.

556 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Loop Indexing

Specify the following information for each loop element:

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which 20
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element containing a

External Device
value to be written to the device.

Interface
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, floating-point
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field.
For valid data types for each channel, refer to the TIWAY 1
UNILINK Host Adapter User’s Manual.

FactoryLink
Valid Entry Description
Type

V Variable memory Analog

K Constant memory Analog

X X input packed Digital

Y Y input packed Digital

C CR packed Digital
Texas Instruments
WX Word input Analog

WY Word output Analog

TCP Timer counter preset Analog

TCC Timer counter current Analog

DSP Drum step preset Analog

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 557

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Loop Indexing
•
•

FactoryLink
Valid Entry Description
Type

DSC Drum step current Analog

DCP3 Drum count preset Analog

STW Status word Analog

TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs with s-memory (special-function memory)

can also use the following entries:

FactoryLink
Valid Entry Description
Type

** LVF Loop V-flags Analog

** LRSF Loop ramp/soak status Analog

*** AVF Analog alarm V-flags Analog

AACF Analog alarm C-flags Floating-point

LCF Loop C-flags Floating-point

LKC Loop gain Floating-point

LTI Loop reset Floating-point

LTD Loop rate Floating-point

LHA Loop high alarm Floating-point

LLA Loop low alarm Floating-point

LPV Loop process variable Floating-point

LPVH Loop pv high limit Floating-point

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use

AVF_ instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

558 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Loop Indexing

FactoryLink 20
Valid Entry Description
Type

LPVL Loop pv low limit Floating-point

External Device
LODA Loop orange deviation Floating-point

Interface
LYDA Loop yellow deviation Floating-point

LTS Loop sample rate Floating-point

LSP Loop setpoint Floating-point

LMN Loop output Floating-point

** LERR Loop error Floating-point

LMX Loop bias Floating-point

LHHA Loop high alarm limit Floating-point

LLLA Loop low alarm limit Floating-point

LRCA Loop rate of change Floating-point

limit

LRDS Loop ram dest. Floating-point

setpoint

LRRC Loop ramp rate of Floating-point

change

LRST Loop soak time Floating-point

LSDB Loop soak deadband Floating-point

AHA Analog alarm high Floating-point Texas Instruments

limit

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use

AVF_ instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 559

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Loop Indexing
•
•

FactoryLink
Valid Entry Description
Type

ALA Analog alarm low Floating-point

limit

APV Analog alarm process Floating-point

variable

APVH Analog alarm PV high Floating-point

limit

APVL Analog alarm PV low Floating-point

limit

AODA Analog alarm orange Floating-point

deviation

AYDA Analog alarm yellow Floating-point

deviation

ATS Analog alarm sample Floating-point

rate

ASP Analog alarm setpoint Floating-point

** AERR Analog alarm error Floating-point

AHHA Analog alarm high Floating-point

limit

ALLA Analog alarm low Floating-point

limit

ARCA Analog alarm rate of Floating-point

change

LCFH Loop C flags high Analog

order

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use

AVF_ instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

560 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Loop Indexing

FactoryLink 20
Valid Entry Description
Type

LCFL Loop C flags low order Analog

External Device
ACFH Analog C flags high Analog

Interface
order

ACFL Analog C flags low Analog

order

*** PORT Port ON/OFF digital Digital

element

* Read-only. For point-to-point protocol modules, use

AVF_ instead of AVF.
** Read-only.
*** Exception write only.

Note

Use the PORT data type only with an exception write element. A 1
(one) written to this element closes the port associated with the
logical station for this element. No further reads or writes occur. A
0 (zero) written to this element opens the port. Use of the TIWAY
Network reinitializes the Unlink Host Adapter before further
reads or writes occur. After the port is reopened, reads and writes
will operate normally.

Address For a read table, enter the address in the device’s memory where
the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the address in the device’s memory to Texas Instruments
which the element value will be written.
If no loop index variables have yet been specified, when used with
the loop indexing feature, this field acts as a default address for
the real-time database to write to at startup.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 561

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Loop Indexing
•
•
DCP, LRDS, LRRC, LRST, and LSDB data types require you
employ additional parameters to determine the Address field
entry. For information about these parameters, see “Additional
Parameters for TI Data Types” on page 564.
Valid Entry: 1 - 32767, 1 - 64 (use with TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs
with s-memory; see additional data types listed
in the preceding table)
Loop Index (Loop index variable used only with TI 545 or TI 565 PLCs having
s-memory) Alphanumeric string representing a real-time
database analog element whose value determines the TI 545 or TI
565 loop element. The system reads the PLC address specified in
the Logical Station and Data Type fields and writes the returned
data to the loop element specified by the value of the loop index
variable. The value of this loop index variable designates one of
the elements specified in the Tag Name field.
This entry must be the same as the loop index field entry in the
initial Read/Write table that corresponds to the loop element
being referenced. For example, if referencing the loop element
LOOPNDX1 specified in the Tag Name field in the initial
Read/Write table, then enter LOOP1 which is the corresponding
loop index variable specified in the Loop Index field in the initial
Read/Write table.
The loop index variable is valid only for s-memory data types
such as loop variable and analog alarms. For valid s-memory data
types, see the Data Type field description earlier in this section.
Valid Entry: NONE, LOOP1, LOOP2, LOOP3, LOOP4,
LOOP5, LOOP6, LOOP7, LOOP8, LOOP9,
LOOP10, LOOP11, LOOP12, LOOP13, LOOP14,
LOOP15, LOOP16, (default = NONE)

562 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Loop Indexing

When all appropriate information has been specified, the panel should resemble
the following sample panel: 20

External Device
Interface
In this example, the value of LOOP1 designates which loop element, defined in
the Tag Name field, is to be read or written to. The system reads the PLC address
specified in the Logical Station, Data Type, and Loop Index fields and writes the
returned data to the appropriate loop element.

When FactoryLink initializes the database at startup, all elements’ values are set
to 0 and address 1 acts as a default loop element number because the loop write
element’s values have not yet been written. The protocol module reads or writes to
address 1 only if the loop index variable is 0. This prevents a meaningless read of
loop element 0.

When the table is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Click on Exit
to return to the Main Menu. Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 563

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Additional Parameters for TI Data Types
•
•
A DDITIONAL P ARAMETERS FOR TI D ATA TYPES
To use certain TI data types, you must enter a value in the Address field of the
Texas Instruments Read/Write information panel containing a drum and a step
number or a loop and a ramp number. The following is a list of TI data types
requiring these special parameters:
• DCP
• LRDS
• LRRC
• LRST
• LSDB

To determine the correct address field entry for each data type, follow the
corresponding procedure:

DCP
Determine which drum to use.

For information about drums, refer to the Programming Instruction Manual for
the appropriate TI PLC.

Convert the drum number to a two-digit hexadecimal value.

Determine which step to use.

For information about steps, refer to the Programming Instruction Manual for the
appropriate TI PLC.

Convert the step number to a two-digit hexadecimal value.

Append the converted drum and step numbers derived in Steps and to create a
four-digit hexadecimal value.

Note

In this four-digit number, the hexadecimal drum value must

precede the step value.

Example 1: drum 10 = 0A, step 11 = 0B = 0A0B

Example 2: drum 2 = 02, step 1 = 01 = 0201

564 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Additional Parameters for TI Data Types

Convert this hexadecimal value to decimal.

Example 1: 0A0B = 2571 20
Example 2: 0201 = 513

External Device
Enter the decimal value in the Address field.

Interface
Example 1: Enter 2571 in the Address field in the Read/Write
tables.
Example 2: Enter 513 in the Address field in the Read/Write
tables.

LRDS, LRRC, LRST, and LSDB

Determine which loop to use.

Use any of the loops configured in the Read/Write tables.

Convert the loop number to a two-digit hexadecimal value.

Determine which ramp to use.

For information about ramps, refer to the Programming Instruction Manual for
the appropriate TI PLC.

Convert the ramp number to a two-digit hexadecimal value.

Append the converted loop and ramp numbers derived in Steps 2 and 5 to create a
four-digit hexadecimal value.

Note

In this four-digit number, the hexadecimal loop value must precede

the ramp value. Texas Instruments
Example 1: loop 1 = 0,1 ramp 1 = 00 = 0100
Example 2: loop 10 = 0A, ramp 11 = 0A = 0A0A

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 565

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Additional Parameters for TI Data Types
•
•
Convert this hexadecimal value to decimal.
Example 1: 0100 = 256
Example 2: 0A0A = 2570

Enter the decimal value in the Address field.

Example 1: Enter 256 in the Address field in the Read/Write
tables.
Example 2: Enter 2570 in the Address field in the Read/Write
tables.

566 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Computations for 5TI Sequencer Ladder Logic Code

C OMPUTATIONS FOR 5TI S EQUENCER L ADDER L OGIC C ODE

20
Note

External Device
This information was extracted from the 5TI2000 Programmer
Operator’s Manual.

Interface
The 5TI Sequencer has a 16-bit word which represents the ladder logic code. In
the 1010 series sequencer, 14 of these 16 bits are available for use, and in the 1020
series, 15 bits are available. The construction of the 16-bit word is described in
Diagram A. The binary weights for each bit are described in Diagram B. Sample
computations are given in Diagram C.

Use the following steps to update the ladder logic in the 5TI Sequencer:

Define a FactoryLink analog element in the Read/Write Information table.

Enter an L in the Data Type field of the Texas Instruments Read/Write Information
panel.

Enter the ladder logic program address in the Address field.

Compute the 16-bit word representing the ladder logic.

Write IML logic to store computation into the analog element.

Use the element type LEDS, opcode LEDSD, and display digits on the 5TI
programmer to check the accuracy of the computation.

Diagram A: Bit Layout for 16-bit Sequencer Word

B15 B14 B13 B11 B10 B9 B8 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0

<Element Type> <Opcode> <—————-Digit Keys————->

Texas Instruments

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 567

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Computations for 5TI Sequencer Ladder Logic Code
•
•
Diagram B: Binary Weight Tables for Bits 10-15

Element & B15 B14 B13 B12 B11 B10 Binary

Opcode 16384 8192 4096 2048 1024 Value

X 0 0 0 0 0 1 1024

7 0 0 0 0 1 0 2048

CR 0 0 0 0 1 1 3072

STR 0 0 0 1 0 0 4096

CTR 0 0 1 0 0 0 8192

OUT 0 0 1 1 0 0 12288

MCAR 0 1 0 0 0 0 16384

S TR NOT 0 1 0 1 0 0 20480

TMR 0 1 1 0 0 0 24576

OUT NOT 0 1 1 1 0 0 28672

Diagram C: Sample Computations

STR CR 511
STR CR, 511 4096+3072 +511 =7679

STR NOT CR 511

STRNOT CR, 511 20480+ 3072+511 -24063

568 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

20
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the Texas
Instruments protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen and, if so
configured, writes them to message or analog tags. For information about

External Device
configuring a message tag, see “Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel” on
page 534. For information about configuring an analog tag, see “Configuring the

Interface
Logical Station Information Panel” on page 537.

For information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated, see Chapter 10, “Messages and
Codes.”

The ER:xxxx string in a message can contain a single-digit or a double-digit error

code. In following descriptions, N represents significant digits and x represents
digits not significant to the error.
• Single-Digit Code Format
ER:xxxN is a single-digit format in which one digit represents a single error
condition. In some cases, two individual codes appear within a string to
indicate multiple error conditions.
• Double-Digit Code Format
ER:xxNN is a double-digit format in which two digits represent a single error
condition.

Decoding ER:
Decode the ER: string by interpreting the least significant digit (LSD—rightmost
integer) and the most significant digit (MSD—leftmost integer)
of NN. For example:
err0043

4 = MSD 3 = LSD Texas Instruments

If the MSD is less than eight, use Case 1 for decoding. If the MSD is eight or
higher, use Case 2 for decoding.

Case 1: EDI Task or Protocol Module Errors

The LSD of the xx in err 00xx identifies the error, and the MSD identifies its
cause. Decode the err 00xx code according to the following guidelines:

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 569

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
MSD

The MSD of xx signifies one of the following conditions:

1
Cause: Invalid data returned.
Action: Verify device configuration and cabling. Check that FactoryLink
configuration tables contain the proper station addresses and
template parameters. Check that the Texas Instruments Logical
Station Control panel contains the proper baud rate, parity, and
data format parameters.

2
Cause: Turnaround error / timeout error.
Action: Refer to the action for Error Code 01.

3
Cause: Buffer overflow.
Action: Refer to the action for Error Code 01.

4
Cause: Checksum error on return data.
Action: Refer to the action for Error Code 01.

5
Cause: Transmit error.
Action: Refer to the action for Error Code 01.

LSD

The LSD of xx signifies one of the following conditions:

1
Cause: Unknown error detected.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

570 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

2
Cause: Receiver error. 20
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

External Device
3

Interface
Cause: Receiver abort.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

4
Cause: Receiver CPT translation error.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

5
Cause: Texas Instruments exception error.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

6
Cause: Receive invalid read length.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

7
Cause: Receive DSF translate error.
Action: Use the action specified for the error code’s MSD.

Sample protocol module error

err 0023
0 0 2 3 Texas Instruments

receiver abort (LSD)

timeout error (MSD)

This error indicates cabling problems, incorrect DIP switch settings, or other
hardware-related problems.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 571

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Case 2: TIWAY Serial Unilink Network or Point-to-Point TI PLC Errors
Use the following error code for both TIWAY Serial Unilink or Point-to-Point:

err 0009
Cause: Read or write has been issued when the port has been closed.
Action: Force-write a 0 to the port on/off element defined to reopen the
port.

TIWAY Serial Unilink Network exception code errors are listed below.

For more information about TIWAY errors, locate the TI code in the list below and
refer to the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s Manual.

81 (TIWAY code: 0001)

Cause: A command was timed out by the HIU function.
Action: Consult page 6-1 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

82 (TIWAY code: 002)

Cause: TIWAY 1 HDLC ERROR - RESET SECONDARY.
Action: Reset the secondary device.

83 (TIWAY code: 0003)

Cause: The wrong secondary address was returned.
Action: Reissue the command. Reset the Network Manager if the error
continues.

84 (TIWAY code: 0006)

Cause: The command cannot use secondary address 00.
Action: Retransmit the command with the correct secondary address.

572 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

85 (TIWAY code: 0008)

Cause: The network manager can’t process secondary bits. 20
Action: Reset the adapter with the NM function. Call the Texas
Instruments Technical Services Hotline at (615) 461-2501 if the

External Device
error continues.

Interface
86 (TIWAY code: 0009)
Cause: There is an incorrect HDLC checksum.
Action: Consult page 6-1 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

87 (TIWAY code: 000A)

Cause: A secondary timed out in the middle of a message.
Action: Consult page 6-1 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

88 (TIWAY code: 000B)

Cause: A secondary/max poll timeout occurred.
Action: Adjust the maximum poll-time value. Refer to Chapter 5,
command code 30, in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter
User’s Manual for information about adjusting this value.

89 (TIWAY code: 000E)

Cause: An uneven number of bytes was received from a secondary.
Action: Consult page 6-2 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

8A (TIWAY code: 0010) Texas Instruments

Cause: A Data-Carrier-Detect was lost.
Action: Consult page 6-2 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 573

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
8B (TIWAY code: 0011)
Cause: A Clear-to-Send was lost.
Action: Consult page 6-2 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

8C (TIWAY code: 0084)

Cause: The command processor found an unrecognized command code
in a command string.
Action: Reconfigure the Host Adapter.

8D (TIWAY code: 0085)

Cause: An invalid field was received with the command.
Action: Consult Chapter 5, command code 30, in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK
Host Adapter User’s Manual.

8E (TIWAY code: 0086)

Cause: The command is too long for the command code.
Action: Consult page 6-2 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

e8F (TIWAY code: 0087)

Cause: The command frame is too short.
Action: Consult page 6-2 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

90 (TIWAY code: 0088)

Cause: A secondary device is not connected.
Action: Check the address in the command string and the addresses of
the secondary devices. Then, issue a connect secondary
command or enable a macro that was previously defined to
connect that secondary.

574 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

91 (TIWAY code: 0089)

Cause: A colon (:) is missing from the beginning of an NITP message 20
frame.
Action: Add a colon to the frame and retransmit it.

External Device
92 (TIWAY code: 008B)

Interface
Cause: The char count field value doesn’t match the received count.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

93 (TIWAY code: 008C)

Cause: A checksum mismatch has occurred.
Action: Contact Customer Support.

94 (TIWAY code: 008D)

Cause: An invalid character has been detected.
Action: Check for faulty ports and cable connections.

95 (TIWAY code: 100B)

Cause: The HIU is not initialized.
Action: Reset the Host Adapter and restart the protocol module.

96 (TIWAY code: 100C)

Cause: Not enough memory for the requested secondary.
Action: To gain enough memory for the secondary status information,
de-allocate resources for a source ID. Refer to “Allocate Source
ID,” command code 10, in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter
User’s Manual for information about de-allocating resources. Texas Instruments
97 (TIWAY code: 100D)
Cause: Not enough memory for another source ID.
Action: To gain enough memory for the secondary status information,
de-allocate resources for a source ID. Refer to “Allocate Source
ID,” command code 10, in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter
User’s Manual for information about de-allocating resources.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 575

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
98 (TIWAY code: 100E)
Cause: The HIU is not initialized for bandwidth statistics.
Action: Consult page 6-3 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

99 (TIWAY code: 100F)

Cause: You requested an illegal auto redundant mode command.
Action: Consult page 6-3 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

AA (TIWAY code: 2002)

Cause: The HIU is not configured for MHIU.
Action: Issue command code 30 to configure the network manager and
command code 11 to configure the HIU.

AB (TIWAY code: 2003)

Cause: The network manager is not configured.
Action: Issue command code 30.

AC (TIWAY code: 2004)

Cause: The HIU of MHIU is not configured.
Action: Issue command code 11.

AD (TIWAY code: 2006)

Cause: A command contains the same option code twice.
Action: Correct and reissue the command.

AE (TIWAY code: 2007)

Cause: The HIU has already been configured.
Action: Consult page 6-3 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

576 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

AF (TIWAY code: 2008)

Cause: There is a TIWAY I Ports RS232/Local Line mismatch. 20
Action: Consult page 6-3 in the TIWAY 1 UNILINK Host Adapter User’s
Manual.

External Device
TI PLC Point-to-Point errors are as follows:

Interface
Note

For developer actions for each error, refer to the documentation for
the appropriate Texas Instruments PLC.

B1
Cause: Reset current transaction.

B2
Cause: Address out of range.
Action: Correct the address entered in the Read or Write table.

B3
Cause: Requested data not found.

B4
Cause: Illegal task code request.

B5
Cause: Request exceeds program memory size.
Texas Instruments
B6
Cause: Diagnostic fail upon power up.

B7
Cause: Fatal error detected.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 577

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
B8
Cause: Keylock protect error.

B9
Cause: Incorrect amount of data with command.

BA
Cause: Illegal request in operational mode.

BB
Cause: Network not deleted.

BC
Cause: Write operation did not verify.

BD
Cause: Illegal number of ASCII characters received.

BE
Cause: Illegal write to program memory.

BF
Cause: Data not inserted.

C0
Cause: Data not written.

C1
Cause: Invalid data sent with command.

C2
Cause: Invalid op with NIM Local/Remote mode.

C3
Cause: Store and forward buffer is busy.

578 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

C4
Cause: No response from special function mode. 20

C5

External Device
Cause: Illegal instruction in program mem.

Interface
C6
Cause: Attempted write to protected variable.

C7
Cause: No response from Programmable Controller.

C8
Cause: Requested memory size exceeds total memory.

C9
Cause: Req. memory is not mult. of block sz.

CA
Cause: Req. memory < minimum defined value.

CB
Cause: Req. memory < maximum defined value.

CC
Cause: PLC busy - cannot perform operation.

CD Texas Instruments
Cause: Comm error in HOLD mode.

CE
Cause: Port lockout is active.

D1
Cause: I/O configuration error.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 579

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Sample Point-to-Point Error

err 00B2
0 0 B 2

Address out of range

This error indicates the address specified in the Read/Write table is out of range.

Texas Instruments Message Strings

Error messages generated by the EDI task, the protocol module, and all TI PLCs
on the system can be written to a real-time database message element for display
as message strings on a developer-defined graphic screen.

Locate the error code next to the message string to determine the cause and
appropriate action for each message string. Then, use that code to refer to the
Case 1 or Case 2 Errors in this chapter.

Error message strings and their corresponding codes appear alphabetically, below:

Table 20-8 Error Message Strings

Code Message String

B2 Address out of range

C6 Attempted write to protected variable

8C Bad command in string

3 (MSD) Buffer overflow

84 Cannot use secondary address 00

92 Char count field doesn’t match received count

4 (MSD) Checksum error on return data

93 Checksum mismatch

8B Clear to Send lost

580 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 20-8 Error Message Strings (Continued)

20
Code Message String

91 Colon (:) missing from start

External Device
CD Comm error in HOLD mode

Interface
8F Command frame too short

AD Command has option code twice

81 Command timed out by HIU function

8E Command too long for command code

8A Data Carrier Detect lost

BF Data not inserted

C0 Data not written

B6 Diagnostic fail upon power up

B7 Fatal error detected

AE HIU already configured

95 HIU not initialized

98 HIU not initialized for bandwidth statistics

AA HIU not yet configured for MHIU

AC HIU of MHIU not configured

Texas Instruments
D1 I/O configuration error

99 Illegal auto redundant mode command

C5 Illegal instruction in program mem

BD Illegal number of ASCII characters received

BA Illegal request in operational mode

B4 Illegal task code request

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 581

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 20-8 Error Message Strings (Continued)

Code Message String

BE Illegal write to program memory

B9 Incorrect amount of data with command

86 Incorrect HDLC checksum

94 Invalid character detected

1 (MSD) Invalid data returned

C1 Invalid data sent with command

8D Invalid field with command

C2 Invalid op with NIM Local/Remote mode

B8 Keylock protect error

BB Network was not deleted

85 NM can’t process secondary bits

AB NM is not configured

C7 No response from Programmable Controller

C4 No response from special function module

97 Not enough memory for another source ID

96 Not enough memory for requested secondary

CC PLC busy - cannot perform operation

CE Port Lockout is active

7 (LSD) Receive DSF translate error

6 (LSD) Receive invalid read length

3 (LSD) Receiver abort

4 (LSD) Receiver CPT translation error

582 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 20-8 Error Message Strings (Continued)

20
Code Message String

2 (LSD) Receiver error

External Device
CA Req. memory < minimum defined value

Interface
C9 Req. memory is not mult. of block sz

CB Req. memory > maximum defined value

B5 Request exceeds program memory size

B3 Requested data not found

C8 Requested memory size exceeds total memory

B1 Reset current transaction

90 Secondary device not connected

87 Secondary timed out in message

88 Secondary/max poll timeout

C3 Store and forward buffer is busy

5 (LSD) Texas Instruments exception error

0009 ti__dsf dsf_read( ) error return - PORT CLOSED

0009 ti__dsf dsf_write ( ) error return - PORT CLOSED

82 TIWAY 1 HDLC ERROR - RESET SECONDARY

Texas Instruments
AF TIWAY 1 Ports RS232/Local Line mismatch

5 (MSD) Transmit error

2 (MSD) Turnaround error / timeout error

89 Uneven # bytes from secondary

1 (LSD) Unknown error detected

BC Write operation did not verify

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 583

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 20-8 Error Message Strings (Continued)

Code Message String

83 Wrong secondary address returned

584 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Part II
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
KTDTL and NetDTL
The FactoryLink ECS Allen-Bradley RSLinx™, KTDTL and NetDTL provide a
device interface for programmable logic controller (PLC) and small logic controller
(SLC) communications with FactoryLink across one or more Allen-Bradley
proprietary networks. The KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can communicate with the
following types of Allen-Bradley devices: PLC-2™, PLC-3™, PLC-5™, PLC-5/250
(Pyramid Integrator), PLC-5/xxE (NetDTL direct Ethernet link only), and
SLC-500™ series 01, 02, 03, and 04 processors. (SLC-5/01, SLC-5/02, and
SLC-5/03 processors require an interface module. SLC-5/04 processors connect
directly to a Data Highway Plus™). Additionally, the tasks can run concurrently
with software other than FactoryLink that is also using RSLinx.
 •
•
•
•
KTDTL and NetDTL
at a Glance

Configuring KTDTL and NetDTL

For details on performing the following steps... Go to...

1. Read about the concepts you will need to understand Chapter 21, “KTDTL
to configure device communications with FactoryLink and NetDTL
using the KTDTL and NetDTL tasks. Overview”
2. NetDTL Only—Install the Ethernet card and adapter if Manufacturer’s
they are not already installed. documentation

3. Install the Allen-Bradley INTERCHANGE or RSLinx Allen-Bradley’s

software if it is not already installed. documentation

4. NetDTL Only—If you are using the RSLinx interface, Allen-Bradley’s

define the devices directly connected to Ethernet. In documentation
the RSLinx Ethernet driver configuration, specify the
TCP/IP address of each Pyramid Integrator serving as
an Ethernet interface and each PLC-5/xxE device.

5. KTDTL Only—Define the KT card address parameters Allen-Bradley’s

in the RSLinx 1784-KT/KTX/PCMK driver documentation
configuration to match the settings that were specified
for the card.

6. Install the FactoryLink ECS software and the KTDTL Installation Guide
or NetDTL device interface software if they are not
already installed.

7. Connect one programmed device to the FactoryLink Allen-Bradley’s

station. documentation
8. KTDTL Only—Configure the network address of the Allen-Bradley’s
card or the serial port through which this device will documentation
communicate with FactoryLink.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 587

• KTDTL AND NETDTL AT A GLANCE
•
•
•

Configuring KTDTL and NetDTL

For details on performing the following steps... Go to...

9. Use the Allen-Bradley SuperWho™ utility for RSLinx, Allen-Bradley’s

or the command line utilities for INTERCHANGE, to documentation
verify the RSLinx or INTERCHANGE software
communicates with the device and test and
troubleshoot (if necessary) the communication path to
the device. Test the path until you are satisfied the
device is correctly connected and communicating with
the computer system.

10. In the Configuration Manager, set up FactoryLink to Chapter 22, “Getting

recognize the KTDTL or NetDTL task and define Started”
information that optimizes the performance of the
task.

11. Define the communication path to this device in the Chapter 23,
Logical Station table. “Configuring
Communication
Paths”

12. Test the communication path by defining a triggered “Verifying Proper

read request and an exception write request that can Communications” on
be manually triggered and monitored through the page 652
Real-time Monitor, RTMON.

13. Check the Run-Time Manager or any configured error Chapter 26,
tags (specified in the Logical Station table) for “Messages and
messages indicating problems with the connection. If Codes”
errors are reported, troubleshoot the connection.
14. Once communications are successful on this single Steps 11 through 13
communication path, define a communication path for
each additional device in your configuration.
15. Configure the read and write operations the Chapter 24,
application will execute across these communication “Reading and
paths. Writing Data”

588 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 21

•
•
•
•
KTDTL and NetDTL
Overview

The FactoryLink ECS Allen-Bradley RSLinx™ and INTERCHANGE™ tasks,

KTDTL and NetDTL, provide a device interface for programmable logic controller
(PLC) and small logic controller (SLC) communications with FactoryLink across
one or more Allen-Bradley proprietary networks.

Note

The KTDTL task and the Windows NT and 95 versions of the

NetDTL task use Allen-Bradley’s RSLinx communications 21
software. Other operating system versions of NetDTL use
INTERCHANGE.

KTDTL and NetDTL

The KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can communicate with the following types of
Allen-Bradley devices: PLC-2™, PLC-3™, PLC-5™, PLC-5/250 (Pyramid
Integrator), PLC-5/xxE (NetDTL direct Ethernet link only), and SLC-500™ series
01, 02, 03, and 04 processors. (SLC-5/01, SLC-5/02, and SLC-5/03 processors
require an interface module. SLC-5/04 processors connect directly to a Data
Highway Plus™).

Additionally, the tasks can run concurrently with software other than
FactoryLink that is also using INTERCHANGE or RSLinx.

KTDTL—Data Highway Plus (DH+) communications can be established through

an Allen-Bradley KT, KTX, 1784-KT, 1784-KT2, or 1784-PCMK card port. The
DH+ can link with other networks, including another DH+, a Data Highway 485
(DH-485), or a Data Highway™ (DH) via a compatible Allen-Bradley network
interface module.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 589

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
•
•
•
NetDTL—NetDTL communicates through an Ethernet™ card port using the
TCP/IP network protocol. Communications with Allen-Bradley devices occurs
through either a PLC-5/250 with an Ethernet interface module providing a
bridge to a DH+ network, or through a direct Ethernet link to a device from the
PLC-5/xxE family. Through the Pyramid Integrator, the NetDTL task can
communicate with stations on the local DH+ link as well as with stations on
other networks, including DH-485, DH, and DH+.
A Pyramid Integrator with an Ethernet interface module serving other devices
can have multiple clients (FactoryLink NetDTL tasks) as shown in the
following diagram. Likewise, a FactoryLink NetDTL task can connect to
multiple servers as shown in Figure 21-2. To prevent excessive network traffic,
do not use more than eight Pyramid Integrators as DH+ gateways in your
application.
Figure 21-1 Server with Multiple Clients
PLC 5/250 with
Allen-Bradley Ethernet Interface Allen-Bradley
RSLinx or RSLinx or
INTERCHANGE INTERCHANGE FactoryLink
FactoryLink
Real-Time Real-Time
Database Database

NetDTL NetDTL
Task Task

Allen-Bradley
RSLinx or
INTERCHANGE FactoryLink
Real-Time
Database

NetDTL
Task

590 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW

Figure 21-2 Client with Multiple Servers

PLC 5/250 with
Ethernet Interface

PLC 5/250 with

Ethernet Interface Allen-Bradley
RSLinx or
INTERCHANGE FactoryLink
PLC 5/250 with Real-Time
Ethernet Interface Database

NetDTL
Task
21

KTDTL and NetDTL

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 591

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
• Offlink Addressing Overview
•
•
O FFLINK A DDRESSING O VERVIEW
The KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can communicate with devices off the local
network link (offlink) across one, two, or several Allen-Bradley networks.
Networks can be split for various reasons, including physical media limitations
and functional splits. For example, all the devices for a particular conveyor might
be connected to one network while the devices for another conveyor are connected
to a different network. Consult the appropriate Allen-Bradley documentation to
verify you are using the correct media for connecting with networks and devices.

The diagrams in this section illustrate offlink connections by comparing them to a

physical highway system.
• The Data Highway Plus directly connected to the FactoryLink station or, for
NetDTL, to the Ethernet interface, is the main thoroughfare. Using an
appropriate Allen-Bradley interface module, you can “exit” to other networks,
or “highways.”
• An offlink address node you specify in the configuration tables identifies the
route from the FactoryLink station to the offlink device. In the diagrams, this
address is depicted as a road sign alongside a highway giving directions to a
destination.
• An interface module that links networks together (such as 1785-KA5 or
1785-KA) is shown as an interchange on a highway between different types of
roads.
• An interface module that links devices to a network (such as 1775-KA or
1785-KA3) is shown as an exit to a highway’s access road.

592 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
Offlink Addressing Overview

Figure 21-3 KTDTL Offlink Addressing Example

D
at
a
H
ig
h
To the right of the main Data Highway
w Plus, a 1785-KA5 interface module
ay
Pl PLC-2 connects to a DH-485, which connects
us
to another 1785-KA5 interface module
57 and a Data Highway Plus.

178
5
-KA
D
at

178
a

3
H
D ig
at
a
hw 5-KA 46
H ay PLC 5/40
ig Pl
5
h w us
ay

13

177
178
5-K
A
21
PLC-2 1-K
A2
178

KTDTL and NetDTL

22
5-K

SLC 5/02
11
A5

PLC-3 177
5-K 26
A SLC 5/03
M
ai
To the left of the main Data n D
D at
Highway Plus, a 1785-KA at a
a H
H ig
interface module connects to ig hw
hw
a Data Highway. ay ay
Pl 48
48 5
us
to
178 Fa
PLC-2 5-K ct
A3 o ry
Devices on each network are Lin
indicated by “road signs” that k
PC
display the device node
addresses. 42

FactoryLink Station

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 593

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
• Offlink Addressing Overview
•
•
Figure 21-4 NetDTL Offlink Addressing Example

D
at
a
H
ig To the right of the main Data Highway
hw
ay Plus, a 1785-KA5 interface module
Pl PLC-2
us connects to a DH-485, which connects
57 to another 1785-KA5 interface module

178
and a Data Highway Plus.

5-K
D

A3
at

178
a
H
D ig
5-K
at hw 46
a ay PLC 5/40
A5
H
ig Pl
hw us
ay
Devices on each network are
indicated by “road signs” that
display the device node
13
178 addresses.
5-K
A
PLC-2 177
1-K 22
A2
178

SLC 5/02
5
-KA

11 26
5

SLC 5/03
PLC-3 177
5-K D
A at
D a
To the left of the main Data at H
a ig
H hw
Highway Plus, a 1785-KA ig ay
hw
interface module connects to 48 ay 48
a Data Highway. 5
Pl
us
PLC-2 178
5 -KA
3

A Pyramid Integrator with an PLC 5/250 Et

Ethernet interface connects he
rn
the FactoryLink station to a et
Data Highway Plus network. TC
P/
IP

FactoryLink Station

594 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
KTDTL Topology

KTDTL TOPOLOGY
The diagrams in this section provide examples of possible topologies for a KTDTL
task configuration.

Figure 21-5 illustrates simultaneous communications through two Allen-Bradley

KT card ports.
Figure 21-5 Example of KTDTL Communications

Allen-Bradley Communications through

RSLinx FactoryLink
two KT cards directly
Real-Time
connected to DH+ networks.
Database

KTDTL 21
Task

+
SLC 5/04

DH

KTDTL and NetDTL

PLC-2
us
Pl
y

PLC-5
wa
gh
Hi
ta
Da

PLC-5/250

PLC-5 with
1785-KA5
1785-KA5 module in a
PLC-5 I/O rack provides the
link from DH+ to DH-485
SLC-5/03
85
y4
wa

SLC-5/02
gh
Hi
ta
Da

SLC-5/01

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 595

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
• KTDTL Topology
•
•
The following diagrams illustrate ways communications can occur between the
FactoryLink station and various types of Allen-Bradley devices through an
Allen-Bradley card port.
Figure 21-6 KTDTL Communications Options
Using a KTX card, a direct link to a DH+ or a
DH-485 network can be achieved.

Using a KT card, a direct link

to a DH+ can be achieved.

FactoryLink
Station

1784-KTX 1784-KT
Card Card

PLC 5
DH+

SLC 5/04

DH-485 1785-KA5

1747-AIC 1747-AIC

1747-C11

SLC 5/02 SLC 5/03

596 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
KTDTL Topology

Figure 21-7 Typical Link Between the FactoryLink Station and Various Devices

Data Highway Offlink

With the 1785-KA module serving as a bridge between a Data
PLC-2 Highway Plus and a Data Highway, controllers in the PLC-2, PLC-3,
D
at and PLC-5 families residing at offlink addresses can communicate
a
H with the computer running the device interface software using
ig
h w appropriate interface modules (1771-KA2 and 1775-KA, for example).
ay 1771-KA2

PLC-3

1775-KA Data Highway 485 Offlink

The 1785-KA5 module serves as a bridge to let devices
residing at offlink addresses communicate with the
1785-KA computer running the device interface software.

SLC 5/02
21
D
at
a
H

KTDTL and NetDTL

SLC 5/04 ig SLC 5/03
hw
ay
Pl 1785-KA5
us
D
at
a
H
ig
h w
ay
48
5
Data Highway Plus Local Link
The Data Highway Plus links the PLCs
to the computer running the device
interface software through a KT card.

1785-KA3

KT Card
PLC-2 PLC-5/250

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 597

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
• NetDTL Topology
•
•
N ET DTL TOPOLOGY
The diagrams in this section provide examples of possible topologies for a NetDTL
task configuration.

Figure 21-8 shows a basic physical link between the FactoryLink station and
devices on the Ethernet and DH+ networks communicating through a Pyramid
Integrator with an Ethernet interface module.
Figure 21-8 Typical Physical Link to Local Addresses

PLC 5/250 with

PLC-5 Ethernet Interface

DH+ Link
Ethernet Link

PLC-3 PLC-5/xxE

PLC-5/xxE

Ethernet Card

FactoryLink Station

Figure 21-9 shows a typical physical link between the FactoryLink station and
devices at offlink addresses.

598 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
NetDTL Topology

Figure 21-9 Typical Physical Link to Offlink Addresses

Data Highway Offlink

PLC-2 With the 1785-KA module serving as a bridge between a Data
Highway Plus and a Data Highway, controllers in the PLC-2, PLC-3,
D and PLC-5 families residing at offlink addresses can communicate
at with the computer running the device interface software using
a
H appropriate interface modules (1771-KA2 and 1775-KA, for example).
ig 1771-KA2
hw
ay
PLC-3

1775-KA
Data Highway 485 Offlink
The 1785-KA5 module serves as a bridge to let devices
1785-KA residing at offlink addresses communicate with the
computer running the device interface software.
21
D SLC 5/02
at
a

KTDTL and NetDTL

H
ig
hw
ay
Pl SLC 5/03
us 1785-KA5
D
at
a
H
ig
hw
ay
48
5

Ethernet Communications
The NetDTL task can
communicate directly to a device in
D PLC-5/xxE the PLC-5/xxE family over TCP/IP.
at
a
H
ig
hw
ay PI Et
Pl he
us rn
Data Highway Plus Ethernet Link et
The PLCs on the Data Highway Plus are
linked to the computer running the
device interface software through a
PLC-2/250 Pyramid Integrator with an
Ethernet interface module.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 599

• KTDTL AND NETDTL OVERVIEW
• NetDTL Topology
•
•
To further illustrate NetDTL communications, Figure 21-10 shows: point-to-point
Ethernet TCP/IP communications, DH+ network communications via an Ethernet
interface module, and DH-485 network communications via a 1785-KA5 module.
Figure 21-10 Example of NetDTL Communications

PLC-5 with
1785-KA5
1785-KA5 module in a
PLC-5 I/O rack provides the
SLC-5/03 link from DH+ to DH-485
5
48

SLC-5/02
y
wa

SLC-5/04
lu
gh

yP
Hi

wa

SLC-5/01
ta

h
Da

ig
H
ta
Da

PLC-5/250

Allen-Bradley
RSLinx or
INTERCHANGE FactoryLink
Real-Time
Database

PLC-5

NetDTL
Task

Communications through
an Ethernet card

PLC-5/250 with an
Ethernet interface
IP
P/

module provides the link PLC 5/250 PLC-5/xxE

TC

from Ethernet to DH+ with Ethernet Point-to-point

Interface Ethernet
communications
with a PLC-5/xxE

600 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 22

•
•
•
•
Getting Started

Before defining the communication paths and the read and write operations, you
must set up FactoryLink to recognize the KTDTL or NetDTL task and define
information that optimizes the performance of the task.

This chapter describes how to set up and optimize FactoryLink for KTDTL or
NetDTL task communications by filling out a row for the task in the FactoryLink
System Configuration table.

22

KTDTL and NetDTL

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 601

• GETTING STARTED
• Configuring the System Configuration Table
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE S YSTEM C ONFIGURATION TABLE
To configure the System Configuration table, perform the following steps:

Open the FactoryLink Configuration Manager.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

Choose System Configuration from the Main Menu. The System Configuration
Information panel is displayed:

Copy and paste the last row of the System Configuration Information panel into
the empty row just below it. (In the previous panel, you would copy the row for the
Real-time Monitor, RTMON.)

Edit the new row you just created as follows to identify the KTDTL or NetDTL
task to the system:

602 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GETTING STARTED
Configuring the System Configuration Table

Enter FR in the Flags column to instruct the task to start automatically at run
time.

Enter FRS in the Flags column to instruct the task to start automatically and
to open a status window at run time where system messages from the KTDTL
or NetDTL task and the RSLinx or INTERCHANGE software will appear.

Enter either KTDTL or NetDTL in the Task Name column to identify the task to
the system.

Enter either Allen-Bradley KTDTL or Allen-Bradley NetDTL in the

Description column to further describe the task.

Edit the columns beginning with Start Trigger and ending with Display
Description to identify specific information about the task at run time. Press
End on the keyboard at each of these columns to move the cursor to the end of
the entry. Edit the number to increase its value by one.
22
For example, in the sample panel, the complete entry in the Start Trigger
column in the row for RTMON is TASKSTART_S[15]. (The start trigger defined

KTDTL and NetDTL

for the first task listed, Interval and Event Timer, is TASKSTART_S[0] and the
row for RTMON is 15 rows below that.) In the Start Trigger column in the row
below RTMON, you would move the cursor over to [15] and change the 5 to 6.

Enter 1 in the Start Order column to ensure the task starts up appropriately at
run time.

Enter either bin/ktdtl or bin/netdtl in the Executable File column to specify

the location of the executable file.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 603

• GETTING STARTED
• Configuring the System Configuration Table
•
•
The panel must now contain one of the following rows:

One of these rows

must appear in the
panel to identify the
task to FactoryLink

Select the row for KTDTL or NetDTL to enter program arguments that will
improve system performance.

Press the Tab key several times to advance to the Program Arguments column.

Enter the
program
arguments
here

Enter the program parameter for the specific override, followed by the override
value, in the Program Arguments column using the list of IDs in the table on the
following pages.

Use the following format when entering a program parameter:

-argumentvalue

604 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GETTING STARTED
Configuring the System Configuration Table

where
- is the required prefix for any program parameter.
argument is the parameter ID chosen from the following table.
value is the override value for the parameter.

For example: -F12 where F is the ID of the major program control loop and 12
indicates the number of times the task passes through the loop before sleeping.

Note

Either enter all parameters in upper-case alphabetical characters

or enter them all in lower case.

Table 22-1 Program Parameters and Override Values

22
ID Override Value Description

KTDTL and NetDTL

-A pathname To specify a new FactoryLink application directory to
override the default application directory, enter the ID
followed by the full path name identifying the location
of the new directory.
Example:
-AC:\FLECS\FLAPP or -A/usr/users/flapp

-B 1 through 40 To specify a value for the unsolicited message backlog

(Default is 5) queue in the Allen-Bradley interface, enter the ID
followed by the appropriate value. For inputs less than
1, enter 1. For inputs greater than 40, enter 40.
Example: -B1

-C 0 through 32767 To specify the number of seconds the task waits before
(Default is 30) it attempts to reconnect to a disconnected RSLinx or
INTERCHANGE software interface, enter the ID
followed by the number of seconds. If you do not want
the task to attempt reconnection, enter 0.
Example: -C30

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 605

• GETTING STARTED
• Configuring the System Configuration Table
•
•
Table 22-1 Program Parameters and Override Values (Continued)

ID Override Value Description

-F 1 through 32767 To specify the number of times the task is to pass

(Default is 10) through its major program control loop before
“sleeping,” enter the ID followed by the number of
passes. Use this parameter in conjunction with the
sleep period parameter, S, to optimize the performance
of the task and to minimize its CPU use. For more
information about control loop passes and sleep period
parameters, see “Optimizing Task Performance” on
page 607.
Example: -F12

-L pathname To specify a directory and path for an error log file,

(Default is enter the ID followed by the full path name identifying
stdout) the location of the file.
Example:
-LC:\FLECS\ERRLOG or -L/usr/users/errlog.txt

-N 1 through 39 To specify a maximum number of solicited requests

(Default is 39) that can be pending at any given time within the
RSLinx or INTERCHANGE software library, enter the
ID followed by the number of requests.
Example: -N4

-P pathname To specify a new FactoryLink program directory to

override the default program directory, enter the ID
followed by the full path name identifying the location
of the new directory.
Example:
-PC:\FLECS\FLINK or -P/usr/users/flink

-R 0 through 32767 To specify the number of seconds an error message is

(Default is 10) displayed on the KTDTL or NetDTL task line on the
Run-Time Manager screen after the error is detected,
enter the ID followed by the number of seconds.
Example: -R300

606 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 GETTING STARTED
Optimizing Task Performance

Table 22-1 Program Parameters and Override Values (Continued)

ID Override Value Description

-S 0 through 32767 To specify the number of milliseconds the task will

(Default is 10) “sleep” after completing the specified number of control
loop passes (-F parameter), enter the ID followed by the
number of milliseconds. To specify no sleep period after
the passes, enter 0.
Example: -S1000

-U 1 through 32767 To specify the number of unsolicited messages the task

(Default is 1) can process before releasing the CPU for other
operations, enter the ID followed by the number of
messages. When the task processes the specified
number of unsolicited messages, or when no unsolicited
messages are pending, the task continues with solicited 22
operations.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Example: -U30

-Z Leave blank To clear the change-status indicators in the

FactoryLink elements written to the FactoryLink
database for the KTDTL or NetDTL task, enter just the
ID.
Example: -Z

1 Click Enter to validate the information. Next, click Exit to return to the Main Menu
after the System Configuration panel is complete.

O PTIMIZING TASK P ERFORMANCE

To optimize performance of the KTDTL or NetDTL task and use of the CPU, set
up the override values for the major program control loop passes and sleep period
parameters according to the table described in the previous section. One control
loop “pass” is defined as a single completion of a list of developer-defined
operations performed by the task. After the task completes the specified number
of control loop passes, it then “sleeps” for the specified sleep period.

The following information is important to remember about the override values in

optimizing performance:

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 607

• GETTING STARTED
• Optimizing Task Performance
•
•
• The higher in value the control loop setting, the greater the amount of CPU
used. Because the termination flag is checked only on the first pass, the task
will then be slower after a normal termination request.
• The smaller in value the control loop setting, the smaller the amount of CPU
space used and the less reliable the task is in detecting changed data.

While there are no standard guidelines for setting the control loop and sleep
period parameters, one of the following procedures might help you obtain the
desired results:
• Decrease the number of control loop passes and increase the sleep period until
task performance drops below an acceptable level.
or
• Increase the number of control loop passes and decrease the sleep period until
task performance reaches an acceptable level.

608 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 23

•
•
•
•
Configuring
Communication Paths

To configure the paths over which FactoryLink will communicate with the devices,
you create logical station definitions in which you identify sources and
destinations for read and write requests and define FactoryLink elements to
which system messages from the KTDTL or NetDTL task and the RSLinx
software will be written.

23

KTDTL and NetDTL

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These definitions should be created in the Logical Station tables shown below.
KTDTL

NetDTL

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Logical Station Concepts

L OGICAL STATION C ONCEPTS

Setting parameters for a communication path between the source and destination
of a read or write request involves defining two basic components: the
communications port through which data will travel and a physical station
(Allen-Bradley device) that will send or receive data. The following diagram
illustrates the components of a communication path.

KTDTL—For KTDTL, the communications port is an Allen-Bradley card port.

NetDTL—For NetDTL, the communications port is an Ethernet card port.

Figure 23-1 Components of a Communication Path

23

KTDTL and NetDTL

Device connected to FactoryLink
station through an Allen-Bradley
card or an Ethernet card

Since an application can be linked to multiple devices, define a unique

communication path to each device so the application can distinguish one device
from another. This is done by assigning specific numbers to represent physical
aspects of your particular configuration. The first number you assign, “logical
port,” is common to all devices that will communicate with the task and is
typically defined only once per task, regardless of the number of cards to be used.

KTDTL—For KTDTL, in addition to defining each logical port in the Logical

Station table, you must also edit specific system files to identify each port. If more
than one card is being used, instruct the task to differentiate between them by
identifying the port numbers that represent each card in the Logical Station table.
Refer to “Creating Logical Station Definitions” on page 613 for more information.

To identify a particular device communicating through the logical port, define a

“logical station” number for the device. The logical station number represents a
combination of the logical port and the physical address of the device. Assign each

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device a logical station number. Figure 23-2 provides examples of logical ports and
logical stations.

NetDTL—The card in Figure 23-2 is an Ethernet card and a link from Ethernet to
DH+ is provided by an Ethernet Interface module in a PLC-5/250 I/O rack.

KTDTL—The card in Figure 23-2 is a KT card. A 1785-KA5 module in a PLC-5/250

I/O rack is located at address #4. Two devices are located at address #10: one is a
PLC-5/250 on a DH+ network and the other is a SLC 5/03 on a DH-485 network.
To enable the KTDTL or NetDTL task to differentiate between the two devices
that have an address of 10, give each device its own logical station number.
Consequently, when an application is being run and the task receives a request to
write a value to a register in a device at address #10, the logical station number
provides the unique communication path that tells the task to which address #10
the value should be written.
Figure 23-2 Logical Port and Logical Station

KT or Ethernet Logical Port 1

Card Port

1785-KA5 Module
FactoryLink Station
in a PLC-5
I/O Rack at
Address #4 DH-485
NetDTL—Ethernet interface
module in a PLC-5/250 I/O
rack provides the DH+ link DH+

SLC 5/03 at
Address #10
PLC-5/250 at
Address #10
Logical Station 1 consists of Logical Port 1
and a PLC-5/250 at DH+address #10.
Logical Station 2 consists of Logical Port 1
and a PLC-5 at DH+ address #4.

Logical Station 3 consists of Logical Port 1

and a SLC 5/03 at DH-485 address #10.

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Creating Logical Station Definitions

C REATING L OGICAL S TATION D EFINITIONS

A-B NetDTL Driver:

The following steps describe how to create logical station definitions in A-B
NetDTL driver for each device that communicates with FactoryLink.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

Choose the Allen-Bradley NetDTL option from the Main Menu:

Display the Logical Station Control panel by clicking its title bar in the display of
all panels..
NetDTL

23

KTDTL and NetDTL

On the Logical Station Control panel, define the following information:
• Each logical port
• The amount of time the protocol module waits to receive a device response to a
read or write request before timing out
• Message elements to which values can be written to indicate communications
errors associated with each logical port number

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each logical
port to be included in the communication path. Sample entries are provided in
“Sample Logical Station Table Entries” on page 631.
Logical Port Enter a number to represent the communications path. Since the
task uses only one logical port, define only one port in this panel.

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Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 999
Response Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the task will wait
Timeout to receive a response to a read or write command before timing
0.1 Sec out. Be sure to enter a value greater than zero; otherwise, the
task immediately times out without waiting for a response. The
default is 55, or 5.5 seconds.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 99999
Status Optionally, enter a tag name for a message element to which a
Msg Tag text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

Click Enter to validate the data when the Logical Station Control panel is
complete.

If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each tag is displayed. Choose MESSAGE for
Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

Select the row for the logical port you are configuring. Click Next to display the
Logical Station Information panel. The logical port number is displayed in the
Logical Port field on the lower left side of the panel.

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RSLINX Configuration: The picture above shows the RSLINX Ethernet to PLC-5
driver configuration (AB_ETH-1 Driver Configuration).

Define the following information on the A-B Ethernet Address Information panel:
• Ethernet Address of a Pyramid Integrator or PLC-5/xxE that will process
read/write requests.
• Ethernet Interface number of the Pyramid Integrator or PLC-5/xxE as defined
in RSLINX Software.

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each device
(Pyramid Integrator or PLC-5/xxE) that will have a direct Ethernet connection
from the FactoryLink Station (i.e., each device that has a separate TCP/IP
address).
TCP/IP Address Enter each Ethernet TCP/IP address of a Pyramid Integrator or
Ethernet Interface PLC-5/xxE that will process read or write requests.
(ASCII)
Valid Entry: numeric string of up to 21 numbers and decimal
points in the format xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Note: To keep network traffic manageable, do not connect to

more than eight Pyramid Integrators serving as routers.
Ethernet Interface Enter the station number to which the Pyramid Integrator or
Number PLC-5/xxE is mapped in the RSLinx Ethernet-to-AB
communications configuration. For example, if the IP address of a
Pyramid Integrator has been mapped to station number 7, then
the Ethernet interface number for that station will be 7.
Valid Entry: numeric value.
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this Ethernet
device.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters.

Note: This panel is new to this version of the NetDTL driver.

The previous version of the NetDTL driver limited the
maximum number of IP address usages to 40. The new format
removes this restriction from the FactoryLink side. The
maximum number of IP address usages is bound by whatever
the RSLinx is capable of supporting. Refer to the RSLinx
documentation for this information. If you are upgrading a
FactoryLink application that uses the old style NetDTL
configuration panel layout, use the following procedures:

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Perform the following steps to run the new NetDTL:

Run FLSAVE to save an existing NetDTL application to an .mps file.

Install the new version of NetDTL driver.

Run FLREST to restore the .mps file to the application.

Run FLCM to modify the application with the proper data.

Run FLRUN to use the new NetDTL driver.

Click Enter to validate the data.

Select the row for the TCP/IP address of the device you are configuring. Click Next
to display A-B NetDTL Logical Station Information Panel. The TCP/IP address is
displayed in the TCP/IP Address field on the lower left side of the panel.
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Define the following information on the Logical Station Information panel:

• Long analog elements to which error codes for devices (logical stations) will be
written.
• The communications port to which each logical station is connected, and for
off-link addresses, the path to the off-link station.
• For each TCP/IP Address, define logical station numbers which identify the
address and device type for each device in the configuration.

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each device
to communicate through this logical port. Sample entries are provided in the next
section titled “Sample Logical Station Table Entries”.
Err/Status Tag Optionally, enter a tag name for a long analog element to receive
Name: communication error codes associated with this device (logical
station). The high word value written to this element indicates
the type of error received. The low word value written to this
element is the specific error code. The high word values written to
23
this tag and the meaning of the error code in the low word are:

KTDTL and NetDTL

0 NetDTL return code
1 Internal RSLinx code
2 Operating system error code
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: longana

Tip

To display the codes stored in an Err/Status Tag Name element for

an operator running the application to view, use the Application
Editor to animate an output-text object associated with the tag
name and display this object on a graphic screen.

Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
(Decimal): information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
combination of a Logical Port, and TCP/IP Address with a
physical station. Assign a unique number to each device
communicating through this logical port. You will enter this
logical station number later in a read or write table to represent
the device defined in his row. In a read or write table, this number
will identify the device to or from which data is to be sent or
received.

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Valid Entry: unique numeric value from 0 - 999
PYRAMID NetDTL—Define the communications port in the Pyramid
CHANNEL ID Integrator module providing the Ethernet link to this logical
(ASCII): station, and for offlink addresses, define the path to the offlink
station. The port entry must precede the path to an offlink
address. If you are defining the Pyramid Integrator (PLC5/250)
itself, leave this field blank. If you are defining a PLC-5/xxE
connected directly to Ethernet, leave this field blank.

Syntax for Port Entry:

ORM:n
where
0 is the RM pushwheel number
RM: is the module type, Resource Manager
n is either channel 2 or 3
Example: Enter 0RM:2 for RM channel 2
pKA:n
where
p is a pushwheel number from 1-4
KA: is the module type
n is either channel 2 or 3
Example: Enter 1KA:3 for KA channel 3 configured as
pushwheel 1

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The following diagram illustrates some typical port entries:

When defining the Pyramid Integrator (PLC-5/250)
as the target device, leave the field blank

23

KTDTL and NetDTL

0RM:3 1KA:2 2KA:2

0RM:2 1KA:3 2KA:3

Syntax for Path to Offlink Address:

/B:b Use the bridge or router identifier /B: to route to a
remote network at a particular link. Follow the
identifier with the bridge address b, an octal value
from 1 through 377.
/G:g Use the gateway identifier /G: with 5/01 and 5/02
processors to link to an adjacent DH-485 network
and to convert the 5/01 and 5/02 protocol for
DH-485 compatibility. Follow the identifier with
the network address g, an octal value from 1
through 377. The gateway identifier is not
supported in unsolicited operations.
/L:l The link identifier /L: is followed by the
destination link ID l which is either: a decimal
value from 1 through 65,535, or 0 for single hop
mode. For bridges, enter the link ID for the
offlinked network. For gateways, enter the link ID
for the local DH+ or DH-485 network.

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/KA The 1785-KA addressing mode identifier is
required when communicating through a 1785-KA
module from DH+ to DH. The /KA identifier is not
supported in unsolicited operations.
Example: 0RM:2/B:42/L:2 indicates that for channel 2 of the
Resource Manager module, the address of the bridge to the
network where the offlink station resides is 42 and the
destination link ID is 2.
Refer to “Sample Logical Station Table Entries” on page 631 for
other examples of offlink address entries and diagrams of
corresponding sample network configuration.
Station Enter the physical DH+, DH, or DH-485 network address of the
Address Allen-Bradley device. For each device address you enter, make a
(Octal) corresponding entry identifying the path to the device; otherwise,
the task ignores this address entry.

Note: The path is entered in the PYRAMID CHANNEL ID (ASCII)

field. If you are defining the Pyramid Integrator (PLC5/250)
itself or a PLC-5/xxE connected directly to Ethernet, you do not
need to define a path. Refer to “Path and Address Entries” on
page 634 for examples of how this address corresponds to the
path entry for this logical station when you are configuring an
offlink address.
The following valid entries are octal values:
DH+: numeric value from 0 - 77
DH: numeric value from 0 - 377
DH-485: numeric value from 0 - 37
Station Enter the type of Allen-Bradley device from which data is to be
Type read or to which data is to be written. Descriptions of the valid
entries are:
PLC Same as PLC-2U
PLC-2 Same as PLC-2U
PLC-2P PLC that will be accessed using basic (PLC-2)
unprotected-read and protected-write commands
PLC-2U PLC that will be accessed using basic (PLC-2)
unprotected-read and unprotected-write
commands

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PLC-3 PLC-3; same as PLC3-KA

PLC-3KA PLC-3 that is not a PLC-3SR
PLC-3SR PLC-3 that uses a 1775-S5 or 1775-SR5 scanner
for DH+ communications, allowing faster bit write
operations
PLC-4 Same as PLC-2U
PLC-5 PLC-5 new or old generation
PLC-250 PLC5/250 Pyramid Integrator
SLC-500 SLC 500 series processor
Valid Entry: To display valid entry, use the Ctrl+K keys.
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters 23
Click Enter to validate the data.

KTDTL and NetDTL

If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog box for defining each tag is displayed. Choose LONGANA for
Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

Click Prev to return to the Logical Station Control panel and return to step to
configure another logical port.

Refer to Chapter 24, “Reading and Writing Data” when you are ready to define the
read and write operations expected to occur between this logical port and the
devices configured as logical stations.

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A-B KTDTL Driver:
The following steps describe how to create logical station definitions in A-B
KTDTL driver for each device that communicates with FactoryLink.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

Choose the Allen-Bradley KTDTL option from the Main Menu.

Display the Logical Station Control panel by clicking on its title bar in the display
of all panels.

On the Logical Station Control Panel, define the following information:

• ¨Each logical port
• The amount of time the protocol module waits to receive a device response to
read or write request before timing out
• Message elements to which values can be written to indicate communications
errors associated with each logical port number

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each device
to communicate through this logical port. Sample entries are provided in “Sample
Logical Station Table Entries” on page 631.
Logical Port Enter a number to represent the communications path. Since the
task uses only one logical port, define only one port in this panel.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 999

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Response Timeout Enter the length of time, in tenths of a second, the task will wait
(0.1 Sec) to receive a response to a read or write command before timing
out. Be sure to enter a value greater than zero; otherwise, the
task immediately times out without waiting for a response. The
default is 55, or 5.5 seconds.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 0 - 99999
Status Msg Tag Optionally, enter a tag name for a message element to which a
text string will be written to indicate a communications error
associated with this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

Click Enter to validate the data when the Logical Station Control panel is
complete.

6. If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in 23
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each tag is displayed. Choose MESSAGE for
Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Select the row for the logical port you are configuring. Click Next to display A-B
KTDTL Logical Station Information panel. The logical port number is displayed in
the Logical Port field on the lower left side of the panel.

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Define the following information on the Logical Station Information panel:

• Long analog elements to which error codes for devices (logical stations) will be
written.
• The communications port to which each logical station is connected, and for
off-link addresses, the path to the off-link station.
• For each logical port, logical station numbers which identify the address and
device type for each device in the configuration.

Using the following field descriptions, complete a row in the panel for each device
to communicate through this logical port. Sample entries are provided in the next
section titled “Sample Logical Station Table Entries”.
Err/Status Optionally, enter a tag name for a long analog element to receive
Tag Name communication error codes associated with this device (logical
station). The high word value written to this element indicates
the type of error received. The low word value written to this
element is the specific error code. The high word values written to
this tag and the meaning of the error code in the low word are:
0 KTDTL return code
1 Internal RSLinx code

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Creating Logical Station Definitions

2 Operating system error code

Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: longana

Tip

To display the codes stored in an Err/Status Tag Name element for

an operator running the application to view, use the Application
Editor to animate an output-text object associated with the tag
name and display this object on a graphics screen.

Logical Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the

Station information in this row pertains. A logical station represents the
(Decimal) combination of a logical port with a physical station. Assign a
unique number to each device communicating through this 23
logical port.

KTDTL and NetDTL

You will enter this logical station number later in a read or write
table to represent the device defined in this row. In a read or
write table, this number will identify the device to or from which
data is to be sent or received.
Valid Entry: unique numeric value from 0 - 999
A-B KT Define the communications port in the Allen-Bradley card to which
Card ID this logical station is connected, and for offlink addresses, define
(ASCII) the path to the offlink station. The port entry must precede the
path to an offlink address.
Syntax for Port Entry:
pKT:0
where
p is the pushwheel or card number from 1 through 8
that corresponds to the pushwheel configured in
the RSLinx Client Application Configuration
dialog box. For details, see Allen-Bradley’s RSLinx
documentation.
KT: is the module type.
0 is the channel number.

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• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
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Example: Enter 5KT:0 if the InterChange port is mapped to
port 5 in the RSLinx Client Application
Configuration dialog.
The following diagram illustrates some typical port entries.
To specify the To specify the
first KT card, fourth KT card,
enter 1KT:0 enter 4KT:0
KT Card 1

KT Card 4
FactoryLink Station

Syntax for Path to Offlink Address:

/B:b Use the bridge or router identifier /B: to route to a
remote network at a particular link. Follow the
identifier with the bridge address b, an octal value
from 1 through 377.
/G:g Use the gateway identifier /G: with 5/01 and 5/02
processors to link to an adjacent DH-485 network
and to convert the 5/01 and 5/02 protocol for
DH-485 compatibility. Follow the identifier with
the network address g, an octal value from 1
through 377. The gateway identifier is not
supported in unsolicited operations.
/L:l The link identifier /L: is followed by the
destination link ID l which is either: a decimal
value from 1 through 65,535, or 0 for single hop
mode. For bridges, enter the link ID for the
offlinked network. For gateways, enter the link ID
for the local DH+ or DH-485 network.
/KA The 1785-KA addressing mode identifier is
required when communicating through a 1785-KA

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module from DH+ to DH. The /KA identifier is not

supported in unsolicited operations.
Example: 1KT:0/B:42/L:2 indicates that for the first KT card,
the address of the bridge to the network where the offlink station
resides is 42 and the destination link ID is 2.
Refer to “Sample Logical Station Table Entries” on page 631 for
other examples of offlink address entries and diagrams of
corresponding sample network configurations.
Station Enter the physical DH+, DH, or DH-485 network address of the
Address Allen-Bradley device. For each device address you enter, make a
(Octal) corresponding entry identifying the path to the device; otherwise,
the task ignores this address entry.

Note: This path is entered in the A-B KT Card ID (ASCII) field.

Refer to “Path and Address Entries” on page 634 for examples
of how this address corresponds to the path entry for this logical
23
station when you are configuring an offlink address.

KTDTL and NetDTL

The following valid entries are octal values:
DH+: numeric value from 0 - 77
DH: numeric value from 0 - 377
DH-485: numeric value from 0 - 37
Station Enter the type of Allen-Bradley device from which data is to be
Type read or to which data is to be written. Descriptions of the valid
entries are:
PLC Same as PLC-2U
PLC-2 Same as PLC-2U
PLC-2P PLC that will be accessed using basic (PLC-2)
unprotected-read and protected-write commands
PLC-2U PLC that will be accessed using basic (PLC-2)
unprotected-read and unprotected-write
commands
PLC-3 PLC-3; same as PLC3-KA
PLC-3KA PLC-3 that is not a PLC-3SR
PLC-3SR PLC-3 that uses a 1775-S5 or 1775-SR5 scanner
for DH+ communications, allowing faster bit write
operations

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•
PLC-4 Same as PLC-2U
PLC-5 PLC-5 new or old generation
PLC-250 PLC5/250 Pyramid Integrator
SLC-500 SLC 500 series processor
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K
Comment (Optional) Enter reference information about this logical station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21 characters

Click Enter to validate the data.

If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog box for defining each tag is displayed. Choose LONGANA for
Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

Click Prev to return to the Logical Station Control panel and return to step to
configure another logical port.

Refer to Chapter 24, “Reading and Writing Data” when you are ready to define the
read and write operations expected to occur between this logical port and the
devices configured as logical stations.

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Sample Logical Station Table Entries

S AMPLE L OGICAL STATION TABLE E NTRIES

This section contains the following information:
• Typical Logical Station configuration panel entries and descriptions that tell
how FactoryLink interprets these entries
• Topology diagrams illustrating how to enter local network and offlink addresses
(page 634)
• Flowcharts depicting configurations containing devices communicating across
multiple networks and corresponding Logical Station table entries (page 640)

Logical Station Control Panel

When all information on the Logical Station Control panel has been specified, the
panel should resemble one of the sample panels shown in Figure 23-3.
Figure 23-3 Sample Logical Station Control Panel 23
KTDTL

KTDTL and NetDTL

In this example, Logical Port 0 is configured to communicate with a response
timeout of 5.5 seconds. The KTDTL task will write communications error
messages associated with this logical port to a message element, KT_MSG.

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• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
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•
NetDTL

In this example, Logical Port 0 is configured to communicate with a response

timeout of 5.5 seconds.

Logical Station Information Panel

When all information on the Logical Station Information panel has been specified,
the panel should resemble the sample panel shown in Figure 23-4.

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Sample Logical Station Table Entries

KTDTL

23
In this example, the element KT_ERR is configured to hold port errors for logical

KTDTL and NetDTL

station 0, which communicates with a SLC 5/03 device at DH-485 address 3. The
path from the FactoryLink station to the SLC 5/03 device is as follows: The first
KT card communications port is used. The DH+ address of the bridge to the
DH-485 network where the offlink station resides is 42, and the destination link
ID of the DH-485 network is 2.
NetDTL

In this example, the element NDTL_ERR is configured to hold port errors for
logical station 0, which communicates with a SLC 5/03 device at DH-485 address

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•
A Pyramid Integrator at 192.1.1.21 (TCP/IP Address Pyramid El #1 in the Logical
Station Control panel) provides the Ethernet link. The path from this Pyramid
Integrator to the SLC 5/03 device is as follows: Channel 2 of the Resource
Manager module in this Pyramid Integrator is used. The DH+ address of the
bridge to the DY-485 network where the offlink station resides is 42 and the
destination link ID of the DY-485 network is 2.

Path and Address Entries

The following topology diagrams illustrate how to enter local network and offlink
addresses in the Logical Station Information panel.
KTDTL—Refer to page 635 through page 637.
NetDTL—Refer to page 638 through page 640.

For practical purposes, the initial entry in the A-B KT Card ID (ASCII) field is 1KT:0
throughout the following examples.

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Sample Logical Station Table Entries

Figure 23-4 KTDTL Network Topology 1

The local network has a link identifier of 1. Networks off of the local link have link identifiers of 2 and 3, respectively. The
1785-KA5 interface module that provides a network bridge is indicated by a box between the network circles. The
Allen-Bradley PLCs and SLC-500 family processors that are connected to the networks are indicated by boxes to the left
and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the network circle,
indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each KA5 box, just inside the network circles, indicate the
module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

To communicate with Device FactoryLink Station To communicate with Device B,

A, you would make the you would make the following
following field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0 1KT:0
Station Station
Address Address
(Octal) Link 1 (Octal)
43 56
Device A Device B
To communicate with Device C, To communicate with Device D,
23
depending upon the type of you would make the following
operation to be performed, you field entries:

KTDTL and NetDTL

would make the following field
A-B KT Card ID
entries:
(ASCII)
A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) 1KT:0/G:42/L:1
(triggered only)
1KT:0/B:42/L:2
(triggered or unsolicited) Station
1KT:0/G:42/L:1 Address
Link 2
(triggered only) (Octal)
Device C Device D
Station 14
Address
(Octal)
18
To communicate with Device E, To communicate with Device F,
you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0/B:42/L:3 Link 3 1KT:0/B:42/L:3
Station Station
Device E Device F
Address Address
(Octal) (Octal)
36 41

Unless otherwise indicated, all entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 635

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
•
•
Figure 23-5 KTDTL Network Topology 2
In this example, three networks are connected to the FactoryLink station. The local network has a link identifier of 1.
Networks off of the local link have link identifiers of 2 and 3, respectively. The PLC-5/250 that provides a network bridge
is indicated by a box between the network circles. The Allen-Bradley PLCs connected to each network are indicated by
boxes to the left and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the
network circle, indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each PLC-5/250 box, just inside the network
circles, indicate the module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

FactoryLink Station
To communicate with Device A, To communicate with Device B,
you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0 1KT:0
Station Station
Address Link 1 Address
(Octal) (Octal)
Device A Device B
43 56

To communicate with Device C, To communicate with Device D,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0/B:42/L:2 1KT:0/B:42/L:2
Station Station
Address Link 2 Address
(Octal) Device C Device D (Octal)
34 26

To communicate with Device E, To communicate with Device F,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0/B:42/L:3 1KT:0/B:42/L:3
Station Station
Address Link 3 Address
(Octal) Device E Device F (Octal)
36 41

All of these entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

636 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Sample Logical Station Table Entries

Figure 23-6 KTDTL Network Topology 3

In this example, two networks are connected to the FactoryLink station. The local network has a link identifier of 1 and the
network off of the local link has a link identifier of 2. The 17xx-KA interface module that provides a network bridge is
indicated by a box between the network circles. The Allen-Bradley PLCs connected to each network are indicated by boxes
to the left and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the network
circle, indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each KA box, just inside the network circles, indicate
the module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

FactoryLink Station
To communicate with Device A, To communicate with Device B,
you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)
1KT:0 1KT:0
Station Station
Address Address
(Octal) Link 1 (Octal)
43
Device A Device B
56 23
To communicate with Device

KTDTL and NetDTL

To communicate with Device C,
you would make the following D, you would make the
field entries: following field entries:
A-B KT Card ID A-B KT Card ID
(ASCII) (ASCII)

1KT:0/B:42/KA 1KT:0/B:42/KA
(triggered only) (triggered only)

Station Link 2 Station

Address Device C Device D Address
(Octal) (Octal)

36 41

Unless otherwise indicated, all entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 637

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
•
•
For practical purposes, the initial entry in the PYRAMID CHANNEL ID (ASCII) field
is 0RM:2 throughout the following examples.
Figure 23-7 NetDTL Network Topology 1
The local network has a link identifier of 1. Networks off of the local link have link identifiers of 2 and 3, respectively. The
1785-KA5 interface module that provides a network bridge is indicated by a box between the network circles. The
Allen-Bradley PLCs and SLC-500 family processors that are connected to the networks are indicated by boxes to the left
and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the network circle,
indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each KA5 box, just inside the network circles, indicate the
module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

To communicate with Device A, FactoryLink Station To communicate with Device B,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: 0RM:2 field entries:
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID 13 CHANNEL ID
0RM:2 0RM:2
Station Station
Address DH+ Address
(Octal) PLC 43 Link 1 56 PLC (Octal)
43 Device A Device B 56
To communicate with To communicate with Device D,
Device C, depending upon you would make the following
42
the type of operation to be field entries:
performed, you would make KA5 PYRAMID
the following field entries:
CHANNEL ID
PYRAMID 29
CHANNEL ID 0RM:2/G:42/L:1
(triggered only)
0RM:2/B:42/L:2
(triggered or unsolicited) Station
SLC DH-485 SLC 5/01,
0RM:2/G:42/L:1 5/03 18
Link 2 14 5/02 Address
(triggered only) (Octal)
Device C Device D
Station 14
Address
(Octal) 22
18 KA5
To communicate with Device E, To communicate with Device F,
you would make the following 25 you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID CHANNEL ID
DH+
0RM:2/B:42/L:3 PLC 36 41 PLC 0RM:2/B:42/L:3
Link 3
Station Device E Device F Station
Address Address
(Octal) (Octal)
36 41
Unless otherwise indicated, all entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

638 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Sample Logical Station Table Entries

Figure 23-8 NetDTL Network Topology 2

In this example, three networks are connected to the FactoryLink station. The local network has a link identifier of 1.
Networks off of the local link have link identifiers of 2 and 3, respectively. The PLC-5/250 that provides a network bridge
is indicated by a box between the network circles. The Allen-Bradley PLCs connected to each network are indicated by
boxes to the left and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the
network circle, indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each PLC-5/250 box, just inside the network
circles, indicate the module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

To communicate with Device A, FactoryLink Station To communicate with Device B,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: 0RM:2 field entries:
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID 13 CHANNEL ID
0RM:2 0RM:2
Station Station
Address DH+ Address
(Octal) PLC 43 56 PLC (Octal)
Link 1
43 56
Device A Device B 23
42

KTDTL and NetDTL

To communicate with Device C, PLC To communicate with Device D,
you would make the following 5/250 you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
52
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID CHANNEL ID
0RM:2/B:42/L:2 0RM:2/B:42/L:2
Station DH+ Station
PLC 34 26 PLC
Address Link 2 Address
(Octal) Device C Device D (Octal)
34 26
47
To communicate with Device E, PLC To communicate with Device F,
you would make the following 5/250 you would make the following
field entries: field entries:
25
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID CHANNEL ID
0RM:2/B:42/L:3 0RM:2/B:42/L:3
Station DH+ Station
PLC 36 41 PLC
Address Link 3 Address
(Octal) Device E Device F (Octal)
36 41

All of these entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 639

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
•
•
Figure 23-9 NetDTL Network Topology 3
In this example, two networks are connected to the FactoryLink station. The local network has a link identifier of 1 and the
network off of the local link has a link identifier of 2. The 17xx-KA interface module that provides a network bridge is
indicated by a box between the network circles. The Allen-Bradley PLCs connected to each network are indicated by boxes
to the left and right of the circle representing each network. The number beside each device box, just inside the network
circle, indicates the device address. The numbers above and below each KA box, just inside the network circles, indicate
the module’s address on the two networks to which it is connected.

To communicate with Device A, FactoryLink Station To communicate with Device B,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: 0RM:2 field entries:
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID 13 CHANNEL ID
0RM:2 0RM:2
Station Station
Address Address
(Octal) PLC 43 DH+ 56 PLC (Octal)
Link 1
43 Device A Device B 56

To communicate with Device C, 42 To communicate with Device D,

you would make the following you would make the following
field entries: KA field entries:
PYRAMID PYRAMID
CHANNEL ID CHANNEL ID

0RM:2/B:42/KA 0RM:2/B:42/KA
(triggered only) (triggered only)
PLC 36 DH 41 PLC
Station Link 2 Station
Address Device C Device D Address
(Octal) (Octal)

36 41

Unless otherwise indicated, all entries can be used for triggered and unsolicited operations.

Logical Station Entries

The configurations represented in the following topology flowcharts are defined in
a Logical Station table that appears after each chart.
KTDTL—Refer to page 641 and page 642.
NetDTL—Refer to page 643 and page 644.

640 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Sample Logical Station Table Entries

Figure 23-10 KTDTL Configuration 1

FactoryLink
Station
1KT:0
DH+ 036
Data Highway + Link 1

DH+ 010 DH+ 013 DH+ 023 DH+ 035 DH+ 045
Log. Sta. 0 Log. Sta. 1 KA5 Log. Sta. 2 Log. Sta. 3
PLC-5 PLC-3 DH-485 002 PLC-5/250 PLC-5
DH-485 Link 2

DH-485 003 DH-485 011 DH-485 012 DH-485 022 DH-485 031
Log. Sta. 4 Log. Sta. 5 KA5 Log. Sta. 6 Log. Sta. 7
SLC-5/03 SLC-5/03 DH+ 056 SLC-5/02 SLC-5/03
Data Highway + Link 3

DH+ 011 DH+ 034 DH+ 046 DH+ 057 23

Log. Sta. 8 Log. Sta. 9 Log. Sta. 10 Log. Sta. 11
PLC-5 PLC-3 PLC-5 PLC-5

KTDTL and NetDTL

0 55 lprt0_msg

lsta0_lana 0 1KT:0 10 PLC-5

lsta1_lana 1 1KT:0 13 PLC-3
lsta2_lana 2 1KT:0 35 PLC-250
lsta3_lana 3 1KT:0 45 PLC-5
lsta4_lana 4 1KT:0/G:23/L2 3 SLC-500
lsta5_lana 5 1KT:0/B:23/L2 11 SLC-500
lsta6_lana 6 1KT:0/G:23/L2 22 SLC-500
lsta7_lana 7 1KT:0/G:23/L2 31 SLC-500
lsta8_lana 8 1KT:0/B:23/L3 11 PLC-5
lsta9_lana 9 1KT:0/B:23/L3 34 PLC-3
lsta10_lana 10 1KT:0/B:23/L3 46 PLC-5
lsta11_lana 11 1KT:0/B:23/L3 57 PLC-5

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 641

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
•
•
Figure 23-11 KTDTL Configuration 2

FactoryLink
Station
1KT:0
DH+ 036

Data Highway + Link 1

DH+ 010 DH+ 013 DH+ 023 DH+ 035 DH+ 045
Log. Sta. 0 Log. Sta. 1 KA Log. Sta. 2 Log. Sta. 3
PLC-5 PLC-3 PLC-5/250 PLC-5
Data Highway

DH 011 DH 013
Log. Sta. 4 Log. Sta. 5
PLC-3 PLC-3

0 55 lprt0_msg

lsta0_lana 0 1KT:0 10 PLC-5

lsta1_lana 1 1KT:0 13 PLC-3
lsta2_lana 2 1KT:0 35 PLC-250
lsta3_lana 3 1KT:0 45 PLC-5
lsta4_lana 4 1KT:0/B:23/KA 11 PLC-3
lsta5_lana 5 1KT:0/B:23/KA 13 PLC-3

642 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
Sample Logical Station Table Entries

Figure 23-12 NetDTL Configuration 1

FactoryLink
Station

Ethernet TCP/IP

TCP/IP: abplc1 TCP/IP: abplc2

PLC 5/250 PLC-5/40E
Log. Sta. 0 Log. Sta. 1
ORM:2
DH+ 015/016
Data Highway + Link 1

DH+ 010 DH+ 013 DH+ 023 DH+ 035 DH+ 045
Log. Sta. 2 Log. Sta. 3 KA5 Log. Sta. 4 Log. Sta. 5
PLC-5 PLC-3 DH-485 002 PLC-5/250 PLC-5
DH-485 Link 2

DH-485 003 DH-485 011 DH-485 012 DH-485 022 DH-485 031 23
Log. Sta. 6 Log. Sta. 7 KA5 Log. Sta. 8 Log. Sta. 9
SLC-5/03 SLC-5/03 DH+ 056 SLC-5/02 SLC-5/03

KTDTL and NetDTL

Data Highway + Link 3

DH+ 011 DH+ 034 DH+ 046 DH+ 057

Log. Sta. 10 Log. Sta. 11 Log. Sta. 12 Log. Sta. 13
PLC-5 PLC-3 PLC-5 PLC-5

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 643

• CONFIGURING COMMUNICATION PATHS
• Sample Logical Station Table Entries
•
•
Figure 23-13 NetDTL Configuration 2
TCP/IP: abplc3
PLC 5/250
Log. Sta. 0
ORM:2
DH+ 015/016

Data Highway + Link 1

DH+ 010 DH+ 013 DH+ 023 DH+ 035 DH+ 045
Log. Sta. 1 Log. Sta. 2 KA Log. Sta. 3 Log. Sta. 4
PLC-5 PLC-3 PLC-5/250 PLC-5
Data Highway

DH 011 DH 013
Log. Sta. 5 Log. Sta. 6
PLC-3 PLC-3

644 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 24

•
•
•
•
Reading and Writing
Data

After setting up the communication paths, define requests that contain

information about the data to be read from and written to the devices. A read
request instructs FactoryLink to read data from specified locations in a device and
store it in real-time database elements. A write request instructs FactoryLink to
write the values of real-time database elements to specified locations in a device.

Define read requests in either the Read/Write table or the Unsolicited Read table,
and write requests in the Read/Write table. Each table consists of two panels: a
control panel and an information panel.
Note: The data entry columns in the 24
KTDTL Read/Write table and the
NetDTL Read/Write table are

KTDTL and NetDTL

identical. The only difference in the
tables is the panel names. Likewise,
the data entry columns in the
Unsolicited Read table for KTDTL and
NetDTL are the same. For practical
purposes, therefore, KTDTL and
NetDTL Read/Write and Unsolicited
Read tables are used interchangeably
in this chapter.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 645

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Reading Data from a Device
•
•
R EADING D ATA FROM A D EVICE
You can define two types of read operations: triggered and unsolicited.

Triggered—In a triggered read operation, data is retrieved from a device and

transferred to the real-time database. First, FactoryLink requests data from
specific locations (addresses) in a device. Next, the data is read then stored in
FactoryLink as database elements.
Figure 24-1 Triggered Read Operation

€ FactoryLink requests data from a device.

€
ì
ó The device returns the requested data to FactoryLink.
ó ì FactoryLink stores the data as elements
in the real-time database.
FactoryLink Station

Triggered read operations occur based on either timed intervals or events. In both
types of operations, a change in value of a trigger element prompts FactoryLink to
read data in specific locations in a device.
• Timed-Interval Reads—A read operation based on a timed interval instructs
FactoryLink to collect data at defined intervals, such as several times a minute
or at a given time each day.
• Event-Driven Reads—A read operation based on an event instructs FactoryLink
to collect data only when a defined event occurs, such as when an operator
selects a new graphic window or when an alarm condition occurs.

Unsolicited—In an unsolicited read operation, FactoryLink does not initiate the

reading of data. Instead, it accepts certain types of data from specified locations in
a device, then stores the data in the real-time database. FactoryLink recognizes
the device data because its starting address and length match an identical
address and expected data length configured in FactoryLink.
Figure 24-2 Unsolicited Read Operation

€ The device sends data to FactoryLink.

ó
ì € ó FactoryLink ensures the incoming data
matches configuration parameters.

ì FactoryLink stores the data in the

real-time database.
FactoryLink Station

646 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Reading Data from a Device

When filling out a request for a read operation, you specify in which elements the
data read from the device during the operation will be stored. Among other things,
you specify: the tag name assigned to the FactoryLink database element storing
the data, the logical station from which the data will be read, and the address
containing the data to be read.

Triggered Read Request—In a triggered read request table, a digital element you
configure in the Read/Write Control panel as a trigger to initiate a block read
operation causes FactoryLink to read each device address specified in the
Read/Write Information panel whenever the value of the trigger element is forced
to 1 (ON). FactoryLink stores the value read from each address in a real-time
database element (digital, analog, long analog, floating-point, or message).
Figure 24-3 How a Triggered Read Operation Works

When the block

read trigger is
forced on,... 24

KTDTL and NetDTL

The table name
P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG
indicates which
request is being
defined. ...FactoryLink reads each
defined address...

READ ...then stores the

value read in the
element specified to
receive the value.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 647

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Reading Data from a Device
•
•
Unsolicited Read Request—In an unsolicited read request table, configure
FactoryLink to recognize and accept data of a particular structure. In the
Unsolicited Read Control panel, give the request a name and indicate this is an
unsolicited read request. In the Unsolicited Read Information panel, specify the
addresses from which data is expected, the type of data expected, and tag names
for real-time database elements (digital, analog, long analog, floating-point, or
message) in which the data will be stored when FactoryLink receives data that
matches the specified criteria.
Figure 24-4 How an Unsolicited Read Operation Works

When you configure an

Unsolicited Read table,
FactoryLink is prepared to
recognize the data structure of the
ANA_15 0 34 INT2 value at each defined address
according to its data type.

When FactoryLink receives a value

that matches the criteria, it stores
the value in the element specified
UNSOL_READ
to receive it.

648 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Writing Data to a Device

W RITING D ATA TO A D EVICE

In a write operation, data is retrieved from the real-time database and transferred
to a device. FactoryLink reads the values of real-time database elements then
writes them to specific locations in a device.
Figure 24-5 Write Operation

€ FactoryLink reads database elements

€ ó and sends their values to a device.

ó The device stores the values.

FactoryLink Station

You can define two types of write operations: block and exception. 24
Block—In a block write operation, a change in value of a trigger element prompts

KTDTL and NetDTL

FactoryLink to write one or more database element values to specific device
locations.

Exception—In an exception write operation, a change in the value of an element

prompts FactoryLink to write that value to a specific device location. When an
element’s value changes, an internal change-status indicator within the element
also changes. If an element is configured for an exception write and this indicator
has been set since the last scan of the real-time database (indicating the value of
the element has changed), FactoryLink writes this element’s value to the device.

The difference in these two operations is the way in which each is triggered. Both
operations write data from FactoryLink to the device when a trigger is activated.
For a block write, the trigger is an element defined specifically for prompting a
write operation. For an exception write, the trigger is the change in status of the
element to be written.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 649

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Writing Data to a Device
•
•
When filling out a request for a write operation, specify the following basic
information: the tag name assigned to the FactoryLink database element
containing the data to be written, the logical station to which the data will be
written, and the address to which the data will be written.

Block Write Request—In a block write request table, a digital element you
configure in the Read/Write Control panel as a trigger to initiate a block write
operation causes the task to write element values specified in the Read/Write
Information panel to their associated device addresses each time the value of the
element is forced to 1 (ON).
Figure 24-6 How a Block Write Operation Works

Continued

Continued

When the block write

trigger is forced on,...

...FactoryLink writes the value of each

element defined for this table... P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

...into the specified address.

The table name indicates which

request is being defined. WRITE

650 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Writing Data to a Device

Exception Write Request—When any of the values of the elements defined in the
Read/Write Information panel change in an exception write request table, the task
writes those values to the defined device addresses. Optionally, define a digital
element to disable and re-enable an exception write table and a trigger element to
update the equipment once the table is re-enabled. Each defined exception write
results in a separate write command.
Figure 24-7 How an Exception Write Operation Works

Continued

When the Exception Write field is YES,

FactoryLink writes the values of the
elements associated with this table
only when they change.

24

KTDTL and NetDTL

A disable trigger allows you to disable
and re-enable an exception write table.
Once a table is re-enabled, you can use
a block write trigger to update any
Continued
values in the device that changed while
the table was disabled. Neither trigger is
required unless you plan to periodically
disable the table, but both are required if
you do plan to disable the table.

When the value of each defined element

changes, FactoryLink writes it... P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

...to the specified device address.

EXCEPTION

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 651

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuration Tips and Techniques
•
•
C ONFIGURATION T IPS AND TECHNIQUES
This section contains recommendations and considerations for configuring read
and write operations.

Verifying Proper Communications

While not required, it is recommended you configure two simple tables to test the
communication path before you define the read and write operations the
application needs. Perform the following steps to ensure the device can properly
communicate with FactoryLink:

Configure two tables: a triggered read table and an exception write table. These
should look similar to the following ones.

TESTREAD NO 1 test_rtrig
TESTWRITE YES 1

value1 0 B3:1/12 DIG

value2 0 B3:1/12 DIG

TESTREAD

TESTWRITE

In the read table, define:

• A trigger element (in the sample panel, test_rtrig) you will manually force to 1
(ON), using the FactoryLink Real-Time Monitor, RTMON.

652 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuration Tips and Techniques

• An element (in the sample panel, value1) to hold the value read from a known
address in one of the devices in your configuration (in the sample panel, address
140 in the device configured as logical station 1). You will watch the activity of
this element in RTMON to verify it is being updated.

Define an element (in the sample panel, value2) in the write table to hold a value
that will be written to the same address configured in the read table. Change this
element’s value in RTMON to prompt the processing of this table.

Note

The next steps in the procedure involve the use of the FactoryLink
Real-Time Monitor. For detailed instructions on using RTMON,
refer to FactoryLink Fundamentals.

Create a watch list in RTMON containing the elements defined in the two tables 24
(test_rtrig, value1, and value2 in the sample panels). Use the Watch option on the
RTMON Options menu to create a watch list.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Prompt the processing of the triggered read table by forcing a 1 to the read trigger
using the Tag Input option on the RTMON Options menu. You can watch the value
of the trigger change in the watch list.

test_rtrig

When you force the read trigger to 1,...

...its value in the

watch list changes
test_rtrig ON from OFF to ON.
value1 OFF
value2 OFF
When the read table is
triggered, the value of
value1 is updated. If the
value read differs from
the element’s current
value, you will see it
change in the watch list.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 653

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuration Tips and Techniques
•
•
When the triggered read table is processed, the element defined to hold the value
read (value1 in the sample panel) is updated with the current value of the
specified register address.

Use RTMON to prompt FactoryLink to process the exception write table. Change
the value of the element to be written (value2 in the sample panel) using the same
option you used to trigger the read table, Tag Input. When you change the
element’s value in this way, the exception write table is processed and the value is
written to the specified register address.

value2

Choosing Operation Type

Following are some guidelines and examples to help you determine which types of
read and write operations work best for specific situations and how to configure
these operations to optimize FactoryLink’s performance.

Triggered Read Operations

A triggered read operation is the best choice for reading data that changes
frequently and at regular intervals. Use the following types of triggered read
operations under the described circumstances.
Interval If an application does not require all data to be collected at the
same time, you can increase FactoryLink’s efficiency by
configuring several read tables, each reading at a different
interval and only as often as necessary. For example, configure a
table with timed reads that occur every five seconds for elements
with values that change frequently, and every thirty seconds for
elements with values that change less frequently.
Event If events occur infrequently, you can reduce the number of
requests sent between FactoryLink and the device and increase
overall efficiency by configuring several read tables, each
triggered by a different event. For example, if a graphic screen
contains a large number of variables useful only on that screen
(that is, they are not alarm points and are not being trended),
configure a separate read table containing only these variables.

654 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuration Tips and Techniques

FactoryLink will only read the elements on that screen when the
operator triggers this read table by selecting the graphic screen
for viewing. Using this technique can reduce traffic between
FactoryLink and the device when an application has a large
number of graphic screens.
As another example of an event-driven read operation, configure
FactoryLink to trigger a particular read table only if an alarm
condition occurs. The element that detects the alarm condition
can trigger FactoryLink to collect additional information from the
device about the status of related processes.

Unsolicited Read Operations

Use an unsolicited read operation if values to be read change infrequently and at

unspecified intervals. For example, you might design an application to notify
FactoryLink whenever an unexpected event occurs, such as an electrical unit
power surge of a specified magnitude. 24
Consider the frequency in which unsolicited read operations are expected to

KTDTL and NetDTL

execute. Unsolicited reads occurring too frequently and at irregular intervals can
cause excessive traffic leading to a jam on the communication link and poor
system performance.

Write Operations

Use the following types of write operations under the described circumstances.
Block If an application writes values of real-time database elements
that change frequently to the device, use a block write operation
because FactoryLink sends the minimum number of write
commands necessary to write the specified data. A block write is
most efficient when your application writes a group of elements
at one time to the device (for example, when your application
requires a new recipe).
Exception If an application writes values of real-time database elements
that change infrequently to the device, or if the application only
needs to change one value at a time (for example, a new
user-entered setpoint), use an exception write operation. For each
exception write, one packet of data per tag is sent to a device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 655

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuration Tips and Techniques
•
•
Choosing Effective Triggering Schemes
Consider the following triggering guidelines based on the read and write
operation recommendations described in “Choosing Operation Type” on page 654
of this guide:
• Only Trigger When Data is Needed—How often you choose to trigger data to be
read or written can depend on several factors, including how often the data
changes and whether the changes occur regularly, the timing of the events in
the application, and the types of read and write operations the device supports.
• Only Trigger When on Specific Screens—Trigger data needed more often at
faster rates while slowing down other requests.
• Daisy Chain Tables—Link or daisy chain tables together in several loops by
defining elements in such a way that the completion of one operation triggers
the beginning of another. Refer to “Cascaded” on page 690 of this guide.

For detailed descriptions of specific techniques you can use to enhance the
performance of your application, refer to “Techniques for Improving
Communication Performance” on page 688 of this guide.

Configuring Read and Write Tables

Consider the following recommendations when filling out a request for a read or
write operation. For additional recommendations pertaining to unsolicited read
operations only, refer to “Unsolicited Read Operation Concepts” on page 670 of
this guide.
• Logically Group Table Entries—FactoryLink creates messages to send to a
device based on entries in a read or write table. Table entries are grouped
according to the following criteria: logical station number, FactoryLink data
type, Allen-Bradley data type, and address. The messages FactoryLink creates
are based on the results of the grouped table entries; therefore, for maximum
efficiency, you should attempt to group read and write table entries the same
way in which FactoryLink internally groups them.
Another benefit of organizing table entries as FactoryLink does is debugging
your application is easier. If an error occurs in table processing, you can readily
identify the source of the error.
• Keep Addresses Contiguous—Whenever possible, keep addresses contiguous to
reduce the number of messages FactoryLink must generate to process a table.
If you define a table full of data of the same FactoryLink and Allen-Bradley
data type that will be read from or written to contiguous addresses, chances are
FactoryLink will be able to read or write the data in one transaction (provided
the size of the data does not exceed the maximum size the device can handle for

656 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuration Tips and Techniques

one transmission). If this data is of a different type, however, FactoryLink must

send more than one message to complete the operation.
Figure 24-8 illustrates how FactoryLink groups data being read from or written
to contiguous addresses into messages based on the data’s type. (This example
is for a read table but could also apply to a table for a write operation.)
Figure 24-8 Read Table Containing Two Different Allen-Bradley Data Types
FactoryLink would
need to generate
two messages to
process this table:
ana_2 0 N7:32 INT2 one to read INT2
ana_2 0 N7:33 INT2 data and another
ana_2 0 N7:34 INT2 to read INT4 data.
ana_2 0 N7:35 INT2
ana_2 0 N7:36 INT2
ana_4 0 N7:37 INT4
ana_4 0 N7:38 INT4
ana_4 0 N7:39 INT4
ana_4 0 N7:40 INT4 24
ana_4 0 N7:41 INT4

READ_ANA

KTDTL and NetDTL

• Recognize Processing Differences in Read and Write Operations—FactoryLink
processes data being read differently than it processes data being written. All
addresses defined in a read table are read based on the specified range. Using
Figure 24-8 as an example, you could get the same result (reading addresses 32
through 41) by defining only four rows as shown in Figure 24-9:

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 657

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuration Tips and Techniques
•
•
Figure 24-9 Table Defined to Read a Range of Addresses
FactoryLink will
still generate two
messages to
process this
revised table. All
ana_2 0 32 INT2
ana_2 0 36 INT2 addresses in the
ana_4 0 37 INT4 range of 32 to 41
ana_4 0 41 INT4 will be read.

READ_ANA

If you define a write table as shown in Figure 24-9, however, each row will
generate a separate message and data will only be written to the four addresses
specified. To send a single message to write to addresses 32 through 41, you
would need to define each address separately as shown in Figure 24-8. Only
contiguous groups of data (up to the maximum allowed by the device) would be
put in one message for a write operation.
• Define Multiple Operations in a Single Table—Because the KTDTL and NetDTL
tasks can process multiple messages destined for a single device
simultaneously, you can define several read or write operations (within reason
and based on the architecture of the application) in a single table for maximum
throughput. Each additional table you define results in more messages the task
must generate thus reducing the efficiency of your application.
• Keep Disabled Messages Together—Put entries that might need to be disabled
periodically in their own table, separate from entries that will not be disabled.
• Prioritize Read and Write Operations—The priority of read and write operations
can affect the speed and performance of an application. Assign a priority to give
preference to the most critical data to be read or written should FactoryLink
receive more than one request to execute a read or write operation at a time.

658 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

C ONFIGURING TRIGGERED R EAD , B LOCK WRITE , OR E XCEPTION W RITE

This section describes how to configure a triggered read, a block write, or an
exception write request table.

Filling Out the Read/Write Control Panel

The following steps describe how to fill out the Read/Write Control panel.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

If the Logical Station Information panel is currently displayed, click Next and go to
step . If another KTDTL or NetDTL panel is displayed, go to step .

Choose the appropriate option from the Main Menu. A cascaded view of all the
configuration panels is displayed. 24
KTDTL—For KTDTL, choose Allen-Bradley KTDTL.

KTDTL and NetDTL

NetDTL—For NetDTL, choose Allen-Bradley NetDTL.

Display the Read/Write Control panel by clicking its title bar.

Add a panel entry for each read or write request you want transmitted over a
communication path to a device. The information you provide depends on the type
of request you are defining. Refer to the appropriate section:
• “Triggered Read” on page 659
• “Block Write” on page 662
• “Exception Write” on page 665

Triggered Read

The following steps describe how to fill out a Read/Write Control panel for a
triggered read table.

Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each triggered read
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Triggered Read Request” on page 680.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 659

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write
•
•
Table Name Give this read request table a name. Define one table per line and
do not include spaces in the name. Define as many request tables
in this panel as available memory allows. Try to make the table
name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the Block Read Trigger element defined for this table is
forced on, the element prompts FactoryLink to process this read
table and any other read table with a Table Name entry associated
with the same trigger.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Exception Write Accept the default of NO to indicate this is not an exception write.
Valid Entry: no
Block Read Priority Enter a number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other read operations. The highest priority is 1. This number
influences the order in which the KTDTL or NetDTL task
handles the queuing of block read requests. If the task receives
two requests at the same time, it processes the request with the
highest priority first.
Valid Entry: 1, 2, 3, 4 (default=1)
Block Read Trigger Enter a tag name for a digital element to initiate a block read of
the addresses specified in the associated Read/Write Information
panel. When this element’s value is forced to 1 (ON), the
addresses are read.

Note

A Block Read Trigger is required to prompt FactoryLink to process a

table for a triggered read operation.

660 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

The element you use for the Block Read Trigger can also be defined
in another FactoryLink task. For example, you could define a
digital element in the Event or Interval Timer, Math and Logic,
or the Application Editor, and assign the same tag name to a
Block Read Trigger element. When the element’s value changes to
1 (as the result of a math operation or a defined event taking
place, for example), it prompts a read operation.

Tip

For efficient performance, define a Block Read Trigger element as a

Block Read State element in one table, creating a self-triggered
table, or define tag names for elements across several tables in
such a way to create a cascaded loop (or daisy-chain effect). When
you give identical names to a Block Read State and a Block Read
Trigger element, the completion of one read operation triggers the 24
start of another. Refer to “Techniques for Improving
Communication Performance” on page 688 for a description and

KTDTL and NetDTL

examples of how to create a self-triggered table or a cascaded loop.

For additional information about triggers and using tags as

triggers in FactoryLink ECS Fundamentals, refer to “Choosing
Effective Triggering Schemes” on page 656 of this guide.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read Disable (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to disable a
block read of the elements specified in this table. When this tag’s
value is forced to 1, the read operation is not executed, even when
the block read trigger is set. Set this element back to 0 (OFF) to
re-enable a block read table that has been disabled.

Tip

The Block Read Disable element can be used to disable a block read
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered read table, the Block
Read Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. Refer to
“Techniques for Improving Communication Performance” on page
688 for further details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 661

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write
•
•
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to indicate
Complete when this operation is complete. This element is forced to 1 at
startup. After the elements defined in the associated Read/Write
Information panel have been updated in the FactoryLink
database, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to indicate the
state of this operation: in progress or complete. This element is
forced to 1 at startup. While the table is being processed, the
element is set to 0. After the elements defined in the associated
Read/Write Information panel have been updated in the
FactoryLink database, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Click Enter when you have finished filling out the information on this panel.

If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each tag is displayed. Choose DIGITAL for Type
and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

Define the data to be read and the target addresses in the Read/Write Information
panel. Refer to “Filling Out the Read/Write Information Panel” on page 667 for
details.

Block Write

The following steps describe how to fill out a Read/Write Control panel for a block
write table.

Add a panel entry using the following field descriptions, for each block write
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Block Write Request” on page 683.

662 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

Table Name Give this write request table a name. Define one table per line
and do not include spaces in the name. Define as many request
tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to make the
table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the Block Write Trigger element defined for this table is
forced on, the element prompts FactoryLink to process this write
table and any other write table with a Table Name entry
associated with the same trigger.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Exception Write Accept the default of NO to indicate this is not an exception write.
Valid Entry: no
Block Write Priority Enter a number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other write operations. The highest priority is 1. This number
influences the order in which the KTDTL or NetDTL task
handles the queuing of this write request. If the task receives two
24
requests at the same time, it processes the request with the

KTDTL and NetDTL

highest priority first.
Valid Entry: 1, 2, 3, 4 (default=1)
Block Write Trigger Enter a tag name for a digital element to initiate a block write of
the element values specified in the associated Read/Write
Information panel to the addresses defined to receive the values.
FactoryLink writes the values when this element’s value is forced
to 1 (ON).

Note

A Block Write Trigger is required to prompt FactoryLink to process

this table for a write operation.

The element you use for the Block Write Trigger can also be defined
in another FactoryLink task. For example, you could define a
digital element in the Event or Interval Timer, Math and Logic,
or the Application Editor and assign the same tag name to a Block

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 663

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write
•
•
Write Trigger element. When the element’s value changes to 1 (as
the result of a math operation or a defined event taking place, for
example), it prompts a write operation.

Tip

For efficient performance, you can define a Block Write Trigger

element as a Block Write State element in one table, creating a
self-triggered table; or you can define tag names for elements
across several tables in such a way to create a cascaded loop (or
daisy-chain effect). When you give identical names to a Block Write
State and a Block Write Trigger element, the completion of one write
operation triggers the start of another. Refer to “Techniques for
Improving Communication Performance” on page 688 for a
description and examples of how to create a self-triggered table or
a cascaded loop.

Refer to triggering data effectively in “Choosing Effective

Triggering Schemes” on page 656 for additional information
about triggers, and using tags as triggers in FactoryLink ECS
Fundamentals.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Disable (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to disable a
block write to the addresses specified in this table. When this
tag’s value is forced to 1, the write operation is not executed, even
when the block write trigger is set. To re-enable a block write
table that has been disabled, set this element back to 0 (OFF).

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can be used to disable a block write
operation that is either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered.
The triggering cycle will cease upon disabling, however. To
re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered write table, the Block
Write Trigger element must be toggled or forced to 1. For further
details, see “Techniques for Improving Communication
Performance” on page 688.

Valid Entry: standard element tag name

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

Valid Data Type: digital

Block Write (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to indicate
Complete when this operation is complete. This element is forced to 1 at
startup. After the data defined in this table’s Read/Write
Information panel has been written to the device, the complete
element is forced to 1 again.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write State (Optional) Enter a tag name for a digital element to indicate the
state of this operation: in progress or complete. This element is
forced to 1 at startup. While the table is being processed, the
element is set to 0. After the data defined in this table’s
Read/Write Information panel has been written to the device, the
state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name 24
Valid Data Type: digital

KTDTL and NetDTL

Click Enter when you have finished filling out the information on this panel.

If the tag names you defined on this panel are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each tag is displayed. Choose DIGITAL for Type
and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

Define the data to be written and the target addresses in the Read/Write
Information panel. Refer to “Filling Out the Read/Write Information Panel” on
page 667 for details.

Exception Write

The following steps describe how to fill out a Read/Write Control panel for an
exception write table.

Add a panel entry using the following field descriptions, for each exception write
request you want to define. Leave all other fields blank. Sample entries are
provided in “Sample Exception Write Request” on page 686.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 665

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write
•
•
Table Name Give this write request table a name. Define one table per line
and do not include spaces in the name. Define as many request
tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to make the
table name reflective of the operation it represents.
When the values of the elements you define in this table’s
Read/Write Information panel change, FactoryLink processes this
exception write table and any other exception write table with a
Table Name entry associated with the same elements.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Exception Write Enter YES for the task to write element values only when those
values change.

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified will be written to the device in its own packet (message)
each time it changes. Defining elements that change value
frequently as exception writes can slow down communications or
result in an error message.

Valid Entry: Ctrl+K

Block Write Priority Enter a number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other write operations. The highest priority is 1. This number
influences the order in which the KTDTL or NetDTL task
handles the queuing of this write request. If the task receives two
requests at the same time, it processes the request with the
highest priority first.
Valid Entry: 1, 2, 3, 4 (default=1)
Block Write Trigger If this is an exception write table, ignore this field.
Block Write Disable If this is an exception write table, ignore this field.

Click Enter when you have finished filling out the information on this panel.

If the tag names for the elements you defined on this panel are not defined
elsewhere in FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each one is displayed. Choose
DIGITAL for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for each tag name.

666 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

Define the data to be written and the target addresses in the Read/Write
Information panel. Refer to “Filling Out the Read/Write Information Panel” on
page 667 for details.

Filling Out the Read/Write Information Panel

The following steps describe how to fill out the Read/Write Information panel.

On the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are defining.
Click Next to display the Read/Write Information panel. The table name is
displayed in the Table Name field on the lower left side of the panel.

Define information using the following field descriptions, for each address to be
read or to which information is to be written:
• For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.
24
• For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each element to be written when the
operation executes.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Read/Write

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog
box in the Application Editor. Refer to the section on working with
tags in the Application Editor for details.

Sample entries are provided in “Sample Read and Write Table Entries” on page
680.
Tag Name For a Read Table—Specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink will store the data read from the device.
For a Write Table—Specify a tag name for an element containing a
value to be written to the device.
Define a digital element and a corresponding Allen-Bradley data
type of BIN or DIG in the Data Type field to read or write to
bit-level addresses (B3:0/4 or N7:3/11, for example).
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, float, message, longana

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 667

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write
•
•
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the data is
to be read or to which the element’s value will be written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station Information
panel for the logical port through which communications with
this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number
Address For a Read Table—Enter the address in the device’s memory
where the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a Write Table—Enter the address in the device’s memory to
which the element value will be written.
The amount of memory assigned to each Allen-Bradley data type
depends on several factors, including the PLC or SLC model
number and the amount of memory installed in the system. For
address specification formats and valid device file types and
subelements, refer to Chapter 25, “Allen-Bradley Data Types and
Addresses,” of this guide.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 1 - 65535
Data Type Specify the type of data being read from or written to the device
for each element defined in the Tag Name field. For descriptions of
the supported Allen-Bradley PLC and SLC data types and their
corresponding FactoryLink data types, refer to Chapter 25,
“Allen-Bradley Data Types and Addresses,” of this guide.
If you enter the data type BIN, the task automatically chooses an
Allen-Bradley data type compatible with the FactoryLink data
type of the Tag Name element. For example, if you enter BIN as
the data type for an analog element, the task interprets BIN as
INT2 and reads or writes to the element as if the data type had
been entered as INT2.
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K

For a Read Table—Click Enter to validate the data when you have finished defining
all the addresses to be read and all the elements to which the data is to be written.

For a Write Table—Click Enter to validate the data when you have finished defining
all the tag names for FactoryLink database elements and the addresses to which
their contents are to be written.

If the tag names for the elements you defined are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each one is displayed. Choose the type of data to
be stored in the element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for
each tag name. Refer to the tag’s field description for the valid data types.

668 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring Triggered Read, Block Write, or Exception Write

Click Prev to return to the Read/Write Control panel and refer to step on page 659
of this guide to configure another read or write request table.

Click Exit to return to the Main Menu when all read and write tables are complete.

24

KTDTL and NetDTL

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 669

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring an Unsolicited Read
•
•
C ONFIGURING AN U NSOLICITED R EAD
This section provides information you should understand before configuring a
request for an unsolicited read operation and procedures describing how to
configure an unsolicited read request table.

Unsolicited Read Operation Concepts

When the KTDTL or NetDTL task receives unsolicited data from a device, the
task updates elements for which tag names have been assigned in an Unsolicited
Read table. Configure an Unsolicited Read table with a specific amount (length) of
data and a specific starting address from which data is expected to be sent by the
device. The task then builds the appropriate table structure for receiving the data
according to the data length and expected starting address.

After the task starts up, it processes block read and write and exception write
operations based on triggers and state changes configured as elements that have
been assigned tag names in read and write tables. As the task goes about its
normal operations, it is always ready to accept unsolicited data it is configured (in
an Unsolicited Read table) to receive.

The MSG instruction (or statement) in the PLC or SLC ladder logic, depending
upon how it has been programmed, sends a user-defined block of data based on a
particular time or event. If this block of data and the Unsolicited Read table
structure that was built do not match exactly in length and offset (starting
address), then the task will not receive the data.

Before configuring the Unsolicited Read table, you should be familiar with the
concepts discussed in the following pages related to data flow, data packet
processing, address range limitations, and (if SLC 5/03 and 5/04 devices are being
used) SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG instructions.

If you are not sure of when to use an unsolicited read operation, refer to “Choosing
Operation Type” on page 654 of this guide.

Note

NetDTL—The RSLinx Ethernet interface only accepts unsolicited

data from devices connected directly to Ethernet. For details on
configuring the NetDTL task to receive unsolicited data from
devices on DH+, DH, or DH 485 that communicate through a
Pyramid Integrator, see “Pyramid Integrator as Data
Concentrator” on page 672.

670 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring an Unsolicited Read

Data Flow
KTDTL—In unsolicited read operations, Allen-Bradley devices send PLC-2 format
unprotected write command packets over each configured network to the
communications port in the FactoryLink computer. The card port, in turn, passes
these command packets to FactoryLink and the KTDTL task.
NetDTL—Unsolicited data flows from the devices in your configuration to
FactoryLink and NetDTL either directly, if the devices are PLC 5/xxEs, or
through a PLC 5/250 Pyramid Integrator (PI), in which case the data is first
sent to an alternate address in the PI and then to FactoryLink and NetDTL.
PLC 5/xxE devices are equipped with a built-in Ethernet interface and,
therefore, do not require a PLC 5/250 PI. In unsolicited read operations, data
flows from addresses in the specified PLC 5/xxE device as PLC-2 format
unprotected write command packets. These packets are sent directly to
FactoryLink and NetDTL.
For PLC and SLC devices connected to FactoryLink and NetDTL through a 24
PLC 5/250 PI, the devices send PLC-2 format unprotected write command
packets over each configured network to an alternate address in the PI

KTDTL and NetDTL

(described in the following section). The PI, in turn, passes these command
packets through the Ethernet Interface module and over the Ethernet TCP/IP
network to FactoryLink and the NetDTL task.
The MSG instruction in the ladder logic for each PLC or SLC device in your
configuration directs data to a particular device port. Each port connects
directly to either Ethernet, a DH+, or a DH-485. Refer to the appropriate
Allen-Bradley documentation for more information about the MSG instruction.

Alternate Address Definitions in the Pyramid Integrator

NetDTL using INTERCHANGE—At startup, the Ethernet interface assigns itself
an alternate address on the Data Highway+ that is one value higher than the
configured address for each DH+ port on the Pyramid Integrator. (DH+
addresses are specified in octal format; that is, 108 is equal to 8.) The Pyramid
Integrator uses this alternate address to process unsolicited data. To
distinguish data sent to a Pyramid Integrator Ethernet interface client from
normal PLC-to-PLC data sent to the PLC-5/250, the PLC writes unsolicited
data to the alternate address. For example, if the Resource Manager PLC-5/250
address is 10, for unsolicited data, its alternate address is 11.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 671

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring an Unsolicited Read
•
•
Pyramid Integrator as Data Concentrator
NetDTL using RSLinx—The alternate address applies to INTERCHANGE only.
The RSLinx Ethernet interface only accepts unsolicited data from devices
connected directly to Ethernet. To receive data from devices on DH+, DH, or DH
485, use the Pyramid Integrator as a data concentrator; that is, send unsolicited
messages to the Pyramid Integrator first as if it were another PLC, then
transmit the data from the Pyramid Integrator to the RSLinx Ethernet
interface.

Unsolicited Read Data Packets

A data packet is an unprotected write command for unsolicited reads. The KTDTL
and NetDTL tasks process data elements as packets of data rather than as
individual addresses. Each packet has a unique definition that includes the
following information: path to the originating station, command length (number of
tags written), and the starting address (lowest address defined for a particular
logical station).
NetDTL—For NetDTL, the path to the originating station includes the PI DH+
port and the device’s network address on that port, or the Ethernet address of a
PLC 5/xxE device.
KTDTL—For KTDTL, the path to the originating station includes the
Allen-Bradley PC card port and the device’s network address.
The starting address of a data packet is flexible and can be assigned any value
ranging from 0 to 7777 (octal). The address of the originating station and the
command length, however, are less flexible. They define similar packets of data
from similar locations.

For unsolicited reads, it is only necessary to define the first and last addresses in
a packet. You can leave the middle addresses (everything other than the low and
high addresses) undefined or, most likely, assign them to single or multiple
FactoryLink tags as described in the following section.

FactoryLink Application Data Packets

When the KTDTL or NetDTL task maps unsolicited data to elements, it sorts the
data into packets based on the structure of PLC-2 write commands:
• For each defined Unsolicited Read table, the task sorts the entries in ascending
order by logical station and address. The lowest address for each logical station
determines the starting address of the packet.
• The task then determines the command length by first subtracting the starting
address from the highest referenced address, then by adding one. The highest
referenced address is the highest address plus the PLC-type length.

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring an Unsolicited Read

To Determine the PLC-Type Length—For the data types listed, add the specified
value:
INT2 Add 0.
INT4, FLT Add 1.
STRUC, ASC Add the length specifier (value of the Address field in the
Unsolicited Read Information panel) minus one.

Data Packet Processing

When the KTDTL or NetDTL task receives a data packet, it searches its list of
defined packets for definitions that match the originating station, starting
address, and number of Allen-Bradley elements of the received packet. When it
finds matching definitions, the task reads the received information and writes all
of the data elements described in the definitions to the real-time database
according to the values of the data in the received packet. Any specific data tag
that is mapped to an address is only processed if that data tag and address are
24
present in the definition of the received packet.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Two individual packet definitions with overlapping device addresses that differ in
originating station, starting address, or length are separate and unique. For
example, a packet that starts at address 0100 (octal) and writes ten elements
(words) is not part of a definition for a packet from the same station that also
starts at address 0100 (octal) but writes eleven elements (words). Because the
length of the packets is different, the two are unique. Furthermore, if two
identical packets starting at address 0200 (octal) and comprising seven identical
elements are received from different originating stations, they are also unique.

Defining Multiple Data Packets

If one client (FactoryLink KTDTL or NetDTL task) requires multiple definitions

of the same data packet, the client itself handles the sorting of these packets using
the criteria described in “Data Packet Processing” on page 673 of this guide. If
multiple clients define identical data packets, however, the server (Allen-Bradley
INTERCHANGE or RSLinx) cannot differentiate between these packets and it
loses data; therefore, to avoid data loss, do not define identical data packets from
multiple clients of the same server.

If you need multiple definitions of the same data packet, define one packet in one
panel with multiple elements per address. Alternatively, you could define two
identical packets in two separate Unsolicited Read Information panels.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 673

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring an Unsolicited Read
•
•
Maximum Command Length of Data Packets
KTDTL—For devices communicating through an Allen-Bradley card over a DH+,
the maximum command length for individual packets in unsolicited reads is
120 words (240 bytes).
NetDTL—For devices communicating through a Pyramid Integrator with the
Ethernet Interface module over a DH+, the maximum command length for
individual packets in unsolicited reads is 120 words (240 bytes).

For SLC 5/03 and 5/04 processors, the maximum length is 41 elements (words).

If the range of addresses defined for a particular logical station exceeds this
maximum command length, send a second packet of addresses from the
Allen-Bradley device for this logical station. If FactoryLink elements are defined
for appropriate (border) addresses, then these packets will occupy contiguous
space.

Number of Data Packets

For the most efficient performance of an unsolicited read operation, define only
one packet per logical station in a single configuration table. If you need to define
more than one packet per logical station, however, make the starting address
number of each subsequent packet greater than the highest address in the
address range of the previous packet.

Address Range Limitations

All Allen-Bradley PLCs support the PLC-2 write command; however, some PLCs
limit the address ranges and data types that can be specified. Consult the
appropriate PLC programming guide for these restrictions.

Since unsolicited messages must be PLC-2-type unprotected writes, the

destination station type in the PLC ladder logic MSG instruction must be PLC-2.
For most PLCs, the ladder logic MSG instruction does not allow the source
address to be an F, H, L, ... file type if the destination PLC is a PLC-2. The
communication binary format for INT4, FLT, and others depends on the actual
PLC type.

In standard Allen-Bradley PLCs, certain Allen-Bradley PLC data types (FLT and
INT4, to name a few) cannot be sent in a PLC-2 unprotected write command. To
instruct the PLC to send such data types to FactoryLink:

Define the PLC type. For the task to convert the PLC type for the originating
logical station in the definition of the logical station number, specify the actual
PLC type (PLC-3, PLC-5, PLC-250) in the Station Type field of the Logical Station

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring an Unsolicited Read

Information panel for the logical station referenced in the Unsolicited Read
Information panel. The PLC type you enter in the Station Type field corresponds to
the PLC binary format for the data you specify in the Data Type field on the
Unsolicited Read Information panel.

Copy the data to a binary or integer file. Build the PLC-2 write data from the
PLC, sending the data in a binary or integer file by copying the long integer,
floating-point, or other data to the binary or integer file.

Trigger a MSG instruction to send the data to the appropriate address:

KTDTL—The MSG instruction should send the data from the file to the DH+ or
DH-485 address of the PC card port.
NetDTL—For a PI connected to a DH+, the MSG instruction should send the
data from the file to the PI’s alternate address. For a device with a built-in
Ethernet interface, the MSG instruction should send the data from the file to the
IP address labeled CLIENT for INTERCHANGE. For RSLinx, use the TCP/IP
dot notation address (nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn) of the FactoryLink client.
24

KTDTL and NetDTL

SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG Instruction Considerations

The SLC 5/03 and 5/04 processors, using the MSG instruction, can read and write
data to and from data table memory. To send and receive data from a user-defined
data table memory location, you specify information associated with the data for
the Target Node, Target Offset, and Message Length MSG instruction functions.

Note the following considerations when configuring the MSG instruction:

• When using the MSG instruction to send data to the KTDTL task, the SLC 5/03
or 5/04 must use the 485CIF as the target device.
• When a SLC 5/03 processor writes to a DH+ station address across a 1785 KA5
module, or when a SLC 5/04 processor writes directly to another DH+ address,
be sure to adhere to the following limits for each function:
Target Node The Target Node (target network station address) must be
between 0 and 31 (octal). Although the DH+ network range is 0 to
77 (octal), any address you enter in an Unsolicited Read
Information panel above 31 will result in an error.
Target Offset For an unsolicited read table entry, divide the Target Offset
(target memory) value, which is entered in word elements, by
two. For example, a Target Offset field entry of 22 (decimal) in a
MSG instruction translates to an Address field entry of 13 (octal)
in the Unsolicited Read Information panel.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 675

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring an Unsolicited Read
•
•
Message Length The Message Length determines the total word length of
FactoryLink tags you can configure in an unsolicited read table.
For example, a Message Length of 10 would be sufficient for
defining ten FactoryLink tags for Allen-Bradley data type INT2,
or eight tags for data type INT2 and one tag for data type INT4.
The Message Length in words must be between 0 and 41 (octal).
Although the DH-485 network allows up to 112 one-word
elements, if the total word length of the FactoryLink tags you
configure in an unsolicited read table is over 41, an error occurs.

Note

If the entries in the Unsolicited Read Information panel do not

exactly match the values for these functions in the MSG
instruction, the SLC 5/03 or 5/04 processor displays an error.

• The entry fields for the SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG instruction only accept data in
decimal notation. Be sure to enter their octal equivalents into an unsolicited
read table.
• For the SLC 5/03 processor, when the target node is a DH+ network address
connected to the NetDTL task through a 1785-KA5 module, configure the
processor for remote communications. If the target node is another DH-485
network address, configure the processor for local communications.
• For the SLC 5/04 processor, when the target node is another DH+ network
address, configure the processor for local communications.

Refer to Allen-Bradley’s reference manual for SLC 500 advanced programming

software for more information on SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG instructions.

Filling Out the Unsolicited Read Control Panel

The following steps describe how to fill out the Unsolicited Read Control panel.

Ensure the current domain selected is SHARED in the Configuration Manager

Domain Selection box.

Click Next and go to step if the Logical Station Information panel is currently
displayed. Go to step if another KTDTL or NetDTL panel is displayed.

Choose the appropriate option from the Main Menu. A cascaded view of all the
configuration panels is displayed.

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring an Unsolicited Read

KTDTL—For KTDTL, choose Allen-Bradley KTDTL.

NetDTL—For NetDTL, choose Allen-Bradley NetDTL.

Display the Unsolicited Read Control panel by clicking its title bar.

Add a panel entry using the following field descriptions, for each unsolicited read
request you want to define. Sample entries are provided in “Sample Unsolicited
Read Request” on page 682 of this guide.
Table Name Give this unsolicited read request table a name. Define one table
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can define as
many tables in this panel as available memory allows. Try to
make the table name reflective of the operation it represents.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Unsolicited Read Enter YES or FORCE. The task will interpret this operation as
an unsolicited read and emulate the device’s addressing structure 24
based on entries you make in the Unsolicited Read Information
panel. The incoming data will be written to the real-time

KTDTL and NetDTL

database as specified in this field.
If you enter YES, the data is written to the element represented
by the tag name specified in the Unsolicited Read Information
panel. If the current value of the element is equal to the value
being written, the change-status indicator is unaffected. If a
different value is being written to the element, however, it will
overwrite the current value and the element’s change-status
indicator will be set to 1 (ON).
If you enter FORCE, the data is written and the change-status
flag is automatically set to 1, regardless of whether the element’s
value has changed since the last write.
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K

Click Enter when you have finished filling out the information on this panel.

Define the data to be read and the target addresses in the Unsolicited Read
Information panel. Refer to “Filling Out the Unsolicited Read Information Panel”
on page 678 of this guide.

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• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Configuring an Unsolicited Read
•
•
Filling Out the Unsolicited Read Information Panel
The following steps describe how to fill out the Unsolicited Read Information
panel.

1 On the Unsolicited Read Control panel, select the row for the table you are
defining. Click Next to display the Unsolicited Read Information panel. The table
name is displayed in the Table Name field on the lower left side of the panel.

2 Using the following field descriptions, add a panel entry for each FactoryLink
database element in which data read from the device will be stored when
FactoryLink receives the data. Sample entries are provided in “Sample
Unsolicited Read Request” on page 682 of this guide.

Tip

Alternatively, the elements you define in the Unsolicited Read

Information panel can be configured in the Tag Definition dialog
box in the Application Editor. Refer to the section on working with
tags in the Application Editor for details.

Tag Name Specify a tag name for an element in which FactoryLink will store
the data read from the device. Be sure the message length defined
in the PLC or SLC MSG instruction is sufficient to handle the
number and types of elements you define in this table. Refer to
“SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG Instruction Considerations” on page 675
of this guide.
For data expected from bit-level addresses (B3:0/4 or N7:3/11, for
example), define a digital element and a corresponding
Allen-Bradley data type of BIN or DIG in the Data Type field.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, float, message, longana
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the
expected data is to be read. This number was originally defined in
the Logical Station Information panel for the logical port through
which communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station number

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Configuring an Unsolicited Read

Address Enter the address in the device’s memory where the value to be
stored in this element is located. You must use the PLC-2 format.
For address specification formats, refer to Chapter 25,
“Allen-Bradley Data Types and Addresses,” of this guide.
For special addressing requirements pertinent to unsolicited
reads, refer to “Unsolicited Read Operation Concepts” on page
670 of this guide. For offlink addressing considerations pertinent
to SLC 5/03 and 5/04 processors, refer to “SLC 5/03 and 5/04 MSG
Instruction Considerations” on page 675 of this guide.
Valid Entry: numeric value from 1 - 65535
Data Type Specify the type of data expected from the device for each element
defined in the Tag Name field. For descriptions of the supported
Allen-Bradley PLC and SLC data types and their corresponding
FactoryLink data types, refer to Chapter 25, “Allen-Bradley Data
Types and Addresses,” of this guide.
24
If you enter the data type BIN, the task automatically selects an
Allen-Bradley data type compatible with the FactoryLink data

KTDTL and NetDTL

type of the Tag Name element. For example, if you enter BIN as
the data type for an analog element, the task interprets BIN as
INT2 and reads or writes to the element as if the data type had
been entered as INT2.
Valid Entry: Ctrl+K

Click Enter to validate the data when you have finished defining all the addresses
from which the expected data is to be read and all the elements to which the data
will be written.

If the tag names for the elements you defined are not defined elsewhere in
FactoryLink, a dialog for defining each one is displayed. Choose the type of data to
be stored in the element for Type and accept the default of SHARED for Domain for
each tag name. Refer to the tag’s field description for the valid data types.

Click Prev to return to the Unsolicited Read Control panel and refer to step on
page 677 to configure another unsolicited read request table.

Click Exit when all unsolicited read operations are defined.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 679

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Sample Read and Write Table Entries
•
•
S AMPLE R EAD AND W RITE TABLE E NTRIES
This section provides descriptions of some possible configuration panel entries for
a triggered read, an unsolicited read, a block write, and an exception write request
table. The panel entries provided in the following pages illustrate the way in
which FactoryLink processes these requests.

Sample Triggered Read Request

In Figure 24-10, the READ table is configured as follows:
• When the value of KTDTL_READ_TRIGGER (Block Read Trigger) is 1,
FactoryLink reads the configured address and writes its value to the element
configured for this table (in the Read/Write Information panel). The block read
priority, which is set automatically if you do not enter a value, is set to the
default of 1, the highest priority.
• When the value of KTDTL_READ_DISABLE (Block Read Disable) is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger element, KTDTL_READ_TRIGGER, and
does not process the READ table.
• Once the data is read and stored in the database element defined (in the
Read/Write Information panel) to receive it, FactoryLink forces a value of 1 to
KTDTL_READ_STATE (Block Read State) and to KTDTL_READ_COMPLETE
(Block Read Complete). During the read operation, KTDTL_READ_STATE is set
to 0.
Figure 24-10 Read/Write Control Panel for a Triggered Read

Continued

Continued

READ is
illustrated in
this example.

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Sample Read and Write Table Entries

As shown in Figure 24-11, when the READ table is triggered by

KTDTL_READ_TRIGGER, FactoryLink reads the value of bit 12 in file type B,
file number 3, element 1 in the device configured as logical station 0 and stores
the value in a digital FactoryLink element, P240000.
Figure 24-11 Read/Write Information Panel for a Triggered Read

P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

READ
24

KTDTL and NetDTL

Figure 24-12 illustrates how this triggered read operation works.
Figure 24-12 How This Triggered Read Operation Works
When the value of
KTDTL_READ_TRIGGER is
1, FactoryLink processes the
table, READ.

P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG FactoryLink reads the value

of bit 12 in file type B, file
number 3, element 1...

...then stores the value

read in P240000.

READ

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 681

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Sample Read and Write Table Entries
•
•
Sample Unsolicited Read Request
In Figure 24-13, the UNSOL_READ table is configured to accept unsolicited data
of the type specified on the corresponding Read/Write Information panel from the
address specified for this data type.
Figure 24-13 Unsolicited Read Control Panel

UNSOL_READ is illustrated
in this example.

As shown in Figure 24-14, when FactoryLink receives a 16-bit, signed analog

integer from octal address 34 in the device configured as logical station 0, it reads
the value then stores it in an analog FactoryLink element, ANA_15.
Figure 24-14 Unsolicited Read Information Panel

ANA_15 0 34 INT2

UNSOL_READ

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Sample Read and Write Table Entries

Figure 24-15 illustrates how this unsolicited read operation works.

Figure 24-15 How This Unsolicited Read Operation Works

When FactoryLink receives

INT2 data from address 34,
it processes the table,
UNSOL_READ.

ANA_15 0 34 INT2

FactoryLink reads the data

then stores it in the analog
element, ANA_15.

UNSOL_READ
24

KTDTL and NetDTL

Sample Block Write Request
In Figure 24-16, the WRITE table is configured as follows:
• When the value of KTDTL_WRITE_TRIGGER (Block Write Trigger) is 1,
FactoryLink reads the element configured for this table (in the Read/Write
Information panel) and writes its value to the configured register address. The
block write priority, which is set automatically if you do not enter a value, is set
to the default of 1, the highest priority.
• When the value of KTDTL_WRITE_DISABLE (Block Write Disable) is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger element, KTDTL_WRITE_TRIGGER, and
does not process the WRITE table.
• Once FactoryLink writes the element values, it forces a value of 1 to
KTDTL_WRITE_STATE (Block Write State), and to
KTDTL_WRITE_COMPLETE (Block Write Complete). During the write
operation, KTDTL_WRITE_STATE is set to 0.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 683

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Sample Read and Write Table Entries
•
•
Figure 24-16 Read/Write Control Panel for a Block Write

Continued

Continued

Continued

WRITE is
illustrated in
this example.

As shown in Figure 24-17, when the WRITE table is triggered by

KTDTL_WRITE_TRIGGER, FactoryLink writes the value of a digital
FactoryLink element, P240000, to bit 12 in file type B, file number 3, element 1 in
the device configured as logical station 0.

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Sample Read and Write Table Entries

Figure 24-17 Read/Write Information Panel for a Block Write

P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

WRITE

24
Figure 24-18 illustrates how this block write operation works.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Figure 24-18 How This Block Write Operation Works

Continued

When the value of Continued

KTDTL_WRITE_TRIGGER is
1, FactoryLink processes the
table, WRITE.

P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

FactoryLink writes the

value of P240000...

...into bit 12 in file type B,

file number 3, element 1.
WRITE

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 685

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Sample Read and Write Table Entries
•
•
Sample Exception Write Request
In Figure 24-19, the EXCEPTION table is configured to read the element
configured for this table (in the Read/Write Information panel) and write its value
to the configured address. FactoryLink, however, will only perform this operation
when the element’s value changes. The table is disabled when
NDTL_EXCEPTION_DISABLE (Block Write Disable) is set to 1, and re-enabled
when NDTL_EXCEPTION_DISABLE is set to 0.
Figure 24-19 Read/Write Control Panel for an Exception Write

Continued

Continued

EXCEPTION is
illustrated in
this example.

As shown in Figure 24-20, whenever the value of the digital element P240000
changes, FactoryLink processes the EXCEPTION table. This table writes the
value of P240000 to bit 12 in file type B, file number 3, element 1 in the device
configured as logical station 0. If the table is disabled then subsequently
re-enabled and NDTL_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER (Block Write Trigger) is set to 1, bit
12 is updated with the value of P240000 if the value has changed since the table
was disabled.

686 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Sample Read and Write Table Entries

Figure 24-20 Read/Write Information Panel for an Exception Write

P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG

EXCEPTION

24
Figure 24-21 illustrates how this exception write operation works.

KTDTL and NetDTL

Figure 24-21 How This Exception Write Operation Works
When the value of
NDTL_EXCEPTION_DISABLE
is 1, FactoryLink does not
Continued
process the table, EXEPTION.

Continued

When the value of

NDTL_EXCEPTION_TRIGGER is
1 and the table has been disabled,
FactoryLink writes the value of
P240000 if it has changed since
the table was disabled.

Because this is an
P240000 0 B3:1/12 DIG
exception write table,...

...when the value of

P240000 changes,
FactoryLink writes its
value into bit 12 of file EXCEPTION

type B, file number 3,

element 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 687

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Techniques for Improving Communication Performance
•
•
TECHNIQUES FOR I MPROVING C OMMUNICATION P ERFORMANCE
This section describes application techniques that can improve the throughput
and efficiency of data communications between the KTDTL or NetDTL task and
Allen-Bradley devices. These techniques involve the specification of the priority in
which the task processes read and write operations and various methods of
triggering the tables and tags defined in the Read/Write Control panel.

Specifying Priority
The Read/Write Control panel contains two columns for specifying the priority of
block reads and block or exception writes: Block Read Priority and Block Write Priority.
The priority of an operation can range from 1 to 4. These values correspond to four
first-in/first-out (FIFO) priority queues which are set up in order of importance.
Priority queue 1 has the highest priority.

When the Block Read Trigger or Block Write Trigger element for a table changes from
0 or is forced to 1, or when an element in an exception write table changes, that
table or exception element is placed into one of the four queues for processing by
the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software. This queue placement depends on the
value specified in the Block Read Priority or Block Write Priority column for the table.

Each queue can hold up to 256 pending tables. When a table is triggered and the
priority queue to which it has been assigned is not full, the table is placed in that
queue. The Block Read State or Block Write State element for the table is reset to 1.

The queues are polled for tables (during each pass of the main loop of the KTDTL
or NetDTL task) according to the order of importance of the priority. The priority 1
queue is polled the most frequently and the priority 4 queue is polled the least
frequently. Every table is eventually processed but the ones in the priority 4 queue
can take more time to process.

After the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software processes a pending table, the

table is removed from the queue. If the communication was successful, the
elements defined in the processed table are updated in the FactoryLink real-time
database and the Block Read Complete or Block Write Complete element for the table
is reset to 1.

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 READING AND WRITING DATA
Techniques for Improving Communication Performance

Overtriggering
All tables are placed by default in the priority 1 queue, which is appropriate in
most cases. When an application contains a large number of tables, however, or
when an exception write table contains tag names for rapidly changing elements,
an overtriggering situation can arise with all tables going into the same queue.
Overtriggering occurs when tables are being placed in a priority queue faster than
the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software can pull the tables out and process them.

When a queue is full, an additional request to place a table in it results in the

generation of an error message which is displayed on the Run-Time Manager
screen: (KTDTL/NetDTL) in Overtriggered State: Reduce Trigger Rate.

Since the maximum number of pending tables a queue can hold is 256, the
maximum number of total pending tables is 1024 (256 · 4 queues = 1024). If you
accept the priority default of 1 for all tables, the total allowable number of pending
I/O transactions is only 256. To more evenly distribute tables across the four 24
priority queues (thus reducing the priority 1 queue’s burden of handling all the
pending I/O requests), you could assign priority 1 or 2 to tables containing more

KTDTL and NetDTL

important data and priority 3 or 4 to tables containing less important data.

Using this logic, you would assign a high priority to an exception write table for an
operation that acknowledges a loud annoying alarm and a low priority to a block
write table that downloads a batch recipe once a day.

Efficient Triggering
This section discusses triggering techniques to consider for optimum performance
of your application.

Timed

The easiest and most basic way to trigger a block read or write operation is with a
timed element. To define a timed trigger element, enter a tag name for a Block
Read Trigger or Block Write Trigger element in the Read/Write Control panel that
matches the tag name of an interval timer element (defined in the Interval Timer
Information panel). If you define this element to change once per second, the table
is placed in its assigned queue once every second.

Using timed elements as triggers is acceptable in most cases. An overtriggering

situation can occur, however, if the trigger rate causes tables to be placed into a
queue faster than the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software can process them.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 689

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Techniques for Improving Communication Performance
•
•
A situation in which triggers overlap can occur as well. To illustrate, suppose a
5-second, a 15-second, and a 30-second timed element are used to trigger various
tables. Each table is placed in its designated queue every 30 seconds when the
various triggers line up. The use of prime numbers quickly solves this problem,
but a more effective method follows.

Note

The next two triggering methods, cascaded and self-triggered, can

solve potential overtriggering situations in many cases. These
methods, however, might not be appropriate for every read or write
table you define. For instance, the timed method works best for
tables that do not need to be updated at the highest possible rate.

Cascaded

The cascading of tables is an alternative to using timed triggers. As mentioned

previously, the Block Read State or Block Write State element is reset to 1 after a
table is placed into a priority queue. Similarly, the Block Read Complete or Block
Write Complete element is reset to 1 after the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software
processes the table.

In the Read/Write Control panel, if either the complete or state element is defined
as the trigger element for the table in the row below the current table, that table
will not be triggered and placed into a queue until the preceding table is either
successfully placed in a queue or processed. If the table defined in the final row of
the Read/Write Control panel contains a tag name for a complete or state element
that matches the tag name of the trigger element for the table defined in the first
row, the completion of the final table triggers the first table. This endless loop
results in the sequential processing of tables at the fastest possible rate.

Figure 24-22 illustrates a series of read tables created using the cascading
technique. This type of table setup is also referred to as a daisy chain of tables.

690 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Techniques for Improving Communication Performance

Figure 24-22 Cascaded Read Tables

Continued
READ1 NO 1 r5_state
READ2 NO 1 r1_state
READ3 NO 1 r2_state
READ4 NO 1 r3_state
READ5 NO 1 r4_state

When the READ1 table Continued

has been processed, its r1_state

state tag, r1_state, is r2_state
r3_state
forced back to 1. r4_state
r5_state
Since r1_state is defined as
the read trigger for the
READ2 table, READ2 is the
next table triggered.
24

KTDTL and NetDTL

A table is only placed in a queue after the previous table has been placed or
processed. If you use the Block Read State or Block Write State element to perform
the cascade, the successful processing of a table prior to the next table in the loop
being triggered is not guaranteed; but overtriggering is prevented. Regardless of
communications, the loop will continue to process.

If a table is to be placed into a queue that has become full, the value of the state
element for that table will not change. Consequently, the next table will not be
triggered until room is available in the queue for the current table.

If you use the Block Read Complete or Block Write Complete element to perform the
cascade, the next table in the loop is placed into its queue after the previous table
is successfully communicated through the INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software.
In this case, successful processing of the transaction is guaranteed. (A timeout
error occurring somewhere in the loop will slow the performance of the cascade.)

A parallel between timed and cascaded triggering further illustrates this method’s
effectiveness. When the same timed trigger element is used to trigger each of
several tables defined in the Read/Write Control panel, the tables are processed
sequentially (starting with the beginning row of the panel) on each occurrence of
the trigger. Essentially, this scenario represents a timer-initiated cascade. If each
instance of the timed element is replaced by an element that, when combined with
other elements, creates the cascaded triggering effect, the fastest rate at which
the tables can be placed into queues is naturally set by the tables themselves.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 691

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Techniques for Improving Communication Performance
•
•
For example, experimentation determines that when one 3.2-second timed digital
element is used as the same trigger element for a number of tables, the
application can trigger the tables without the overtrigger message appearing.
(Tests performed with a 3.1-second element resulted in the message appearing
and 3.2 was found to be the limit.) When the triggering method for these tables is
changed from timed to cascaded, the frequency at which the tables update
themselves in the loop is exactly 3.2 seconds.

Self-Triggered

NetDTL—For communications with PLC-5/xxE devices and PLC-5/250 devices

with an Ethernet interface module, the use of self-triggered tables can increase
the throughput and efficiency of read and write operations.

FactoryLink can process tables for read and write operations to Ethernet devices
more quickly than it can process tables going to devices not connected directly to
Ethernet. (The Ethernet connection and the I/O time for the NetDTL interface are
faster.) If you use the cascaded method for triggering tables going to devices that
will process the tables at different speeds, tables to the devices that process more
quickly (Ethernet devices) will idle in the loop waiting for the tables going to the
other devices that occur earlier in the cascade to finish processing.

In a self-triggered table, instead of a state or complete element serving as a

trigger for the next table in a cascaded loop, a state or complete element serves as
a Block Read Trigger or Block Write Trigger element for the table in which it is
defined. In other words, one tag name is defined for both the trigger element and
the complete or state element in a single table:
Figure 24-23 Self-Triggered Read Table

Continued

R_AGAIN NO 1 selftrig

Continued
selftrig

692 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 READING AND WRITING DATA
Techniques for Improving Communication Performance

When FactoryLink starts up, the complete or state element is automatically set
to 1. If you have defined this same element as the trigger element, the table is also
placed in its priority queue at startup. When the complete or state element is set
again as a result of the operation, the cycle starts over and the table is placed in
its priority queue again (because the complete or state element is also the trigger).

Overtriggering does not occur with a self-triggered table because a table destined
for a device is only placed into a queue or processed after the successful previous
processing or queue placement of the table.

Note

The continuation of a cascaded loop or self-triggered table will

cease if the Block Read Disable or Block Write Disable element is set
to 1. To restart after the disable element is set to 0 again, the Block
Read Trigger or Block Write Trigger element must be reset to 1. 24
Figure 24-24 illustrates the methodology of a self-triggered read table that uses

KTDTL and NetDTL

the state element to self trigger.
Figure 24-24 Self-Triggered Read Table

€ At FactoryLink startup, selftrig (as a

state element) is set to 1.

ó
Continued
As a trigger element, selftrig also places the
R_AGAIN NO 1 selftrig
R_AGAIN table into queue 1 at startup.
óú
ì During processing of the R_AGAIN table,
selftrig (as a state element) is set to 0.

ö
Continued
If the table completes successfully (the data
selftrig
is read then stored in the elements defined in
the Read/Write Information panel), selftrig €ìö
(as a state element) is set to 1.

ú When the state element, selftrig, is set to 1, the

table is placed into its queue again because selftrig
is also the trigger element. If selftrig (as a state
element) remains 0 because the table does not
complete successfully, selftrig (as a trigger
element) never gets set for queuing the table again.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 693

• READING AND WRITING DATA
• Techniques for Improving Communication Performance
•
•

694 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 25

•
•
•
•
Allen-Bradley Data
Types and Addresses

This chapter provides information about: the conversion of Allen-Bradley data

types to FactoryLink data types, formats for entering addresses, and valid
device-specific file types and subelements you can specify in addresses.

Data Types—The KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can convert numerous Allen-Bradley
data types into compatible FactoryLink data types. “Supported Data Types” on
page 696 provides a cross reference list of each supported Allen-Bradley data type
and its FactoryLink data type after conversion.

Addresses—Enter the addresses of the PLC and SLC memory locations being 25
accessed in the Address field on the Read/Write Information and Unsolicited Read
Information panels. For information about valid address formats, refer to

KTDTL and NetDTL

“Address Specification Formats” on page 699.

For information about valid file types and subelements for specific device types,
refer to the appropriate section:
• “PLC-3 File Type Reference” on page 701
• “PLC-5 File Type Reference” on page 703
• “PLC-5/250 File Type Reference” on page 710
• “SLC 500 File Type Reference” on page 717

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 695

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• Supported Data Types
•
•
S UPPORTED D ATA TYPES
The following table provides descriptions of the supported Allen-Bradley PLC and
SLC data types and their corresponding FactoryLink data types.

Table 25-1 Data Type Cross Reference

FactoryLink Allen-Bradley
Description/Conversion
Data Type Data Type

Digital BIN Automatic conversion to DIG

DIG Individual bit in a PLC file element

Analog BIN Automatic conversion to INT2

INT2 16-bit signed integer

INT4 32-bit signed integer

BCD3 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored

BCD4 16-bit binary-coded decimal 4 digits

UBCD 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored

FLT 32-bit floating-point value; the specific

format depends on the PLC type

696 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
Supported Data Types

Table 25-1 Data Type Cross Reference (Continued)

FactoryLink Allen-Bradley
Description/Conversion
Data Type Data Type

Long analog BIN Automatic conversion to INT4

INT2 16-bit signed integer

INT4 32-bit signed integer

BCD3 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored

BCD4 16-bit binary-coded decimal 4 digits

UBCD 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored 25
FLT 32-bit floating-point value; the specific

KTDTL and NetDTL

format depends on the PLC type

Floating-point BIN Automatic conversion to FLT

INT2 16-bit signed integer

INT4 32-bit signed integer

BCD3 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored

BCD4 16-bit binary-coded decimal 4 digits

UBCD 16-bit binary-coded decimal 3 digits;

most-significant nibble zeroed/ignored

FLT 32-bit floating-point value; the specific

format depends on the PLC type

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 697

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• Supported Data Types
•
•
Table 25-1 Data Type Cross Reference (Continued)

FactoryLink Allen-Bradley
Description/Conversion
Data Type Data Type

Message BIN Automatic conversion to STRUCT

STRUCT Raw file contents as transmitted over

the Data Highway; length in elements
based on native element size of the
PLC file

ASC “STRUCT” valid only in PLC files with

one word per element; high and low
order bytes swapped from Data
Highway packet contents

ST Special PLC type specification for the

“ST” PLC file types; one element per
FactoryLink message element

698 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
Address Specification Formats

A DDRESS S PECIFICATION F ORMATS

This section contains descriptions of the formats you can use in specifying
addresses in read and write tables.

PLC-2 Format
Use the following formats to specify addresses for PLC-2 devices, and for PLC-3,
PLC-5, and PLC-5/250 devices configured for PLC-2 compatibility.

Note

You must use this format for unsolicited read operations.

word 25
word/bit

KTDTL and NetDTL

word,length
word (Required) Enter the address of the PLC element in octal. Valid
values are 0 through 7777 octal. The actual high address depends
on the specific PLC addressed.
/bit (Optional) After the address, enter a front slash (/) then the octal
bit number inside the PLC element addressed by the word. Valid
values are 0 through 17 octal, where 0 is the least significant bit
and 17 is the most significant bit.
,length (Optional) After the address, enter a comma (,) then the decimal
number of words to be written to FactoryLink message elements.
Sample Address Entries:
17 Word 15 decimal
23/17 Bit 17 of word 23 (word 19 decimal)
7/7 Bit 7 of word 7 (7 decimal)
0,100 First 100 decimal words

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 699

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• Address Specification Formats
•
•
PLC-3, PLC-5, and PLC-5/250 Format
Use the following formats to specify addresses for PLC-3, PLC-5, and PLC-5/250
devices. The brackets enclose the parts of the format; do not enter these in your
address specification. Do not enter spaces between the parts of the format.

[module_id][filetype][filenumber][:;][element][/bit][,length][.subelement]
module_id (Valid for PLC-5/250 devices) Define the module ID (pushwheel)
number that specifies the thumbwheel value on the processor
module. (RM default is 0.)
filetype (Required) Specify the PLC file type. For valid entries for a
specific PLC type, refer to the appropriate PLC file types and
subelements table in this chapter.
filenumber (Optional) Enter the file number. The default is 0 for all PLC
types except PLC-5, where a default file number exists for some
file types.
: ; (Required) Enter either a colon (:) or semicolon (;).
element (Optional; assumed 0 if not entered) Enter the file element
number in octal for input/output files and in decimal for all other
PLC file types. Follow this number with an appropriate separator
and either the bit specifier, length in file elements, or appropriate
Subelement.
/bit (Optional) Enter a front slash (/) then the bit specifier in octal for
PLC-3 and input/output files and in decimal for all other PLC
types. If a back slash (\) is erroneously entered, the default value
will be used. The default is the least significant bit, 0.
,length (Enter for message elements) Enter a comma (,) then specify the
length, in file elements, to be read or written. The default is 1.
.subelement (Optional) Enter a period (.) then specify a subelement member of
the specified address file element. For valid entries for a specific
PLC type, refer to the appropriate file types and subelements
table in this chapter.

700 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-3 File Type Reference

PLC-3 F ILE TYPE R EFERENCE

This section provides a list of the valid file types for PLC-3 addresses and the
valid subelements for files types C and T.

File Types
The following file types can be used in PLC-3 address specifications:

Table 25-2 Valid File Types for PLC-3 Addresses

Element
Allen-Bradley
File Type Description Length
Data Type
in Words

O Outputs DIG/INT2 1 25
I Inputs DIG/INT2 1

KTDTL and NetDTL

T Timers STRUCT 3

C Counters STRUCT 3

N Integers DIG/INT2 1

F Floating-point FLT 2

D Decimal BCD4 BCD4 1

B Binary DIG/INT2 1

A ASCII ASC 1

H Long integer INT4 2

S Status table DIG/INT2 1

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 701

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-3 File Type Reference
•
•
Subelements
The following subelements are valid for the specified file types in PLC-3 address
specifications:

Table 25-3 File Type C

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

U Up enable DIG No

CD Down enable DIG No

DN Done DIG No

OV Overflow DIG No

UF Underflow DIG No

CTL Control word INT2 No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

Table 25-4 File Type T

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

TE Enabled DIG No

TT Timing DIG No

TD Done DIG No

CTL Control word INT2 No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

702 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5 File Type Reference

PLC-5 F ILE TYPE R EFERENCE

This section provides a list of the valid file types for PLC-5 addresses and the
valid subelements for files types BT, C, MG, PD, R, SC, T, and TD.

File Types
The following file types are valid for PLC-5 address specifications. Note that some
file types are valid only on new generation PLC-5 devices.

Table 25-5 Valid File Types for PLC-5 Addresses

Element
Allen-Bradley Default
File Type Description Length
Data Type File Number
in Words

O Output image DIG/INT2 0 1

25

KTDTL and NetDTL

I Input image DIG/INT2 1 1

S Status INT2 2 1

B Binary INT2 3 1

T Timers STRUCT 4 3

C Counters STRUCT 5 3

N Integer INT2 7 1

F Floating-point FLT 8 2

R Control STRUCT 6 3

BT Block-transfer STRUCT None 6

MG Message STRUCT None 61

control

PD PID STRUCT None 82

SC SFC status STRUCT None 3

ST ASCII string ST None 42

TD Token data STRUCT None 2

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 703

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5 File Type Reference
•
•
Subelements
The following subelements are valid for the specified file types in PLC-5 address
specifications:
Table 25-6 File Type BT

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No
ST Start DIG No
DN Done DIG No
ER Error DIG No
CO Continue DIG No
EW Enable waiting DIG No
NR No response DIG No
TO Time out DIG No
RW Read/write DIG No
RLEN Requested word INT2 Yes
count
DLEN Transmitted INT2 Yes
word count
FILE File-type number INT2 Yes
ELEM Word number INT2 Yes
RGS Rack/group/set INT2 Yes

Table 25-7 File Type C

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

CU Up enable DIG No

CD Down enable DIG No

704 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5 File Type Reference

Table 25-7 File Type C (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

DN Done DIG No

OV Overflow DIG No

UN Underflow DIG No

CTL Control word INT2 No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

Table 25-8 File Type MG

25

KTDTL and NetDTL

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

NR No response DIG No

TO Time out DIG No

EN Enable DIG No

ST Start DIG No
transmission

DN Done DIG No

ER Error DIG No

CO Continuous DIG No

EW Enabled waiting DIG No

ERR Error code INT2 Yes

RLEN Request length INT2 Yes

DLEN Done length INT2 Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 705

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5 File Type Reference
•
•
Table 25-9 File Type PD

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG Yes

CT Cascaded type DIG No

CL Cascaded loop DIG No

PVT PV tracking DIG Yes

DO Derivative of DIG No

SWM Software A/M DIG Yes

mode

CA Control action DIG No

MO Station A/M DIG Yes

mode

PE PID equation DIG No

type

INI PID initialized DIG No

SPOR SP out of range DIG No

OLL Output limit low DIG No

OLH Output limit high DIG No

EWD Error within DIG No

deadband

DVNA Deviation high DIG No

alarm

DVPA Deviation low DIG No

alarm

PVLA PV low alarm DIG No

PVHA PV high alarm DIG No

SP Set point FLT Yes

706 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5 File Type Reference

Table 25-9 File Type PD (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

KP Proportional gain FLT Yes

KI Integral gain FLT Yes

KD Derivative time FLT Yes

BIAS Output bias% FLT Yes

MAXS Setpoint FLT Yes

maximum
(scaled value)

MINS Setpoint FLT Yes

minimum 25
(scaled value)

KTDTL and NetDTL

DB Deadband FLT Yes

SO Set output% FLT Yes

MAXO Output limit FLT Yes

high%

MINO Output limit FLT Yes

low%

UPD Update time FLT Yes

PV Process variable FLT Yes

ERR Error FLT Yes

OUT Output% FLT Yes

PVH PV alarm high FLT Yes

PVL PV alarm low FLT Yes

DVP Deviation alarm FLT Yes

+

DVN Deviation alarm - FLT Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 707

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5 File Type Reference
•
•
Table 25-9 File Type PD (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

PVDB PV alarm FLT Yes

deadband

DVDB Deviation alarm FLT Yes

deadband

MAXI Input range FLT Yes

maximum

MINI Input range FLT Yes

minimum

TIE Tieback% FLT Yes

Table 25-10 File Type R

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

EU Enable unloading DIG No

DN Done DIG No

EM Empty DIG No

ER Error DIG No

UL Unload DIG No

IN Inhibit DIG No
comparisons

FD Found DIG No

CTL Control word INT2 No

LEN Length INT2 Yes

POS Position INT2 Yes

708 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5 File Type Reference

Table 25-11 File Type SC

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

SA Scan active DIG No

FS First scan DIG No

LS Last scan DIG No

OV Timer overflow DIG No

ER Step errored DIG No

DN Done DIG No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

25
TIM Active time INT2 Yes

KTDTL and NetDTL

Table 25-12 File Type T

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

TT Timing DIG No

DN Done DIG No

CTL Control word INT2 No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated NT2 Yes

value

Table 25-13 File Type TD

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

HI High word INT2 Yes

LO Low word INT2 Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 709

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5/250 File Type Reference
•
•
PLC-5/250 F ILE TYPE R EFERENCE
This section provides a list of the valid file types for PLC-5/250 addresses and the
valid subelements for files types AS, C, MSG, PD, R, and T.

File Types
The following file types can be used for PLC-5/250 address specifications:

Table 25-14 Valid File Types for PLC-5/250 Addresses

Element
Allen-Bradley
File Types Description Length
Data Type
in Words

O Outputs DIG/INT2 1

I Inputs DIG/INT2 1

L Long integer INT4 2

SD CVIM shared DIG/INT2 1

memory

ST String ST 42

PD PID STRUCT 82

MSG Message STRUCT 56

control

AS Adapter status DIG/INT2 2

IS Forced internal DIG/INT2 1

storage

S System public DIG/INT2 1

status

B Binary DIG/INT2 1

T Timer STRUCT 6

C Counter STRUCT 3

710 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5/250 File Type Reference

Table 25-14 Valid File Types for PLC-5/250 Addresses

Element
Allen-Bradley
File Types Description Length
Data Type
in Words

R Control STRUCT 3

N Integer DIG/INT2 1

F Floating-point FLT 2

Subelements
The following subelements are valid for the specified file types in PLC-5/250
address specifications:
25
Table 25-15 File Type AS

KTDTL and NetDTL

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

OI Output inhibit DIG No

CF Fault DIG No

RC Retry count INT2 Yes

Table 25-16 File Type C

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

CU Up enable DIG No

CD Down enable DIG No

DN Done DIG No

OV Overflow DIG No

UN Underflow DIG No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 711

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5/250 File Type Reference
•
•
Table 25-16 File Type C

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

Table 25-17 File Type MSG

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

ST Start DIG No
transmission

AD Asynchronous DIG No
done

AE Asynchronous DIG No
error

CO Continuous DIG No

EW Enabled waiting DIG No

DN Done DIG No

ER Error DIG No

ERR Error code INT2 Yes

RLEN Request length INT2 Yes

DLEN Done length INT2 Yes

Table 25-18 File Type PD

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

CT Cascaded type DIG No

CL Cascade loop DIG No

712 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5/250 File Type Reference

Table 25-18 File Type PD (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

PVT PV tracking DIG No

DO Derivative of DIG No

SWM Software A/M DIG No

mode

CA Control action DIG No

MO Mode DIG No

PE PID equation DIG No

INI PID initialized DIG No 25

SPOR SP out of range DIG No

KTDTL and NetDTL

OLL Output limit low DIG No

OLH Output limit high DIG No

EWD Error within DIG No

deadband

DVNA Deviation high DIG No

alarm

DVPA Deviation low DIG No

alarm

PVLA PV low alarm DIG No

PVHA PV high alarm DIG No

SP Setpoint FLT Yes

KP Proportional gain FLT Yes

KI Integral gain FLT Yes

KD Derivative gain FLT Yes

BIAS Output bias% FLT Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 713

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5/250 File Type Reference
•
•
Table 25-18 File Type PD (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

MAXS Setpoint FLT Yes

maximum

MINS Setpoint FLT Yes

minimum

DB Deadband FLT Yes

SO Set output% FLT Yes

MAXO Output limit FLT Yes

high%

MINO Output limit FLT Yes

low%

UPD Update time FLT Yes

PV Process variable FLT Yes

ERR Error code FLT Yes

OUT Output FLT Yes

PVH PV alarm high FLT Yes

PVL PV alarm low FLT Yes

DVP Deviation alarm FLT Yes

+

DVN Deviation alarm - FLT Yes

PVDB PV alarm FLT Yes

deadband

DVDB Deviation alarm FLT Yes

deadband

MAXI Input range FLT Yes

maximum

714 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
PLC-5/250 File Type Reference

Table 25-18 File Type PD (Continued)

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

MINI Input range FLT Yes

minimum

TIE Tieback% FLT Yes

Table 25-19 File Type R

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

WU Enable unloading DIG No

25
DN Done DIG No

KTDTL and NetDTL

EM Empty DIG No

ER Error DIG No

UL Unload DIG No

IN Inhibit DIG No
comparisons

FD Found DIG No

LEN Length INT2 Yes

POS Position INT2 Yes

Table 25-20 File Type T

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

TT Timing DIG No

DN Done DIG No

PRE Preset value INT4 Yes

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 715

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• PLC-5/250 File Type Reference
•
•
Table 25-20 File Type T

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

ACC Accumulated INT4 Yes

value

716 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
SLC 500 File Type Reference

SLC 500 F ILE TYPE R EFERENCE

This section provides a list of the valid file types for SLC 500 addresses and the
valid subelements for file types C, R, and T.

File Types
The following file types can be used for SLC 500 address specifications. Note that
some file types are only valid on later model SLC processors.

Table 25-21 Valid File Types for SLC-500 Addresses

Element
Allen-Bradley Default
File Type Description Length
Data Type File Number
in Words

O Output DIG/INT2 0 1
25

KTDTL and NetDTL

I Input DIG/INT2 1 1

S Status DIG/INT2 2 1

B Bit (binary) DIG/INT2 3 1

T Timers STRUCT 4 3

C Counters STRUCT 5 3

R Control STRUCT 6 3

N Integer INT2 7 1

F Floating-point FLT 8 2

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 717

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• SLC 500 File Type Reference
•
•
Subelements
The following subelements are valid for the specified file types in SLC-500 address
specifications:

Table 25-22 File Type C

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

CU Up enable DIG No

CD Down enable DIG No

DN Done DIG No

OV Overflow DIG No

UN Underflow DIG No

UA Update DIG No
accumulated
value

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

718 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
SLC 500 File Type Reference

Table 25-23 File Type R

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

EU Unload enable DIG No

DN Done DIG No

EM Stack empty DIG No

ER Error DIG No

UL Unload DIG No

IN Inhibit DIG No
25
FD Found DIG No

KTDTL and NetDTL

LEN Length INT2 Yes

POS Position INT2 Yes

Table 25-24 File Type T

Subelement Description Data Type Writable

EN Enable DIG No

TT Timing DIG No

DN Done DIG No

PRE Preset value INT2 Yes

ACC Accumulated INT2 Yes

value

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 719

• ALLEN-BRADLEY DATA TYPES AND ADDRESSES
• SLC 500 File Type Reference
•
•

720 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 26

•
•
•
•
Messages and Codes

This chapter contains information about deciphering run-time status and error
messages that appear on the Run-Time Manager screen and about how
Allen-Bradley INTERCHANGE and RSLinx return codes function with the
KTDTL and NetDTL tasks.

Messages and error codes appear at run time on the Run-Time Manager screen
opposite the Shared Task description for the KTDTL or NetDTL task in the
message area under Last Message. These messages can also be written to a
real-time database message element for display on a custom graphics screen.
Refer to Chapter 23, “Configuring Communication Paths,” of this guide. 26
Also, if you configured your application to create a run-time status window for

KTDTL and NetDTL

message display or if you specified a log file, status and error messages will
appear in this window or file as well. To create a status window, specify S in the
Flags column of the System Configuration Information panel. To define a file for
logging messages, specify the -L parameter in the Program Arguments column.
Refer to Chapter 22, “Getting Started,” of this guide.

Allen-Bradley return-code messages are ASCII text strings returned by the

INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software to describe an error condition. Return-code
messages are indicated as (A-B return-code message) in this chapter. For
further information about return-code messages, refer to “Allen-Bradley Return
Codes” on page 726 of this guide.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 721

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Status Messages
•
•
S TATUS M ESSAGES
Status messages for the KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can be generated and
displayed by FactoryLink at task startup and at shutdown. These messages do not
require any action; they are displayed for information only.

Startup
The following status messages appear in the order they are listed every time the
task is started by the Run-Time Manager.

Allen-Bradley (KTDTL/NetDTL) Interface Startup

Cause: The task is starting up normally.

Processing (DCT Filename)

Cause: The task is reading the internal, preconfigured binary
configuration table files and packetizing information from the
specified internal device configuration table (DCT) file.

Block rd (#) block wr (#) excpt wr (#) unsol (#)

Cause: The task is displaying the total number of communication
transactions configured for each type of operation defined in the
DCT files.

Tot 0 Allen-Bradley (KTDTL/NetDTL) Interface Started

Cause: The task has started up normally.

Shutdown
The following message appears at task shutdown:

Normal Termination
Cause: The task has shut down normally.

722 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Error Messages

E RROR M ESSAGES
Error messages for the KTDTL and NetDTL tasks can be generated and displayed
by FactoryLink at task startup, during communications attempts, and at
shutdown. These messages require corrective steps to be taken; the action
required is described following the description of the cause of each message.

Startup
The following messages can be generated and displayed by FactoryLink if errors
occur at task startup:

no reads, no writes >>> nothing to do

This message is generated for various reasons:
Cause: No read or write operations are defined for the task. 26
Action: Open the KTDTL or NetDTL configuration tables from the Main

KTDTL and NetDTL

Menu and define a read or a write operation in the Read/Write
Control and Information panels.

Cause: The device configuration table files were not properly built,
possibly because the tables contain incorrect entries.
Action: Verify the configuration table entries and correct as needed.
Check the FLAPP\DCT directory to verify the .DCT files were
built. Restart FactoryLink to regenerate these files, if necessary.

Cause: The task does not recognize any read or write operations because
it is unable to read the FLAPP\DCT directory.
Action: Verify the FLAPP\DCT directory has read and write privileges.
Grant these privileges if necessary.

Internal:Bad read on file

Internal:Out of memory tag array
Internal:...
Cause: The task did not initialize properly. An internal message can
appear for a variety of reasons, including an incorrect file
conversion that occurred or an insufficient allocation of memory.
Action: Make a note of the message and what keys you pressed or
function you attempted to perform before the error occurred,

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 723

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Error Messages
•
•
then contact Customer Support for assistance.

Communications
The following messages can be generated and displayed during a communications
attempt by the KTDTL or NetDTL task:

Connect (A-B KT card #/EI #): (A-B return-code message)

Cause: After the task has started up and is attempting to establish
communications, it can display the status of the initial
connection to the specified card, port, or Ethernet interface.
Action: Take the appropriate action indicated in the message to correct
the error.

(KTDTL/NetDTL) in Overtriggered State: Reduce Trigger Rate

Cause: The timed trigger element is changing too rapidly.
Action: Reduce the trigger rate or alter the method in which read and
write tables are triggered. Refer to “Techniques for Improving
Communication Performance” on page 688 of this guide.

Tot (# of errors since startup) (Table Name) Lsta: (Logical Station #) (A-B
return-code message)
Cause: This message indicates the total number of communication
errors that have occurred for the specified logical station since
task start up. The return code indicates the status of a read or
write operation for the specified table name.
Action: Take the appropriate action indicated in the message to correct
the error.

724 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MESSAGES AND CODES
Error Messages

Shutdown
When the KTDTL or NetDTL task is terminated by the Run-Time Manager, the
following messages appear in the order they are listed:

Termination In Progress
Cause: The termination procedure was started because of either an
internal run-time error or a normal FactoryLink termination
request.
Action: Check the log file or the status window for other messages
displayed after this one. If the termination is not the result of a
normal termination request and another system message was
generated, make a note of this message. Contact Customer
Support for assistance if you cannot determine the source of the
error based on the subsequent message. 26
Disconnect (A-B KT card #/EI #): (A-B return-code message)

KTDTL and NetDTL

Cause: The task is displaying the status of the disconnection from the
specified card or Ethernet interface.
Action: Take the specified action (if any) to correct the error.

Disconnect (A-B KT card #/EI #): Was Not Connected

Cause: This message appears only if the task was not connected with
the specified card or Ethernet interface at shutdown.
Action: Check the log file for the message Connect (A-B KT card #/EI
#): (A-B return-code message). This message is displayed
prior to the disconnect message. Contact Customer Support for
assistance if you cannot determine the source of the error based
on the displayed return code in the connect message.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 725

• MESSAGES AND CODES
• Allen-Bradley Return Codes
•
•
A LLEN -B RADLEY R ETURN C ODES
Allen-Bradley INTERCHANGE and RSLinx return-code messages function in the
following manner:
• The KTDTL and NetDTL tasks communicate with the Allen-Bradley
INTERCHANGE and RSLinx software through program function calls.
• The INTERCHANGE or RSLinx software returns a code to the KTDTL or
NetDTL task that provides information about the status of each function call.
• When the task receives the code (status or error) from the INTERCHANGE or
RSLinx software, it calls the utility function, DTL_ERROR_S, which provides an
ASCII string description of the status or error.
• These ASCII strings appear on the Run-Time Manager screen in place of the
run-time message (A-B return-code message).

In general, these messages are self-explanatory. Refer to Allen-Bradley’s

documentation for further information.

726 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Part III
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Telemecanique
The Telemecanique programmable logic controller (PLC) interface for FactoryLink
allows the user to configure two-way communication between the FactoryLink
real-time database and one or more Telemecanique devices.

The interface consists of a generic communication task and a specific

communication card device driver. The generic communication task is run as a
task in FactoryLink. The specific device driver is run by the coprocessor card or by
the microcomputer and works with FactoryLink to establish a link between the
real-time database and PLC data objects. A single FactoryLink system can run
more than one driver for simultaneous communication with various external
devices.
Copyright 1996 AEG Schneider Automation, SA. All rights reserved.
Chapter 27

•
•
•
•
Telemecanique PLC

PLC I NTERFACE O VERVIEW

The Telemecanique programmable logic controller (PLC) interface for FactoryLink
allows the user to configure two-way communication between the FactoryLink
real-time database and one or more external devices.

The interface consists of a generic communication task and a specific

communication card device driver. The generic communication task is run by the
same microcomputer as FactoryLink. The specific device driver is run by the
co-processor card or by the microcomputer and works with FactoryLink to
establish the link between the real-time database and PLC data objects.

A single FactoryLink system can run more than one driver for simultaneous
communication with various external devices.

Principles of Operation
The PLC interface reads/writes data to/from external devices via a specific driver
and one or more communication ports located on one or more communication
cards. The read/write operations can be run periodically or be controlled by
triggers, operator actions, or system events.

The PLC interface task controls communication using data entered by the user in
the various configuration tables.
27
When the PLC interface task receives a response to a command from an external
device, it checks the response and acknowledges it, if it is correct.

The PLC interface task also checks the response is received within a set time-out.
Telemecanique
If the response time is exceeded or if an incorrect response is received, the task
repeats the command. If the retransmission counter reaches the maximum
number of sends allowed, the task considers the interface as having failed and
displays an error code in the Task Manager screen. The error code identifies the
device causing the communication problems.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 729

• TELEMECANIQUE PLC
• PLC Interface Overview
•
•
Read

When a read operation is requested, the PLC interface task sends a command to
the device driver for it to read the objects specified by the user in a Read/Write
Configuration table. There can be two types of read operations:

Read block (triggered): Reads the values of all PLC objects specified in the
Read/Write Configuration table and writes them to the real-time database.

For a triggered read block, the user specifies a “trigger” element in the real-time
database that will be used to initiate read operations. When the trigger value is 1
(ON) and has changed state since it was last sampled, the PLC interface task
reads the addresses specified in the read/write table.

The block read operations ensure maximum performance levels for the PLC
interface task. This type of operation means a minimum number of block read
requests lets the user collect the data specified in the configuration table. The
PLC interface task sends these requests as “packets” separated by type of data
and groups of packets separated by logical station. The packet size depends on the
protocol used by the peripheral. The read process continues until the last block
read activated by the current trigger is performed.

Unsolicited read (unsolicited data): The PLC interface task can await data
sent by an external device for better operation with some external devices. In this
case the exchange is initiated by the external device, independently of
FactoryLink, so it can write data to the real-time database. These write
commands are treated as read actions as the data is received by the FactoryLink
real-time database in the same way as when objects are read from a PLC.

In order to receive unsolicited data, the PLC interface task emulates the
addressing structure of PLC objects to write to the real-time database. For this
reason, the write command from the PLC must apply to a specified type of data
object; otherwise, the task will not write its contents to the FactoryLink real-time
database.

730 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE PLC
PLC Interface Overview

Write

When a write operation is requested, the PLC interface task sends a command for
the driver program to write the data objects specified by the user in a Read/Write
Configuration table to the appropriate peripheral. Two write operations are
possible:

Block writes (triggered): Writes the values of all of the elements in the
database specified in a Read/Write Configuration table to a PLC.

When a block write is performed, the user specifies a trigger element taken from
the FactoryLink real-time database. The trigger starts the write operations. When
the trigger value is 1 (ON) and has changed state since it was last sampled, the
PLC interface task sends a command to the driver program to write to the PLC
the data objects specified by the user in the Read/Write Configuration table.

The block write operations ensure maximum performance levels for the PLC
interface task. This type of operation means a minimum number of block read
requests lets the user collect the data specified in the configuration table. The
PLC interface task sends these requests as packets separated by type of data and
groups of packets separated by logical station. The packet size depends on the
protocol used by the peripheral. The read process continues until the last block
read activated by the current trigger is performed.

Write on change of state (not triggered): Write on change of state is used only
to write elements whose value has changed (or elements that have a change of
state indicator set) since the last time the database was sampled by the task.

Configuration Tables
The user configures the FactoryLink PLC interface option by entering the
required information in a number of configuration tables that let the system read 27
and write data to/from an external device and initialize the communication
parameters.

Although various types of external devices may be used, the PLC interface task Telemecanique
normally uses five types of configuration tables:

External Device Definition table: This table lets the user specify up to 1000
logical port numbers. These numbers simplify the configuration of communication
access paths by grouping communication co-processors, their physical interface
ports, and the external devices in various combinations.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 731

• TELEMECANIQUE PLC
• PLC Interface Overview
•
•
Logical Station Control and Information tables: These two tables let the
user define communication parameters and establish the link between logical
stations and physical stations. The user can configure up to 1000 logical station
control and information tables (one for each logical port).

Read/Write Control and Information tables: These two tables let the user
specify the PLC data objects to be read and transferred to the FactoryLink
real-time database and the PLC data objects to be written from the FactoryLink
real-time database.

The number of read/write control information and configuration tables the user
can configure is limited by the amount of memory available. The number of
read/write tables is limited to 200 tables per type (200 block read tables, 200 block
write tables, 200 exception write tables). The number of entries in each read/write
table cannot exceed 1309 elements.

732 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE PLC
External Device Definition Table

E XTERNAL D EVICE D EFINITION TABLE

This table lets the user assign the logical port numbers to the various
combinations required: device type (UNI-TE, MODBUS protocols), and function to
perform (UNI-TELWAY communication).

This table is configured before defining the communication parameters or the

read/write operations.

To access this table, choose Define External Devices from the Configuration
Manager Main Menu. The following screen is displayed:

27
This table lets the user define up to 1000 logical ports. A single logical port is
usually adequate for most applications. If an application uses a large number of Telemecanique
different devices, multiple logical port numbers can be useful so data can be sent
from the FactoryLink real-time database to a number of devices on one or more
networks.

Specify the following information to initialize each logical port:

Logical Port Logical port number representing a specific access path used for
communication.
Valid Entry: 0 to 999

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 733

• TELEMECANIQUE PLC
• External Device Definition Table
•
•
Physical Port Physical port number.
This number is not significant for XWAY network interface cards
or for COM ports.
Device Name The identification of the driver program loaded for the selected
logical port. The number of characters allowed is 1 to 4.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of 1-4 characters: TE__ for
Telemecanique XWAY communication protocols
(MAPWAY, ETHWAY, FIPWAY, UNI-TELWAY)
Function The type of communication performed by the application, via the
logical port.
Valid Entry: CUSTOM for any Telemecanique XWAY protocol
ETHWAY, MAPWAY, UNI-TELWAY COM Port,
FIPWAY
Memory Not used for Telemecanique XWAY protocol.
Valid Entry: 16 to 128 Kbytes
Comment (Optional) Comment for the logical port.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 14 characters

The following table shows an example of the various entries.

734 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE PLC
External Device Definition Table

• Logical port 1: Comprising the ETHWAY card

• Logical port 2: Comprising the UNI-TELWAY COM port

When the information has been entered, choose Exit or press [F3] to validate the
entries and return to the Main Menu.

27

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 735

• TELEMECANIQUE PLC
• External Device Definition Table
•
•

736 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 28

•
•
•
•
Telemecanique
Configuration Tables

The PLC Interface task allows the user to configure two-way communication
between the FactoryLink real-time database and one or more Telemecanique
drivers via a network interface card.

After completing the External Device Definition table, complete the following
Telemecanique configuration tables:
• Logical Station Control table
• Logical Station Information table
• Read/Write Control table
• Read/Write Information table

28

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 737

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Configuring the External Device Definition Table
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE E XTERNAL D EVICE D EFINITION TABLE
Type TE in the Device Name field and CUSTOM in the Function field.

To access the Telemecanique configuration tables, choose TELEMECANIQUE from

the Configuration Manager Main Menu. The following screens are displayed:

To select a screen, place the cursor on a visible part of the screen and click on it
with the left mouse button.

738 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Logical Station Table

TELEMECANIQUE L OGICAL S TATION TABLE

The Logical Station Control table allows the user to specify information required
to initialize read/write communication between FactoryLink and a PLC. The
Logical Station Information table allows the user to establish a link between
logical ports and physical stations.

Logical Port The logical port number specified in the External Device
Definition table corresponding to a specific communication
channel.
Valid Entry: 0 to 999
Baud Rate Communication transmission speed in Baud.
Valid Entry: 4800, 9600, 19200 (default=9600)
Use only 4800 or 19200 settings if the TSX SCM module is
28
programmed for these values.
Parity Type of parity used by the transmission. Telemecanique
Valid Entry: odd, even, none (default=odd)
Use only EVEN or NONE if the TSX SCM module is programmed
for these settings.
Data Bits Number of data bits used in the transmission.
Valid Entry: 7, 8 (default=8)
Use only 7 if the TSX SCM module is programmed for this
setting.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 739

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Logical Station Table
•
•
Stop Bits Number of stop bits used in the transmission.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default=1)
Use only 2 if the TSX SCM module is programmed for this
setting.
TYPE Type of card that supports the logical port.
Valid Entry:
TEMAP1 for the MAPWAY 1 card
TEMAP2 for the MAPWAY 2 card
TEUTW1 for the UNI-TELWAY and COM port
TEETH1 for the ETHWAY 1 card
TEETH2 for the ETHWAY 2 card
TEFIP1 for the FIPWAY 1 card
TEFIP2 for the FIPWAY 2 card
TEPCS for the PLC programming port (usually
used to communicate with a PCX PLC board.
TEISA1 and TEISA2 for ISAWAY1 and ISAWAY2
driver TEIP1 and TEIP2 for tcp/ip1 and tcp/ip2
driver).
First Slave Number of the lowest slave address assigned to FactoryLink
Address communication on a Uni-Telway bus. This slave address is
reserved for unsolicited data. The slave addresses used for
transmission/reception of other types of messages start with the
address defined in this field + 1 and end with the address of the
last slave, defined in the next field.
Between 1 and 15 slave addresses can be assigned to
FactoryLink. For best performance, Telemecanique recommends
entering the default value. Refer to “Configuring Telemecanique
Networks” on page 760 for more information.
Valid Entry: 1 to 249 (default=1)
Last Slave The number of the highest slave address assigned for
Address FactoryLink communication on the UNI-TELWAY bus.
Between 1 and 15 slave addresses can be assigned to
FactoryLink. For best performance, Telemecanique recommends
entering the default value. Refer to “Configuring Telemecanique
Networks” on page 760 for more information.
Valid Entry: 5 to 253 (default=15)

740 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Logical Station Table

MSG Tag Name (Optional) Tag of the database element that contains the report
on communication status on this logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: message

The MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/ISAWAY/XWAYIP interface cards do not use the

Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits, Stop Bits fields. These fields must remain blank or
retain their default values. If this table was previously configured for a
UNI-TELWAY protocol and if it is now to be configured for a
MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/ISAWAY/XWAYIP protocol, it is not necessary to
change the initial value set in these fields. When a non UNI-TELWAY protocol is
used, First and Last Slave Address fields are used to determine the number of
communication sockets.

When the information has been entered, place the cursor on the logical port to be
configured, then place the cursor on the visible part of the Logical Station
Information table and click on the left mouse button.

28

Telemecanique
The information entered in this table is assigned to the logical port whose number
is displayed in the Logical Port field. If this number is incorrect, return to the
Logical Station Control screen, and move the cursor to the logical port to be
configured, then once again call-up the display of the Logical Station Information
table.
Logical Port Reminds the user of the number of the logical port to which the
information displayed in this table is assigned.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 741

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Logical Station Table
•
•
Error/Status Tag (Optional) The name of the tag assigned to the real-time database
element that contains the error code for logical station
communication applications.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: analog
0 - running
1 - The PLC target is not connected or a request
is refused by the PLC configuration to verify its
availability
3 - Timeout. The response from the logical station
was not received within the configuration
timeout period. Increase the timeout value in the
Telemechanique Logical Station configuration
panel.
6 - PLC Object can’t be reached or is not
configured. Check to ensure the PLC is
configured with the correct range.
7 - Unsolicited message of a non-configured
station is received, or a response can’t be linked
with any solicited requests. Check to ensure the
PLC address is a configured logical station.
9 - Internal Error. A response isn’t coherent, one
request can’t be sent, an error occured during
sending, sending buffers are full, or datagram
error.
Logical Station A number entered by the user in a read/write table specifying a
logical port/physical station combination. A logical station
number can only be used for a single PLC.
Valid Entry: 0 to 999 (default=0)
Station Name Comment field to associate the logical station number to the
corresponding XTEL station name.
Device Type The type of PLC (TSX/PMX V3/V4/V5) used for communication.
Valid Entry: 17-20, 67-40, 47-400, 67-420, TSXV3, 37-10,
47-20, 87-10, 47-410, 87-410, TSXV6, 37-21,
47-30, 87-20, 47-411, 87-420, TSXV5, 37-22,
67-20, 87-30, 47-420, 107-410, PMXV4,
67-30, 67-410, 107-420, PMXV5, 57-10, 57-20,
50-30, 50-xx, 37-xx, PCX57, NUM10x0

The next five fields define the five level XWAYaddress. Refer to the corresponding
documentation for more information.

742 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Logical Station Table

Network Number A hexadecimal value giving the network number.

Valid Entry: 0 to 7F (default=0)
Station Number A hexadecimal value for the network address station number.
Valid Entry: For UNI-TELWAY: 0 to FE (default=FE)
For MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/XWAYIP: 0 to
3F
Gate Number A hexadecimal value for the network address gate number.
Valid Entry: 0 to F (default=0) depending on the address to
enter
0 for a master address
5 for a slave address
For an unsolicited data, this number must be 10 + x, where x is
the number of the text block which send the request.
Module Number A hexadecimal value for the module number on the network. For
a slave address, the two figures in hexadecimal notation
correspond to the rack number and the position of the module in
the rack.
Valid Entry: 0 to FF (default=0) depending on the address to
enter
0 for a master address
Location in the rack used by a TSX SCM module for a slave
address. For example, 07 corresponds to slot 7 in rack 0.
Device Number A hexadecimal value for the network address device number.
Valid Entry: 0 to FE (default=0) depending on the address to
enter
0 for a master address 28
H’64’ plus the target slave number for a slave
address
Response Timeout The time (in seconds) during which the driver waits for a Telemecanique
Seconds response from the PLC. If this time is exceeded, the driver
repeats the message sent or sends an error message.
Valid Entry: 0 to 30 (default=10)
TW7 An indicator that shows if data transits a Telway network
betweenFactoryLink and a PLC.
YES The data transits via a Telway network

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 743

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Logical Station Table
•
•
NO (Default) The data does not transit via a Telway
network
Drop The number of a group of stations that are opened via the same
network interface. The same drop number must be assigned to all
PLCs that are connected to a common lower level network. Each
PLC equipped with a
MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/XWAYIP/ISAWAY communication
module must be assigned a different number.
A different drop number has to be assigned to each station
configured as receiving unsolicited datas.
If the same drop number is used for both normal read/write
operation and unsolicited datas, the performances for read/write
operation will be affected.
Valid Entry: 0 to 99 (default=0)

Sample entries are provided in the following panel:

744 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Logical Station Table

Press Tab and the following fields are displayed :

In this example, information is specified for logical port 0 defined in the

Telemecanique Logical Station Control panel. The error codes for logical station 2
(X-TEL symbolic name: LSTA2) are written to real-time database element
te_station2. Logical station 2 communicates with a TSX 17-20 PLC with network
number 0, station number FE, gate number 5, module number 7 and device
number 74.

The driver waits up to 10 seconds for a response to a read or write request before
declaring an error condition. The logical station is linked to station group 1 (drop
1) and data exchange does not transit via a Telway network.

28

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 745

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Read/Write Table
•
•
TELEMECANIQUE R EAD /W RITE TABLE
These tables allow the user to specify the following information:
• Exception write, block write, block read, or any combination of these read/write
operations
• Up to 200 real-time database elements used as block read triggers
(with one read trigger per table)
• Up to 200 real-time database elements used as block write triggers
(with one write trigger per table)
• Telemecanique objects to read and transfer to the FactoryLink real-time
database
• real-time database elements that receive the contents of the PLC objects

It is possible to configure up to 200 read/write tables with up to 1309 elements

defined in each table.

Note

Different triggers must be used for each table.

If message type elements are used for block read or write operations, it is
recommended no more than 16 message type elements be entered in the same
table.

746 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Read/Write Table

Table Name The user defined name of the read/write table to configure or
modify.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters
Unsolicited Read (Optional) Indicates reading unsolicited data from the logical
stations specified in this table must be interpreted by the PLC
Interface task. When an unsolicited data read is performed, the
PLC Interface task emulates the addressing structure of the PLC
objects to write to the real-time database. An unsolicited data
table must only contain Message type tags and only read Text
type PLC objects. Refer to “FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data
Objects” on page 768. FactoryLink listens for unsolicited data on
the First Slave Address. In addition, the user must define a
logical station whose address corresponds to the target address of
the text block used by the PLC for this transmission.
Y A normal write to the real-time database
F A forced write to the real-time database
N Unsolicited data is not interpreted
Exception Write This indicator shows whether writing is required each time the
value of one of the elements specified in the Read/Write
Information table changes.
Y A change of state of any element generates a write
request of its value, regardless of the specified
triggers or of other values.
N No exception writes. Write operations are only
generated when the value of the write trigger and
its change of state bit are forced to 1. All of the
values are written, regardless of the status of their 28
change of state bit.
It is possible to configure both exception write and block write
actions in the same table. Telemecanique
Block Read Priority (Optional) Not used.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 747

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Read/Write Table
•
•
Block Read Trigger A FactoryLink real-time database digital element that, when
forced to 1 (ON), triggers a block read of the values specified in
the Telemecanique Read/Write Information table. The Read
Trigger is normally defined in another FactoryLink task such as
the Event and Interval Timer, Math and Logic, or Application
Editor.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read A digital database element that, when set to 1 (ON), disables the
Disable block read action on this table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read A digital element of the database forced to 1 (ON) by the PLC
Complete Interface task once the block read of this table is complete. If this
element is defined when the PLC Interface task is initialized, the
value of this element is forced to 1 (ON).
The Read Completed elements are valid only if a different table is
used for each logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read State A digital element of the database with a value set to 0 (OFF)
when a block read operation on the elements specified in the table
are in progress. Once the block read operations on this table are
complete, the value of this element is set to 1 (ON). If this
element is defined when the PLC Interface task is initialized, the
value of this element is forced to 1 (ON).
The Read State elements are valid only if a different table is used
for each logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write Priority (Optional) Not used.

748 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Read/Write Table

Block Write Trigger A FactoryLink real-time database digital element that, when
forced to 1 (ON), triggers a block write of the values specified in
the Telemecanique Read/Write Information table. The block write
trigger is normally defined in another FactoryLink task such as
the Event and Interval Timer, Math and Logic, or Application
Editor.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write A digital database element that, when set to 1 (ON), disables the
Disable block write action on the elements specified in this table.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write A digital element of the database forced to 1 (ON) by the PLC
Complete Interface task once the block write of this table is complete. If this
element is defined when the PLC Interface task is initialized, the
value of this element is forced to 1 (ON).
The Block Write Complete elements are valid only if a different
table is used for each logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Write State A digital element of the database with a value set to 0 (OFF)
when a block write operation on the elements specified in the
table are in progress. Once the block write operations on this
table are complete, the value of this element is set to 1 (ON). If
this element is defined when the PLC Interface task is initialized,
the value of this element is forced to 1 (ON).
The Block Write State elements are valid only if a different table 28
is used for each logical port.
Valid Entry: standard element tag name
Valid Data Type: digital Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 749

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Read/Write Table
•
•
The following table shows an example of entries in the various fields:

Press Tab to display the following fields:

750 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Read/Write Table

Press Tab to display the following fields:

In this example, table te_rwtable1 is defined. Reading unsolicited data is not

interpreted. A change of state by any element causes the value of this element to
be written, regardless of the status of the triggers or of the other values
(Exception Write = Y is set).

The block read and write priority levels are set to the highest value, 1. When the
value of database element te_read equals 1 (ON), a block read of the values
specified in the Read/Write Information table is performed. When the value of
database element te_rdisable equals 1 (ON), block reading of table te_rwtable1 is
disabled. Once all of the block read operations for this table are complete, the PLC
Interface task forces the value of the te_rcomp database element to 1. The value of
the te_rstate database element changes to 0 while table te_rwtable1 is being read.

When the value of database element te_write equals 1 (ON), a block write of the 28
values specified in the corresponding Read/Write Information table is enabled.
When the value of database element te_wdisable equals 1, block writing of the
values specified in table te_rwtable1 is disabled. Once all block write operations Telemecanique
for this table are complete, the PLC Interface task force the te_wcomp database
element to 1. The value of the te_wstate database element is 0 when the table
te_rwtable1 is being written.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 751

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Read/Write Table
•
•
Once all of the information has been entered, bring the last table, Read/Write
Information, to the foreground by placing the cursor on the visible part of the
screen and clicking on the left mouse button.

The values entered in this table identify Telemecanique PLC objects that are:
• Read and transferred to the real-time database when the block read trigger
requests a block read of the table specified in the Table Name field
• Written from the real-time database when the block write trigger requests a
block write of the table specified in the Table Name field.

The data entered in this table is assigned to the table whose name is specified in
the Table Name field. If this name is incorrect, the user must return to the
Read/Write Control screen, and place the cursor on the name of the table to be
filled in, then display the Read/Write Information screen once again.

Specify the following data for each PLC object to read or write:
Station Name Comment field to associate the logical station number to the
corresponding XTEL station name.
Logical Station A number (defined in the Logical Station Configuration table)
that identifies the physical attributes required by the read and
write operations on the real-time database element.
Valid Entry: 0 to 999 (default=0)
All logical station numbers entered must first be defined in the
Logical Station Information table.

752 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
Telemecanique Read/Write Table

Tag Name The name of the real-time database element whose value is
updated when a block read action is performed or which is sent to
the PLC when a block write action is performed.
PLC Object Symbolic representation of the PLC object to read or write.
Valid Entry: Refer to “FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data
Objects” on page 768.

The following table shows an example of entries in the various fields:

In this example, the database element te_pl1 is updated when a block read or a
block write operation is performed in relation to logical station 2 (the symbolic
name of the X-TEL station is LSTA2). The Telemecanique object to read or write is
word W0.

Once all data has been entered, click on Exit to validate it. Click on Exit or press
28
[F3] to return to the Configuration Manager.

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 753

• TELEMECANIQUE CONFIGURATION TABLES
• Telemecanique Read/Write Table
•
•

754 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 29

•
•
•
•
System Configuration
Table

These tables allow the user to configure executable files to run, depending on the
type of configuration requested.

To open the System Configuration table, choose System Configuration from the
Configuration Manager Main Menu. The following panel is displayed.

Specify the following information:

Flags This field must be filled in with FR to automatically start the task
at run time.
Task Name This field must be filled in according to the type of 29
communications:
Valid
Communications Type Entry
Telemecanique
MAPWAY 1 card TEMAP1
MAPWAY 2 card TEMAP2
UNI-TELWAY COM port TEUTW1
ETHWAY 1 card TEETH1
ETHWAY 2 card TEETH2
FIPWAY 1 card TEFIP1
FIPWAY 2 card TEFIP2
Programming port (PCX TETSXPC

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 755

• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION TABLE
•
•
•
TCP/IP 1 card TEIP1
TCP/IP 2 card TEIP2
ISAWAY 1 TEISA1
ISAWAY 2 TEISA2

Leave the following fields as previously filled-in.

Description, Start Trigger, Task Status, Task Message, Display Status, Display Name,
Display Description, Start Order, Priority

Executable File This field must be filled in with BIN/TECOM for the task to start.

756 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION TABLE

Program This field must be filled in according to the type of

Arguments communications:
Valid
Communications Type Entry
MAPWAY 1 card 1
MAPWAY 2 card 2
FIPWAY 1 card 3
FIPWAY 2 card 4
UNI-TELWAY COM port 5
ETHWAY 1 card 6
ETHWAY 2 card 7
Programming port (PCX) 8
XWAYIP 1 11
XWAYIP 2 12
ISAWAY1 13
ISAWAY2 14

29

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 757

• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION TABLE
•
•
•

758 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 30

•
•
•
•
Reference

C ONNECTING TO XWAY N ETWORKS

The PC computer and its installed XWAY network interface card connect directly
to the appropriate network.

-XWAY Network Interface Cards

• FIPWAY network:
Use the half-length TSX FPC 10M interface board.
Refer to the TSX DM FPC 10M documentation for full instructions on installing
this board.
• ETHWAY network:
Use the half-length TSX ETH PC10M interface board.
Refer to the TSX DM ETH PC 10M documentation for full instructions on
installing this board.
• MAPWAY network:
Use the full-length TSX MAP PC7 42M interface board.
Refer to the TSX DM MAP PC7 M documentation for full instructions on
installing this board.
• UNI-TELWAY COM Port network:
A specific UNI-TELWAY software driver must be previously installed to use the
standard Serial COM port for UNI-TELWAY communication protocol. This
30
software can be ordered using the reference TXT LF UTW V50.
• ISA-WAY network: Contact your sales representative. Telemecanique
• XWAY-TCPI network: Contact your sales representative.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 759

• REFERENCE
• Configuring Telemecanique Networks
•
•
C ONFIGURING TELEMECANIQUE N ETWORKS
This subsection describes the various communication devices that can be
connected to a FactoryLink system and to PLCs to form a network.

It also lets the user determine the appropriate entries for the value of the first
slave address, last slave address, and the TW7 fields in the Telemecanique Logical
Station Configuration table described previously.

760 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Configuring the Slaves and the TW7 Data Fields

C ONFIGURING THE S LAVES AND THE TW7 D ATA F IELDS

This additional information is required to determine the appropriate data
required for entry into the various fields in the Telemecanique Logical Station
Control Information table:

First and Last Slave Addresses

A UNI-TELWAY bus can have up to 253 slave addresses as 0 is reserved for the
master). To improve communication efficiency between FactoryLink and a PLC or
a UNI-TELWAY bus, FactoryLink can send/receive requests to/from the master for
between 2 to 15 slave addresses.

This slave addresses characteristic does not apply to

MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/ISAWAY/XWAYIP, first slave and last slave are used
to define the number of communication sockets to be used.

The communication devices use the first slave address only for unsolicited
messages and the successive addresses (from the first address + 1 to the last
address) for message data.

To make use of this characteristic, assign the slave numbers, 4 to 18, to the
communication device. To do this, specify the value 4 in the First Slave Address
Field and the value 18 in the Last Slave Address Field in the Telemecanique Logical
Station Control Information table. This allows FactoryLink to send/receive up to
15 messages at a time to/from the network.

These settings must be compatible with “the number of addresses” declared in the
CONFIG.SYS configuration file. Note the TSX 37.xx PLCs can only poll 8
addresses if connected through the TER port.

For other XWAY protocols, the first slave/cost slave addresses are used to define 30
the number of communication sockets to be used. For example, 5-15 on ETHWAY
asks for 10 communication sockets.

TSX programming port can handle a maximum of 2 communication sockets. This

Telemecanique
protocol is used with PCX PLC board.

UNI-TE is a master-slave protocol. FactoryLink is always seen as slave. All

FactoryLink requests travel throuth the master. Response time may be impotant
if UNI-TE network has a lot of connection points.

It's recommended to declare the exact number of slaves in the master PLC. In
fact, any slave declared and missing will have slow down the pool cycle. The

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 761

• REFERENCE
• Configuring the Slaves and the TW7 Data Fields
•
•
master will have to retry several times the request and to wait each time the
response timeout.

When running, FactoryLink tries to connect to the PLCs defined in the

configuration tables. Connections may take several minutes if the network has a
significant number of slaves.

For best performences, install a PLC with two UNI-TE networks; one to collect the
data and another where FactoryLink will be the only slave.

XWAY Configuration Drivers

Xway driver default settings ( ETHWAY, FIPWAY, UNI-TELWAY) must be tuned

for FactoryLink:

For ETHWAY driver follow this procedure:

Call the configuration pannel (Start Menu - Settings - Control Panel)

Double click on the Network Icon

Select the ETHWAY01 or ETHWAY02 protocol

Click on "Properties"

Click on the "Advanced" tab

Select "7 - Number of Send Buffers", and set the value to 50

Select "8 - Number of Receive Buffers", and set the value to 50

Click on "OK" to validate your modifications

Exit the Network Configuration Pannel. The new settings are now active.

Note: The performance may degraded if a PLC on the network

is broken. This degradation can be minimized by changing the
RetryPeriod parameter of the ETHWAY driver from the default
of 800 to 100.

For Windows 95

Open the Control Panel by clicking Start Menu>Settings>Control Panel.

Double-click the Network icon.

762 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Configuring the Slaves and the TW7 Data Fields

On the Configuration tab of the Network property sheet, select ETHWAY01 or

ETHWAY02.

Click Properties>Advanced.

Select "4 - "Retry Period", and set 100

Click OK to enter the modifications

For Windows NT

Open the Control Panel by clicking Start Menu>Settings>Control Panel.

Double click on the Network Icon

On the Protocols tab of the Network property sheet, select ETHWAY01 or

ETHWAY02.

Click "Properties"

Set Retry Period field to 100.

Click OK to enter the modification.

For UNI-TELWAY

Run icon UNI-TELWAY

Select File, Advanced Configuration

Set the value 50 to SBUF et RBUF

For FIPWAY version 2.1 or earlier

30
Rename the dll x:\xdosdrv\cnffip_y.dll in cnffip.dll, where x:\ = Base folder
where the driver fip is installed, xdosdrv = Folder where the drivers XWAY are
installed, _y= f for french, e for english , g for german. Telemecanique
Double click on cnffip.exe

Select File, advanced configuration

Set 50 to SBUF et RBUF

For versions later than 2.1, refer to the procedure for UNI-TELWAY.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 763

• REFERENCE
• Configuring the Slaves and the TW7 Data Fields
•
•
TW7
Messages of up to 128 bytes in length can be transferred by UNI-TELWAY or
MAPWAY. Messages transferred by a TELWAY network cannot be more than 32
bytes in length. However, if a message must transit via a TELWAY network to
reach its final destination, specify YES in the TW7 field in the Telemecanique
Logical Station Configuration table.

764 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Network Examples

N ETWORK E XAMPLES
FactoryLink communicates directly with the PLCs via UNI-TELWAY or
MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY (refer to example 1). Each PLC can, in turn, control
a lower level network of interconnected PLCs via UNI-TELWAY, MAPWAY,
ETHWAY, FIPWAY, ISAWAY, XWAYIP, or TELWAY (refer to Example 2).

FactoryLink communicates with the PLCs on these lower level networks via the
PLC common to both networks.

Each PLC on a network must be assigned the same drop number as the group of
stations to which it belongs. The drop number specifies which group of stations
the messages are sent to.

A UNI-TELWAY bus has one master. All other logical devices (LSTAx) are slaves.

A MAPWAY/ETHWAY/FIPWAY/ISAWAY/XWAYIP network has neither master nor

slave addresses.

Example 1: 1 FactoryLink, 1 network and 1 PLC.

In this example, FactoryLink communicates with LSTA0 on the MAPWAY

network.
Figure 30-1 Network Example 1

FactoryLink

X-WAY Network
30

Device LSTAO Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 765

• REFERENCE
• Network Examples
•
•
Example 2: 1 FactoryLink system, 3 networks and 8 PLCs.

In this example, FactoryLink communicates with LSTA0 and LSTA4 via a

MAPWAY network.

A lower level UNI-TELWAY bus is connected to LSTA4 and a lower level TELWAY
network is connected to LSTA0.
Figure 30-2 Network Example 2

Monitor 77/2

LSTA 8 TO 23 X-WAY Network (net = 1)

(Sta (1)) (Sta (2))

Device Device

LSTA4 Master
LSTAO
(Drop0) (Drop1)

Device Device
TELWAY (sta1)
Network LSTA1 LSTA5 Slave 16
(net = 2) (Drop0) (Drop1) UNI-TELWAY
Network
Device Device
(sta3)
LSTA2 LSTA6 Slave 17
(Drop0) (Drop1)

Device Device
(sta5) Slave 18
LSTA3 LSTA7
(Drop0) (Drop1)

766 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Network Examples

The configuration of these networks and of the lower level networks is set in the
Telemecanique Logical Stations Configuration table:

TELEMECANIQUE Logical Stations Control

Logical Port TYPE

1 TEMAP1

TELEMECANIQUE Logical Station Information

Logical Station Gate Module Device TW7 Drop

Network Numbe Number Numbe Numbe
Station r r r
Number

0 1 1 0 0 0 NO 0

1 2 1 0 0 0 YES 0

2 2 3 0 0 0 YES 0

3 2 5 0 0 0 YES 0

4 1 2 0 0 0 NO 1

5 1 2 5 3 74 NO 1

6 1 2 5 3 75 NO 1

7 1 2 5 3 76 NO 1
30

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 767

• REFERENCE
• FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects
•
•
F ACTORY L INK AND TSX/PMX PLC D ATA O BJECTS
This section describes how the FactoryLink communication system converts the
various types of data supported by Telemecanique PLCs for use with FactoryLink
and vice-versa.

It also provides instructions for filling in the PL7 Object field in the Read/Write
Configuration table.

Data Type Conversion

Each FactoryLink element specified in the Tag Name field in the read and write
tables is assigned a FactoryLink data type, a logical station, a corresponding PLC
memory address (specified in the PL7 Object field), and a PLC data type.

The data types supported by FactoryLink are different from those supported by
the PLCs. However, when writing to a FactoryLink data element from its
corresponding memory location in the PLC (PL7 Object), the software interface
converts the type of data from a PLC data object to a FactoryLink data object type.
In the same way, when writing to a PLC memory location (PL7 Object) from a
FactoryLink data element, the software interface converts the type of data from a
FactoryLink data object to a PLC data object type.

The following types of data objects are supported by the PLCs:

• Bit: BIT
• Single-length word (16-bits): WORD
• Double-length word (32-bits): DWORD
• Double-length floating point word objects: FDWORD
• Text (only for unsolicited data): TXT
• FactoryLink supports the following data types:
• Digital
• Analog
• Long Analog
• Floating-point
• Message (only for reading unsolicited data)

768 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects

Conversion Process
Bit, single-length word, and double-length word data objects can be converted
respectively to/from FactoryLink digital, analog and floating-point elements.

Converting a PLC Data Object to a FactoryLink Data Object

The FactoryLink communication system converts PLC data object types: bits,
single-length words, and double-length words respectively into FactoryLink
digital, analog and floating-point data objects.

The task places the PLC data object to convert in the LSBs of a 32-bit word and
assigns the value 0 to non-significant bits.

The task then converts the complete 32-bit unsigned word into a FactoryLink data
element value.

If a digital type data object is required, the task performs the following
conversion: data value equal to 0, then the element takes the value 0 (OFF).
Data value not 0, then the element takes the value 1 (ON).

If an analog data object is required, the task performs the following conversion:
the 32-bit word is reduced to a 16-bit length word, then copied to the analog
data element. If the data object is a DWORD, the 16-bit MSB data is lost.

If a floating-point data object is required, the task performs the following

conversion: the 32-bit word is converted into a floating-point positive value,
then copied to the FactoryLink floating-point data element.

The PLC text type elements and the FactoryLink message type elements do
not require conversion. The sign extension is not implemented.

Converting a FactoryLink Data Element Into a PLC Data Object 30

The PLC Interface task converts FactoryLink digital, analog and floating-point
values respectively into PLC bit, single-length words and double-length word data Telemecanique
objects.

The task places the FactoryLink data object to convert in the LSBs of a 32-bit word
and assigns the value 0 to non-significant bits.

The task then converts the complete 32-bit unsigned word into a PLC data object
value.

If a bit type data object is required, the task performs the following conversion:
data value equal to 0, then the bit is set to 0. Data value not 0, then the bit is

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 769

• REFERENCE
• FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects
•
•
set to 1 (digital data elements equal 0 when inactive (OFF) and 1 when active
(ON)).

If a word type data object is required, the task performs the following
conversion: the 32-bit word is reduced to a 16-bit length word, then copied to a
PLC single-length word. If a floating-point data object is selected, the sign and
the decimal part are lost. In addition, if the integer part exceeds 216-1, it is
cropped.

If a double-word data object is required, the task performs the following

conversion: the 32-bit word is entirely written to a PLC double word data
object.

The sign extension is not implemented.

Telemecanique PLC Objects

Depending on the type of data used, PLC data objects (memory addresses) can be
placed in the following categories:
• Bit objects
• Single-length word objects (WORD)
• Double-length word objects (DWORD)
• Double-length floating point word objects (FDWORD)
• I/O objects (I/O)

The names of PLC objects are specified in the PL7 Object field in the
Telemecanique Read/Write Configuration table in symbolic language, depending
on the type, function, and address of the data object.

Refer to the following tables to determine the symbolic representations valid for
PLC objects. Entry of the corresponding symbol in the PL7 Object field is not case
sensitive. Space characters are not allowed.

If a logical station is assigned to a TSX 37-xx PLC type, it is recommended to use

the standard IEC syntax (%MWi, %Si,...). However, it is still possible to use the
TSX V5 syntax (Wi, SYi,...), this allows it to connect to a TSX 37-xx PLC without
rewriting the communication tables of an existing application.

Note: PCX57 is an ATS (TSX57-xx, TSX37-xx) PLC type, so use

the ATS syntax. The available objects are the implemented
objects for ATS PLCs.

770 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects

Table 30-1 Bit Objects

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax/ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Internal bit Bi/%Hi/MI i = 0 to 4095 / 0 to 255

Read/Write i: internal bit number

System bit SYi/Si i = 0 to 127/ idea

Read/Write i: system bit number

Table 30-2 Single-length word objects (WORD)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Internal word Wi/% MWi i = 0 to 32597 / 0 to

Read/Write i: internal word number 16384

Bit taken from an Wi,b/%MWi,b i = 0 to 32597 /

internal word i : internal word number 0 to 16384
read b : bit number in hex. b = 0 to F

Constant word CWi/%KWi i = 0 to 26206

read i : constant word number

Bit from constant CWi,b/%KWi,b i = 0 to 26206

word read i : constant word number b = 0 to F
30
b : bit number in hex.

System word SWi/%SWi i = 0 to 127 Telemecanique

read/write i : system word

Bit from system SWi,b/%SWi,b i = 0 to 127

word read i : system word number b = 0 to F
b : bit number in hex.

Common word COMi,j/Not implemented i = 0 to 63

read/write i : station number j = 0 to 63
j : common word number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 771

• REFERENCE
• FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects
•
•
Table 30-2 Single-length word objects (WORD) (Continued)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Bit from COMi,j,b / Not implemented i = 0 to 63

commonword read i : station number j = 0 to 63
j : common word number b = 0 to F
b : bit number in hex.

Table 30-3 Double-length word objects (DWORD)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Double-length internal DWi / %MDi i = 0 to 32596 / 0 to

word i : double internal word number 16384
Read/Write

Bit from DWi,b / %MDi,b i = 0 to 32596 / 0 to

double-length i : double internal word number 16384
internal word b : bit number in hex. b = 0 to 1F
read

Double-length CDWi / % KDi i = 0 to 26206

constant word i : double constant word number
read

Bit from CDWi,b / %KDi,b i = 0 to 26206

double-length i : double constant word number b = 0 to 1F
constant word b : bit number in hex.
read

772 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects

Table 30-4 Double-length floating point word objects: FDWORD

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Double-length FCDWi / %KFi i = 0 to 32596 / 0 to

floating point i: constant float word number 16384
constant word read

Double-length FCDWi,b / %MFi,b i = 0 to 32596 / 0 to

floating point word i : float internal word number 16384
read/write

The floating point numbers are stored with IEEE single precision format (32 bits)
inside the PLC and with IEEE double precision format (64 bits) inside
FactoryLink. This may induce a lost of precision when exchanging data between
the PLC and FactoryLink.

Table 30-5 I/O objects (I/O)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Discrete I/O module Ixy,b / Not implemented x = 0 to F

input bit x : rack number in hex. y = 0 to 7
read y : module number in hex. b = 0 to F
b : bit number in hex.

Discrete I/O module Oxy,b / Not implemented x = 0 to F 30

output bit x : rack number in hex. y = 0 to 7
write y : module number in hex. b = 0 to F
b : bit number in hex.
Telemecanique
Register bit IWxy,i / Not implemented x = 0 to F
read x : rack number in hex. y = 0 to 7
y : module number in hex. i = 0 to 7
i : word number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 773

• REFERENCE
• FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects
•
•
Table 30-5 I/O objects (I/O) (Continued)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Bit from read IWxy,i,b / Not implemented x = 0 to F

register word read x : rack number in hex. y = 0 to 7
y : module number in hex. i = 0 to 7
i : word number b = 0 to F
b : bit number in hex.

Write register word OWxy,i / Not implemented x = 0 to F

x : rack number in hex. y = 0 to 7
y : module number in hex. i = 0 to 7
i : word number

Bit assigned to Xi / Not implemented i = 0 to 511

Grafcet read i : step number

Read Timer Ti,P/V/R/D / Not Implemented i = 0 to 127

i : timer number
P : preset value
V : current value
R : timer running
D : timer done

Timer Write Ti,P / Not implemented i = 0 to 127

preset word i : timer number

Monostable Read Mi,P/V/R / Not implemented i = 0 to 31

i : monostable value
P : preset value
V : current value
R : monostable running

Monostable Write Mi,P / Not implemented i = 0 to 31

preset word i : monostable number

Read Ci,P/V/E/F / Not implemented i = 0 to 255

Up/DownCounter i : counter number
P : preset value
V : current value
E : upcount overflow
F : downcount overflow

774 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects

Table 30-5 I/O objects (I/O) (Continued)

Symbolic representation Addressing

Object
TXS Syntax / ATS Syntax range (TSX /ATS)

Up/Down Counter Ci,P / Not implemented i = 0 to 255

Write preset word i : counter number

Read register Ri,I/O/E/F / Not implemented i = 0 to 127

i : register number
I : input word
O : output word
E : empty register
F : full register

Register Input word Ri,I / Not implemented i = 0 to 127

write i : register number

Num Objects

FactoryLink allows access to a sub-group of NUM programmed in ladder objects.

The list is:
• Saved variables ( %Mi )
• Non-saved variables ( %Vi )
• Common words (%Si )

30

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 775

• REFERENCE
• FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects
•
•

Table 30-6 Num Objects

Symbolic
representatio Addressing
Object
n Num range
syntax

Saved Variables
Word Read/Write %Mi.W i=< 77FE
Double Word Read/Write %Mi.L i=< 77FC
Bit from Word Read %Mi.j i=< 77FE, j<8

Non-Saved Variables
Word Read/Write %Vi.W i=< 77FE
Double Word Read/Write %Vi.L i=<= 77FC
Bit from Word Read %Vi.j i=< 77FE, j<8

Common Word
Word Read/Write %Si.W i=< 3F7E *

i = hexadecimal address of the object

j = Number of the bit in the word

* For this object, only addresses where the low byte is lower or equal to H7E are
allowed.

Caution: For NUM two words are consecutive and disjoin if

they are separated by 2 unities. And in the same
way two long words have to be separated by 4
unities.

776 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
FactoryLink and TSX/PMX PLC Data Objects

Table 30-7

Wi high Byte Low Byte

Wi+1 high Byte Low Byte

Wi+2 High Byte Low Byte

As a result...

To take avantage of the algorithm which minimizes the number of requests, it’s
recommended to write odd word series or even word series. For long word write
series of long word equal modulo 4.

Examples :

Read table Tab0 = %M0.W,%M2.W,%M1A.W,W78.W generates 1 read request of

60 words.

Read table Tab1 = %M11.W,%M1B.W,%M1D.W,%M20.W,%M23.W,%M25.W

generates 3 read requests. Reading of 7 words from %M11.W, Reding of the word
%M20 and reading of 2 words from %M23.

Read table Tab2 = %V25.L,%V29.L,%V2D.L,%V2E.L,%V32.L,%V34.L,%V36.L

generates 4 requests. Reading of 3 long words from %V25.L, Reading of 2 long
words from %V2E.L , Reading of long word %V32.L and Reading of long word
%V34.L.

Write table Tab3 = %S10.W,%S12.W,%S16.W,%S17.W generates3 write requests.

Writing of 2 words from %S10.W, writing word %S16.W and writing word %S17.W. 30
Write table Tab4 =
%M100.L,%M104.L,%M108.L,%M10A.L,%M10C.L,%M10D.L,%M111.L generates
4 write requests. Writing of 3 long words from %M100.L, writing of %M10A.L, Telemecanique
writing of %M10C.L and writing of 2 long words from %M10D.L

For NUM only the bits from 0 to 7 are available and are coded with the high byte
of the word.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 777

• REFERENCE
• Unsolicited Data Configuration Example
•
•

Table 30-8

Wi b7, b6, b5, b4, b3, b2, b1, b0 //////////////////////////////////

Wi+1 b7, b6, b5, b4, b3, b2, b1, b0

U NSOLICITED D ATA C ONFIGURATION E XAMPLE

When FactoryLink receives unsolicited data from a PLC, it compares the UNI-TE
address of the data received (a PLC and sender text block function) with the
addresses of the logical stations assigned to the message type elements in the
configuration tables. If a matching address is found, it automatically updates the
element assigned to this address using the data of the request received.

A single Message type element must be assigned to a logical station; otherwise,

only the first element encountered in the table with the lowest number will be
updated.

On a UNI-TELWAY bus, Serial Port:

• Master PLC:
Unsolicited data is generated by a master PLC from a text block. Configure the
CPL type text block TXT, for OUTPUT with:
TXTi,C = H’FC’
TXTi,M = H’xx65’ where xx is the location of the TSX SCM module in the rack
(FF for the built-in TSX SCI port)
TXTi,L = Number of bytes to send.
• Slave PLC:

778 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Unsolicited Data Configuration Example

To send unsolicited data from a UNI-TELWAY slave to a FactoryLink system,

configure the CPL type text block for OUTPUT with:

TXTi,M = H’TSX SCM slot, sender address + 64’

TXTi,C = H’07FC’ Category/Request code

TXTi,L = 6 + number of usable bytes

If the transmission buffer address = Wi

Wi = H’network number/00’

Wi + 1 = H’gate number/station number’

Wi + 2 = H’ (64 + lowest Monitor 77 address) FE’ E.g. H’65FE’

Wi + 3 = Data to send

Example:

Master station on multi-drop bus 0.

M77 addresses 1 to 15.

Slave station: ad0 = H ‘10’ (16),

ad1 = H ‘11’ (17),

ad2 = H ‘12’ (18).

The UNI-TELWAY module is located in slot 3.

30
In these examples, the lowest FactoryLink address (H’65’) corresponds to the
address of Slave 1. If FactoryLink uses other slave addresses such as 10 to 25 (also
referred to as data link addresses), the lowest address is H’6E’ (100+10 in decimal Telemecanique
notation).

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 779

• REFERENCE
• Unsolicited Data Configuration Example
•
•
Configure the following text block to send unsolicited data from a slave device to
FactoryLink:

TXTi for OUTPUT

TXTi,M = H’0375’ (slot 3, sender address (H’64’ + ad1))

TXTi,C = H’07FC’ (unsolicited data request code)

TXTi,L = 6 + n (n = number of bytes to send)

Address of Buffer Wi :

Wi = H’0000’ (network number 0)

Wi + 1 = H’05FE’ (gate H’05’, station H’FE’)

Wi + 2 = H’65FE’ (Monitor 77 address H’64’ + 1)

Wi + 3 = data to send

On a MAPWAY/FIPWAY/ETHWAY network:

Configure the TXT type NET function block for OUTPUT with to send unsolicited
data from a network station to the FactoryLink system:

TXTi,A = H’Monitor 77 network/station address’

TXTi,T = 0 Monitor 77 reception text block number (always 0)

TXTi,L = 2 + number of bytes to send

Wi = H’07FC’ unsolicited data category/request code

Wi + 1 = data to send

780 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 REFERENCE
Unsolicited Data Configuration Example

Table 30-9 Logical Station Information Panel Entries

Network Station Gate Module Device

Number Number Number Number Number

0 FE 5 FE 74

0 FE 5 FE 74

1 7 11 0 0

In this example, the first station is configured to receive unsolicited data sent
from slave 17.

The second station is configured to receive unsolicited data sent by text block 3 of
the master PLC application.

The third station is configured to receive unsolicited data from text block 1 of a
PLC application connected to the network as station 7.

Table 30-10 Read/Write Information Panel Entries for Unsolicited Read

Logical
Tag Name PL7 Object
Station

1 Unsol1 TXT

2 Unsol2 TXT

3 Unsol3 TXT

Unsol1: FactoryLink real-time database element updated on reception of 30

unsolicited data from slave 17.

Unsol2: FactoryLink real-time database element updated on reception of Telemecanique

unsolicited data from master text block 3.

Unsol3: FactoryLink real-time database element updated on reception of

unsolicited data from text block 1 of station number 7 on XWAY network 1.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 781

• REFERENCE
• Unsolicited Data Configuration Example
•
•

782 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 31

•
•
•
•
Telemecanique Error
Messages

This chapter describes the messages reporting operations and error conditions
that can be generated and displayed for the Telemecanique protocol module.

Bad DCT file

Cause: The specified file is corrupt.
Action: Delete the files from the FLAPP\DCT directory and restart
FactoryLink.

Cannot connect LPORT <lport number>

Cause: (UNI-TELWAY only) The master PLC does not poll the
UNI-TELWAY slaves as expected.
Action: Ensure the UNI-TELWAY master PLC polls the range of
communication slaves configured for the task.

Cannot find duntiw01.sys configuration in config.sys

Cause: TECOM has been invoked on UNI-TELWAY, and the associated
UNI-TELWAY driver is not installed in the system.
Action: Install the UNI-TELWAY driver before invoking TECOM.
31

Cannot open driver <driver name> Telemecanique

Cause: The communication task cannot open the requested associated
communication driver.
Action: Ensure the software driver is installed in the system.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 783

• TELEMECANIQUE ERROR MESSAGES
•
•
•
Cannot read edi configuration
Cause: No external device definition is configured.
Action: Configure the EDI panel for the device.

Cannot read te__ configuration

Cause: No Telemecanique configuration is found.
Action: Configure the Telemecanique panels.

Cannot send request (no remote ack)

Cause: (ETHWAY only) An addressed PLC is not physically connected to
the network.
Action: Ensure all addressed PLCs are physically connected to the
ETHWAY network.

duntlw01.sys ‘NBR=’ parameter too small (mini = 2)

Cause: The UNI-TELWAY driver must be configured to respond for a
minimum of two slaves.
Action: Modify the NBR field in the config.sys file.

Link is spurious
Cause: (UNI-TELWAY only) An unexpected, unsolicited message has
been received.
Action: Ensure the PLC is sending unsolicited messages to the first
UNI-TELWAY slave number reserved for this purpose.

784 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE ERROR MESSAGES

Link timeout from <LSTA xxx>

Cause: The response from logical station <xxx> was not received within
the configured timeout period. The physical link may have been
broken while requests were still waiting for a response.
Action: Increase the timeout value in the Telemecanique Logical Station
configuration panel.

Logical port definition missing

Cause: The External Device Definition panel does not have a
TE__/CUSTOM logical port configured.
Action: Configure the logical port on the External Device Definition
panel.

Cause: The Telemecanique panel does not define a logical port on the
invoked XWAY network.
Action: Define the logical port on the Telemecanique panel.

Cause: Definitions on the EDI and Telemecanique panels don’t match.

Action: Ensure the definitions match in both EDI and Telemecanique.

Lport slaves range is too small (mini=2)

Cause: The Telemecanique communication task must use a minimum of
two slaves.
Action: Ensure the first and last slave fields have been configured 31
properly.
Telemecanique
Maximum table count reached for Block Read
Cause: More than 200 block read tables are configured.
Action: Ensure less than 200 block read tables are configured.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 785

• TELEMECANIQUE ERROR MESSAGES
•
•
•
Maximum table count reached for Block Write
Cause: More than 200 block write tables are configured.
Action: Ensure less than 200 block write tables are configured.

Maximum table count reached for Exception Write

Cause: More than 200 exception write tables are configured.
Action: Ensure less than 200 exception write tables are configured.

Maximum table count reached for Unsolicited Read

Cause: More than 200 unsolicited read tables are configured.
Action: Ensure less than 200 unsolicited read tables are configured.

No DCT file for this port

Cause: No read/write IO is configured for this logical port.
Action: Configure the necessary read/write IO for the logical port.

No response from <LSTA xxx>

Cause: FactoryLink tried to read/write non-configured objects in a PLC.
For example, FactoryLink may have tried to read 43545 internal
words but the PLC was configured for 32767 internal words.
Action: Check to ensure the PLC is configured with the correct range.

Request refused (No station)

Cause: The configured PLC address does not exist on the network.
Action: Verify the PLC address.

786 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 TELEMECANIQUE ERROR MESSAGES

Run option not found

Cause: The Telemecanique communications driver option bit is not
validated.
Action: Install the option bit.

Unsol. datagram received on unexcepted slave

Cause: An unsolicited message has been received on an unexcepted
communication socket.
Action: Ensure the sender (PLC) addresses the message to a configured
logical station.

31

Telemecanique

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 787

• TELEMECANIQUE ERROR MESSAGES
•
•
•

788 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Part IV
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
RAPD Drivers
The Rapid Application Protocol Driver principle (RAPD) enables easy and rapid
protocol-driver configurations for FactoryLink applications. RAPD is based on the
Intertask Mail Exchange standard or IMX, which defines a way for a protocol
driver task to communicate with the I/O Translator task. The RAPD system
consists of a protocol driver which communicates with external devices (RTUs and
PLCs) and the I/O Translator which controls data storage in the FactoryLink
real-time database. This enables communications between the driver and a device
to be very efficient. All data is referenced between the driver and the I/O
Translator in terms of datasets. Datasets, described in the next section, define
memory regions or locations of data within a device.

The manual for the I/O Translator task, AB RSLINX protocol driver, and the
MBUSTCP protocol driver are included in this section. Other RAPD protocol
driver manuals are included on the documentation CD. If you need more
information about rapid drivers, refer to the I/O Translator Guide.
Chapter 32

•
•
•
•
External Device
Interface for AB_RAPD 32

External Device
Interface
This chapter introduces you to the AB__RAPD (Allen Bradley_Rapid Application
Protocol Driver) interface and tells you how to start the associated protocol
module.

While this chapter provides information about all of the AB__RAPD

protocol-specific data entry requirements, the I/O Translator Guide provides
more information. This second manual give you the information necessary to
define datasets and read/write triggers. It also explains how to use the I/O
Translator task (IOX) to quickly and easily configure FactoryLink applications.

O VERVIEW
RAPD drivers depart from USDATA’s External Device Interface (EDI) technology.
RAPD drivers are based on the Intertask Mail Exchange architecture. This
architecture defines the task message handling between a protocol driver task
and IOX.

The IOX task issues commands to the protocol driver to access an external device.
The protocol driver, in turn, communicates to the external device(s). IOX might
call on a driver to send data to, or to retrieve data from, an external device.

A driver, on the other hand, can send unsolicited data to the IOX. Any required
conversions on the data going to and received from the protocol driver is handled
by the IOX task.

The FactoryLink AB__RAPD task, the IOXLATOR task, and the Allen-Bradley
RSLinx™ task provides a device interface with which a programmable logic
controller (PLC) and a small logic controller (SLC) can communicate with
FactoryLink, across one or more Allen-Bradley proprietary networks.

The AB__RAPD task can communicate with these Allen-Bradley devices:

• PLC-2™
• PLC-3™
• PLC-5™
• PLC-5/250 (Pyramid Integrator)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 791

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• How to Use This Chapter
•
•
• PLC-5/xxE (Direct Ethernet link only)
• SLC-500™ series 01, 02, 03, and 04 processors

Note

SLC-5/01, SLC-5/02, and SLC-5/03 processors require an interface

module.
SLC-5/04 processors connect directly to a Data Highway Plus™.

Additionally, the tasks can run concurrently with software other than
FactoryLink that is also using RSLinx.

AB__RAPD Data Highway Plus (DH+) communications are established through

an Allen-Bradley KT, KTX, 1784-KT, 1784-KT2, or 1784-PCMK card port. The
DH+ links with other networks, including another DH+, a Data Highway 485
(DH-485), or a Data Highway™ (DH) via a compatible Allen-Bradley network
interface module.

AB__RAPD also communicates through an Ethernet™ port using the TCP/IP

network protocol. Communications with Allen-Bradley devices occurs through
either a PLC-5/250 with an Ethernet interface module providing a bridge to a
DH+ network or through a direct Ethernet link to a device from the PLC-5/xxE
family. Through the Pyramid Integrator, the AB__RAPD task communicates with
stations on the local DH+ link and with stations on other networks, including
DH-485, DH, and DH+.

AB__RAPD also communicates through a serial port with Allen-Bradley PLC-2,

PLC-3, PLC-4, PLC-5 and PLC-250 devices.

H OW TO U SE T HIS C HAPTER
Use this chapter in conjunction with the I/O Translator Guide to configure the
FactoryLink tags into datasets and read/write triggers. The IOXLATOR also
handles the type conversion between the Allen-Bradley and FactoryLink data
types.

In addition, the FactoryLink ECS Device Interface Guide section for the KTDTL
and NetDTL interface can be referenced for Allen-Bradley data types and
addresses.

792 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
AB__RAPD at a Glance

AB__RAPD AT A G LANCE
32
This section provides a quick cross-reference to the IOXLATOR and indicates
where to find specific information in this supplement.

External Device
Interface
I/O Translator Dataset You create the dataset definitions by filling out the I/O
Definition Translator Dataset Definition panel of the IOXLATOR
definition panels. This includes read/write triggers and
completion and status tags.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the I/O
Translator Definition Panel” on page 798.

I/O Translator Tag For each dataset, define the tags that make up the dataset
Definition using the I/O Translator Tag Definition panel of the
IOXLATOR definition panels.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the I/O
Translator Definition Panel” on page 798.

AB RSLinx Port Definition For each logical port, define a specific hardware interface
(KT card, Ethernet) in the AB RSLinx Port Definition panel
of the AB__RAPD definition panels.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this supplement. See“Configuring the AB
RSLinx Port Definition Panel” on page 800.

AB RSLinx Station For each logical port, define the Allen-Bradley devices
Definition connected to the port in the AB RSLinx Station Definition
panel of the AB__RAPD definition panels.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the AB
RSLinx Station Definition Panel” on page 802.

AB RSLinx Dataset For each station, list one or more datasets, previously
Definition defined in the IOXLATOR definition panels, and the
address of the data in the station.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the AB
RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel” on page 807.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 793

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• AB__RAPD at a Glance
•
•

Technical Notes Lists the data type conversions to be used by the

IOXLATOR for the various Allen-Bradley data types.
Refer to “Technical Notes” on page 810 for additional notes
specific to the EDI driver for use in setting up the
AB__RAPD driver.

System Messages For information about messages unique to AB_RAPD, see

“Run-Time Application Messages” on page 811.

794 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Accessing the AB_RAPD Configuration Panels

A CCESSING THE AB_RAPD C ONFIGURATION P ANELS

32
When you choose AB RSLinx Driver from the Configuration Manager Main Menu,
the AB__RAPD configuration panels are displayed.

External Device
Interface
B
e
f
o
r
e
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
i
n
g

t
h
e
A
Before completing the AB__RAPD configuration panels, you must complete the
I/O Translator Definition panels.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 795

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE AB RSL INX D RIVER M AILBOX P ANEL
To bring the AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox panel to the foreground, click on its title
bar in the display of all configuration panels.

Specify the mailbox of the AB RSLinx driver. The IOX communicates with the AB
RSLinx driver by writing to this mailbox.

AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox This mailbox belongs to the AB RSLinx driver task. Any
Tag task that wants to communicate with the AB RSLinx driver
must write to this mailbox.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: mailbox

Description (Optional) Reference information about this mailbox tag.

Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21
characters

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (mailbox) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

796 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox Panel

Table 32-1 provides sample entries for a row defining a AB RSLinx Driver
Mailbox: 32
Table 32-1 Table 1 Sample AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox Panel Entries

External Device
Column

Interface
AB RSLinx Driver DRVMBX The IOX communicates with the AB
Mailbox Tag RSLinx driver by writing to this mailbox.

Description

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 797

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the I/O Translator Definition Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE I/O TRANSLATOR D EFINITION P ANEL
To bring the I/O Translator Definition panel to the foreground, click on its title bar
in the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the AB RSLinx
Driver Mailbox panel.

Complete a row for each IOX with which the AB RSLinx driver communicates.
The AB RSLinx driver communicates with the IOX by writing to this mailbox. The
AB RSLinx driver communicates with multiple IOXs.

I/O Translator Mailbox Tag This mailbox belongs to the IOX task. Any task that wants
to communicate with the IOX must write to this mailbox.
This must be the same tag defined in the IOX Mailbox
Definition table.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: mailbox

Max MSG Maximum number of messages that can reside in the IOX’s
mailbox.
Valid Entry: 1 - 9999 (default = 100)

LAN Define whether the IOX communicates across a LAN. This

field is currently not used.
Valid Entry: no, yes (default = no)

Description (Optional) Reference information about this Mailbox tag.

Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 21
characters

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (mailbox) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

798 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the I/O Translator Definition Panel

Table 32-2 provides sample entries for a row defining a I/O Translator.
32
Table 32-2 Sample I/O Translator Definition Panel Entries

External Device
Column Entry Description

Interface
I/O Translator IOXMBX IOX mailbox tag.
Mailbox Tag

Max MSG 100 Number of messages that can reside in

the IOX’s mailbox.

LAN No Currently not used.

Description

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 799

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Port Definition Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE AB RSL INX P ORT D EFINITION P ANEL
To bring the AB RSLinx Port Definition panel to the foreground, click on its title
bar in the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the I/O
Translator Definition panel.

Complete a row for each port used by the driver in this application. A port can be a
serial port, an Ethernet network connection, a KT, or KTC card.

Port Name Give this port a name. Define one port per line and do not
include spaces in the name. You can define as many ports in
this panel as are available on the system.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16
characters

Response Timeout Enter the length of time (in tenths of seconds) the protocol
module waits to receive a response to a read or write
command.

For example, enter 30 for a time out of three seconds.

Valid Entry: 0 - 200 (default = 20)

Interface Type Select the port type.

Valid Entry: Serial
KT/KTX
KTC
NetDTL

800 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Port Definition Panel

Interface Number The driver number as defined by RSLinx. 32

For example: AB_ETH-1 enter 1, AB_KT-2 enter 2.

External Device
Valid Entry: 1 - 200 (default = 1)

Interface
Port Status Optional Analog tag to show port status. -1 indicates the
port is not active. A positive value indicates the driver
ID of the RSLinx driver active for that port.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 32-3 provides sample entries for a row defining a port:

Table 32-3 Table 3 Sample AB RSLinx Port Definition Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

Port Name Port1 The name of this port is Port1.

Response 20 The timeout value is 2 seconds.

Timeout

Interface Type KT/KTX This port is a KT card.

Interface 1 This is the port defined as AB_KT-1 by

Number RSLinx.

Port Status port1_status Tag name of analog tag to hold the port status
value.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 801

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE AB RSL INX S TATION D EFINITION P ANEL
From the AB RSLinx Port Definition panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the AB RSLinx Station Definition panel to
the foreground. This panel contains additional columns not shown.

Complete a row for each Allen-Bradley device connected to the port.

Station Name Give this station a name. Define one station per line and do
not include spaces in the name. You can define as many
stations in this panel as are available on this port.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16
characters

Station Status Tag Optional name of a analog element to which any error code
for this logical station is written.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

Pyramid EI # (Decimal) Enter the number that corresponds to the station number
specified with the TCP/IP address in the Allen-Bradley
RSLinx configuration software.
Valid Entry: 0 - 999 (default = 0)

802 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel

Pyramid Channel ID For applications that communicate with devices at

addresses on the local network, enter the communications 32
(ASCII)
port in the appropriate Pyramid Integrator module to which
this logical station is connected.

External Device
Formats
0RM:[2,3] Resource Manager module, channel 2

Interface
or 3 (for example, 0RM:2)
[1-4]KA:[2,3] Card number, KA module, channel 2
or 3 (for example, 1KA:2)
If you are defining the Pyramid Integrator (PLC5/250)
itself, leave this field blank.
If you are defining a PLC-5/xxe connected directly to
Ethernet, leave this field blank.
For applications using off-link addressing, enter the
location of the off-link station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 22
characters

KT Card ID (ASCII) For applications that communicate with devices at

addresses on the local network.
Format
KT:0 The module type followed by a colon,
and the channel number (for example,
KT:0)
For applications using off-link addressing, enter the
location of the off-link station.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 29
characters

Note

Do not use 1KT:0. The card number is defined using the interface
number in the port definition table.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 803

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel
•
•

Station Address (Octal) Enter the physical DH+, DH, or DH-485 address of the
Allen-Bradley device.
Address Limits
DH+ networks 0 - 77 (octal)
DH networks 0 - 377 (octal)
DH-485 networks 0 - 37 (octal)
Be sure to also complete the PYRAMID CHANNEL ID
(ASCII) field associated with each device if the port is an
Ethernet port.
Valid Entry: 0 - 377 (Octal)

Station Type Enter the type of Allen-Bradley device from which data is
read or to which data is written.
Valid Entry:
PLC Same as PLC-2U.
PLC-2 Same as PLC-2U.
PLC-2P A-B PLC that is accessed by using the
A-B basic (PLC-2) unprotected-read
and protected-write commands.
PLC-2U A-B PLC that is accessed by using the
A-B basic (PLC-2) unprotected-read
and unprotected-write commands.
PLC-3 A-B PLC-3; same as PLC3-KA.
PLC-3KA A-B PLC-3 that is not a PLC-3SR.
PLC-3SR A-B PLC-3 that uses a 1775-S5 or
1775-SR5 scanner for DH+
communications. This scanner allows
faster bit write operations.
PLC-4 Same as PLC-2U.
PLC-5 A-B PLC-5 new or old generation.
PLC-250 A-B PLC5/250 Pyramid Integrator.
SLC-500 SLC 500 series processor.

804 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel

32
Tip

To enter a station type, go back to the field and press Ctrl+K. From

External Device
the list of valid entries that appear, double-click the station type or
highlight your choice and press Enter.

Interface
Encode Register Define the PLC register to use for an encoded exception
write. Currently not used.
Valid Entry: 1 - 9999

Read Disable Digital tag to enable or disable the read function for the
device. Function is enabled if no tag is specified or the tag
value is OFF. Function is disabled if the tag value is ON.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Write Disable Digital tag to enable or disable the write function for the
device. Function is enabled if no tag is specified or the tag
value is OFF. Function is disabled if the tag value is ON.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Receive Disable Digital tag to enable or disable the unsolicited receive

function for the device. Function is enabled if no tag is
specified or the tag value is OFF. Function is disabled if the
tag value is ON.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 32-4 provides sample AB RSLinx Station Definition panel entries for AB
RSLinx Port Definition table entries, which are defined in the table on page 801.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 805

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel
•
•

Table 32-4 Table 4 Sample AB RSLinx Station Definition Panel Entries

Column Entry Description

Port Name Port1 The table name defined in the AB RSLinx

Port Definition panel is displayed.

Station Name Station1 The name of this station is Station1.

Station Status station1_status Tag name of analog tag to hold the port
Tag status value.

Pyramid EI # No entry for this port type (KT).

(Decimal)

Pyramid Channel No entry for this port type (KT).

ID (ASCII)

KT Card ID KT:0 The module type and the channel number.

(ASCII)

Station Address 10 Address of the KT card.

(Octal)

Station Type PLC-5 PLC Type connected to the KT card.

Encode Register No entry.

Read Disable sta1_rd_disabl Digital tag to enable or disable the read

function for this device.

Write Disable sta1_wr_disabl Digital tag to enable or disable the write

function for this device.

Receive Disable sta1_rcv_disabl Digital tag to enable or disable the

unsolicited receive function for this device.

806 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel

C ONFIGURING THE AB RSL INX D ATASET D EFINITION P ANEL

32
From the AB RSLinx Device Definition panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the AB RSLinx Dataset Definition panel to
the foreground. This panel contains additional columns not shown.

External Device
Interface
This table links datasets to the physical PLC addresses. Complete a row for each
dataset associated with the device.

I/O Translator Mailbox Tag IOX mailbox associated with this dataset.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: mailbox

Data Set Dataset control tag (digital) which is associated with the
dataset specified by the IOX task.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Address Enter the address of the memory location being read or

written.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 22
characters

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 807

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Configuring the AB RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel
•
•

Note

For more information about defining memory addresses for

Allen-Bradley devices, refer to the Allen-Bradley addressing
reference documentation for the appropriate device.

Len Number of elements to read.

Valid Entry: 1 - 9999 (default = 1)

UR Determines whether to accept unsolicited messages for this

dataset.
Valid Entry: Y, N

Read Completion This trigger is set when the dataset is read from the
external device.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Write Completion This trigger is set when the dataset is written to the
external device.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Rcv Completion This trigger is set when the dataset is received from the
external device with the unsolicited receive function.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

Table 32-5 provides sample AB RSLinx Dataset Definition panel entries for AB
RSLinx Port Definition table entries which are defined in the table on page 801.

808 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Configuring the AB RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel

Table 32-5 Table 5 Sample AB RSLinx Dataset Definition Panel Entries 32

Column Entry Description

External Device
Station Name Station1 The table name defined in the Station

Interface
Definition panel is displayed.

I/O Translator IOXMBX Tag name of the I/O Translator for this
Mailbox Tag dataset.

Data Set analog_ds[0] Tag name of the digital tag identifying

this dataset.

Address N:0 Defines integer register 0 as the starting

address.

Len 16 Read 16 data elements.

UR N No unsolicited messages accepted for this

dataset.

Read Completion ana0_rd_compl Tag name of the digital tag which

receives the read completion trigger.

Write Completion ana0_wr_compl Tag name of the digital tag which

receives the write completion trigger.

Rcv Completion Blank since no unsolicited messages are

allowed.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 809

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Technical Notes
•
•
TECHNICAL N OTES
The entries shown in Table 32-6 must be made in the CONV field of the I/O
Translator Tag Definition panel.

Table 32-6 Entries in the CONV Field

AB Data Type CONV

WORD WORD

PLC3_LONG LONG

LONG RLNG

3BCD BCD

4BCD BCD

PLC3_FLT IEEE

SLC_FLT IEEE

SLC_FLT IEEE

FLT RFLT

BIT BIT

The following command line arguments are used in the System Configuration
panel:

-d Displays debug information on the screen.

-l Writes debug information to <FLAPP>\ab__rapd.log.

810 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -T IME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

32
During run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
AB__RAPD protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen. These messages
are stored in FactoryLink database elements. You define the tag names for these

External Device
elements in the AB RSLinx Station Definition table. See “Configuring the AB
RSLinx Driver Mailbox Panel” on page Configuring the AB RSLinx Driver

Interface
Mailbox Panel for information about configuring a message tag. See “Configuring
the I/O Translator Definition Panel” on page 798 for information about
configuring an analog tag.

Error Messages
The following messages might be displayed at startup.

NOCT
Cause: There is no AB__RAPD CT file.
Action: Check CTLIST for the correct AB__RAPD entry.

NOCTRECS
Cause: There are records missing in the AB__RAPD CT file.
Action: Check CTLIST for the correct AB__RAPD entry.

NOCTCLOSE
Cause: There is no AB__RAPD CT file.
Action: Check CTLIST for the correct AB__RAPD entry.

Port Type/Device Address mismatch PPP:SSS

(PPP - Port Name, SSS - Station Name)
Cause: There is a problem with the station data for the given port.
Action: Check the configuration table entries for the station.

ADDRESS ERROR PPP:SSS:DDD

(PPP - Port Name, SSS - Station Name, DDD - Dataset Name)
Cause: There is a problem with the dataset data for the given port.
Action: Check the configuration table entries for the dataset.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 811

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
DTL_INIT (‘ErrNo’) - ‘ErrStr’
Cause: There is a problem initializing RSLinx.
Action: Check the error string in the RSLinx documentation.

ABSTOP
Cause: There is a problem initializing the IOXLATOR.
Action: Verify the IOXLATOR is running.

ABSTOP1
Cause: There is a problem registering the datasets with the IOXLATOR.
Action: Verify the datasets defined by AB__RAPD are defined by the
IOXLATOR.

Internal: (connect) DTL_DRIVER_LIST ‘ErrStr’

Cause: There is a problem connection to a RSLinx driver.
Action: Check the error string in the RSLinx documentation.

DEFINE ERROR PPP:SSS:DDD

(PPP - Port Name, SSS - Station Name, DDD - Dataset Name)
Cause: There is an incompatibility with the address or length of the
dataset with the station type.
Action: Check the dataset parameters.

ABDTL unsol register error ‘ErrStr’

Cause: There is a problem registering to receive unsoliciteds from
RSLinx.
Action: Check the error string in the RSLinx documentation.

812 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
Error Codes

E RROR C ODES
32
The following errors are returned to the IOXLATOR at run time.

External Device
Table 32-7 IOXLATOR Errors

Interface
Error Code Description

3 - 82 Cause: Error codes returned from RSLinx. Error text may be

displayed on AB__RAPD screen. Error text may also be
found in the RSLinx documentation
Action: Depends on the specific error code.

1001 Cause: The start address or length of a dataset being passed to

AB__RAPD by the IOXLATOR is invalid.
Action: Check the IOXLATOR configuration table entries.

1002 Cause: The station read disable tag is set for the dataset being
triggered for a read by the IOXLATOR.
Action: Reset the disable tag.

1003 Cause: The station write disable tag is set for the dataset being
triggered for a write by the IOXLATOR.
Action: Reset the disable tag.

-1000 Cause: A bad unsolicited command was received.

Action: Locate the PLC sending the invalid command and
reprogram it.

-1001 Cause: A bad unsolicited device code was received.

Action: Locate the PLC sending the invalid device code and
reprogram it.

-1002 Cause: A bad PLC5 address was received in an unsolicited

message.
Action: Locate the PLC sending the bad address and reprogram it.

-1003 Cause: A bad PLC3 address was received in an unsolicited

message.
Action: Locate the PLC sending the bad address and reprogram it.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 813

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR AB_RAPD
• Error Codes
•
•

814 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 33

•
•
•
•
MODBUS Ethernet
Driver 33

External Device
Interface
PURPOSE
This chapter provides information about a collection of software tools used in
conjunction with Modicon’s Quantum line of Programmable Logic Controllers
(PLCs) and network operating equipment (NOE) ethernet modules.

This chapter is prepared to present the technical information programmers of

these systems need to complete their applications.

The following guidelines help focus our purpose and goals to meet customer
requirements:
• Accuracy is paramount—This FactoryLink documentation must provide accurate and
reliable information and procedures.
• Time is valuable—This FactoryLink documentation must guide the programmer through
what he needs to know quickly and efficiently.

AUDIENCE
The major audience of this chapter is the individual familiar with both the
FactoryLink software and the Modicon’s Quantum line of PLCs.

In addition, FactoryLink Customer Support Services personnel use the

procedures and examples included here to help you develop and troubleshoot your
applications.

STRUCTURE OF THE MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER SOFTWARE

GUIDE
Use this chapter in this book along with the rest of the FactoryLink
Documentation Set. Refer to the Preface in Fundamentals for the structure of the
entire Documentation Set.

This chapter is divided into four sections:

• Overview

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 815

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
•
•
• I/O Translator and Protocol Driver Communications
• Panels
• Error Codes and Messages

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

The material in this chapter is presented sequentially in learning, then
performance order. We recommend you read the entire chapter to familiarize
yourself with the complete procedure before you proceed to develop your
application.

. . . at a Glance
Included in this chapter is a section named . . . at a Glance. This section provides a
quick key to locations for information to perform the procedures detailed in each
section with hypertext links to those locations.

CONVENTIONS
The material in the Documentation Set adheres to the guidelines published in The
Digital Technical Documentation Handbook by Schultz, Darrow, Kavanagh, and
Morse; Developing International User Information by Jones, Kennelly, Mueller,
Sweezy, Thomas, and Velez; and corporate style guidelines.

This chapter uses the following conventions:

Documentation Conventions

Table 33-1 Documentation Conventions

Convention Description

… Horizontal ellipsis points indicate the omission of

material from an example. The information is omitted
because it is not important to the topic being discussed.

. Vertical ellipsis points indicate the omission of

. information from an example or command format. The
information is omitted because it is not important to
.
the topic being discussed.

816 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Table 33-1 Documentation Conventions (Continued)

33
Convention Description

italic type Italic type is used to denote user-supplied variables in

External Device
command examples. Italic type also sets off references
to specific documents.

Interface
monospace type Monospace type is used to denote command names and
code examples or example output.

bold monospace Bold monospace type is used in command examples to

type indicate words that must be typed literally.
sans serif type Sans Serif type is used to set off field names, button
names, and keys on the keyboard.

press nnnnn Press is used to denote a key on the keyboard. The key
name will display in a sans serif type.

click on nnnnn Click on is used to denote a button on the screen. The

button name will display in a sans serif type.
Shift+F1 The + indicates the keys must be pressed
simultaneously.
Shift+F1 indicates you hold down the Shift key while you press
another key or mouse button (indicated here by F1).
Other key combinations are presented in the same
manner.
F1 F2 F3 The space between the key callouts indicates press and
release.
The key sequence F1 F2 F3 indicates you press and release F1,
then F2, and then F3.
Other key combinations are presented in the same
manner
File>Open The > indicates a progression through a menu sequence.
File>Open indicates you choose Open from the File menu to
perform the required action.
Other menu sequences are presented in the same
manner.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 817

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
•
•
Table 33-1 Documentation Conventions (Continued)

Convention Description

FLAPP\user\drw\mydrw.g The \ indicates the directory structure for the listed

file.
FLAPP\user\drw\mydrw.g indicates the drawing file
mydrw.g is located in the drw sub-directory of the user
sub-directory to the FLAPP directory.
Other directory structures are presented in the same
manner.

Command Syntax

Table 33-2 Command Syntax Conventions

[] Brackets indicate an optional argument. You can

choose none, one, or all of the options.

{ } and | Braces indicate a choice. You must choose one of the

elements. The vertical bar separates choices within
braces.

… Ellipsis indicate repetition of the preceding item.

Example Syntax
command input_file [input_file…] {a|b} output_file

where
command is typed as it is displayed in the syntax.
input_file indicates a variable the user supplies.
[input_file…] indicates the user can optionally supply multiple input file
names, each name separated by a space.
{a|b} indicates either the a or b must be specified as an argument.
output_file indicates the user must specify an output file.

818 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Contact your Sales or Customer Support Representative for help with

troubleshooting problems. 33
Also, help files are included for each configuration panel. Click on Help on the
panel menu bar to access these files.

External Device
Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 819

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Modbus ethernet driver at a glance
•
•
M ODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER AT A GLANCE

Table 33-3 Using the Modbus Ethernet Driver Software

For details on performing these steps... Go to...

1 Read about installing the Modbus “Overview” on page 821

Ethernet Driver software.

2 Read about I/O Translator and “I/O Translator and Protocol Driver
Protocol Driver communications, Communications” on page 823
including datasets, read and block
write, unsolicited receive, exception
write, encoded write, and domain
selection.

3 Read about configuring panels, “Configuring Panels” on page 826

including the Mailbox panel, the IOX
Definition panel, the Device
Definition panel, and the Dataset
Definition panel.

4 Read about error codes and error “Error Codes and Messages” on page
messages. 838

820 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Overview

O VERVIEW
33
The FactoryLink ECS Modbus Ethernet driver is used in conjunction with
Modicon’s Quantum line of PLCs and network operating equipment (NOE)
ethernet modules. The software enables data exchange between a Quantum PLC

External Device
and a FactoryLink application on a 10 BaseT TCP/IP network.This driver
software,

Interface
This section includes information on how to install Modbus Ethernet Driver
Software.

I NSTALLATION OF THE F ACTORY L INK S OFTWARE

Install the FactoryLink ECS software if you have not already done so. If
FactoryLink is already installed but the driver is not, refer to the Installation
Guide for details to complete a supplemental installation. All necessary files, such
as .AC, .CTG, .TXT and .KEY files associated with the driver, will be correctly
installed.

The Modbus Ethernet task must be entered in the FactoryLink Configuration

Manager (FLCM) System Configuration table. A new entry can be made with the
following data if one does not already exist. If the task is added to the end of the
list of tasks, increment the task index value by 1 + index value of the last task
entry. Enter the following information exactly as shown.

Table 33-4 Modbus Ethernet Task

Task Name Description Executable File

MBUSTCP Modbus Ethernet Protocol Driver bin/mbustcp.exe

This completes the installation of the driver.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 821

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Installation of the FactoryLink Software
•
•

CAUTION

The Modbus ethernet driver is intended to be used over a 10 BaseT network.

Configure the Quantum network of PLCs according to Modicon’s recomme-
dations. Configure your system appropriately and troubleshoot any connec-
tions to the Quantum devices before running your FactoryLink application.
For example, if you are using Win/NT, you must set up the correct network
configuration to support 10 BaseT communications. Ping the Quantum
PLC(s) using the correct IP address to see if the device is visible on the net-
work. Modicon provides an ethernet diagnostic program to troubleshoot your
PC connection to the NOE ethernet module. This diagnostic program
is available from Modicon.

822 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
I/O Translator and Protocol Driver Communications

I/O TRANSLATOR AND P ROTOCOL D RIVER C OMMUNICATIONS

33
The Rapid Application Protocol Driver (RAPD) is based on a two-task system. The
tasks are the driver, in this case, the Modbus Ethernet Driver (MBUSTCP) task,
and the I/O Translator (IOX) task.

External Device
The driver task communicates directly with the PLC devices and, therefore,

Interface
understands the required communications protocol. The IOX, on the other hand,
requests the protocol driver to send/get data from the device(s). The IOX provides
necessary data conversions for the protocol driver and handles the FactoryLink
tag data storage. The two tasks communicate with one another via datasets and
mailbox tags.

DATASETS
A dataset is a contiguous area of data (registers, memory locations) in an external
device, such as a PLC. The protocol driver is responsible for defining the complete
dataset area. The dataset area is the area in the device the driver accesses. Access
may be Read or Write, depending on access restrictions the device manufacturer
set.

Datasets are always assumed to be contiguous. The protocol driver must provide a
start and length value to delimit the start and end values of the contiguous area.
The contiguous area is also associated with a data type. The data type refers to
the element type of the area in the device.

BLOCK READ AND WRITE

The block read and write commands are performed on a contiguous block of data
in the PLC specified by the dataset. Both commands are initiated by the IOX. The
IOX sends requests to the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver for reading or writing
an entire dataset. Refer to the I/O Translator guide for details on configuring the
IOX.

UNSOLICITED RECEIVE
The external device sends protocol messages to the FactoryLink workstation for
an unsolicited receive. This means the action is initiated in the external device.
The protocol driver checks if the received data is defined in one of its locally
defined datasets. If it is, the data received from the external device is sent with
the corresponding dataset information to the IOX. The IOX provides any
necessary data conversion. The message is discarded if the message received from

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 823

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• I/O Translator and Protocol Driver Communications
•
•
the external device has no matching dataset (the protocol driver never expected
the message).

Events, such as alarms, are usually unsolicited. Some extra programming effort
has to be done in the external device (ladder logic is required in a PLC) because
the external device originates the messages.

EXCEPTION WRITE
An exception write is initiated by the FactoryLink workstation and writes data to
the external device. Exception writes are write requests for an element within a
dataset that has changed in value. Since only an element is written, the entire
dataset is not written as a block. The protocol driver receives a request for
exception write from the IOX. The first action the driver takes is to check if the
write can be accomplished with one write message.

If the exception data element size is smaller than the size of the external device
data type element, the data must be read first, patched with exception data, and
written back. An example is a bit that must be written to in a word area. If this is
not done, some data bits within the word may be overwritten in the external
device. The data type of the dataset determines if this event occurs.

For example, if a left byte (BL) in a Holding Register (HREG) has to be written,
then the specific data word must first be read because the size of a Holding
Register is a word (16 bits). The BL has to be patched into the word just read and
then written back to the external device.

The reading of data before writing slows down performance since message traffic
is increased. Some devices provide a function to accomplish the write in the
message. If your device does not have this feature, the encoded write is an
alternative option.

ENCODED WRITE
The encoded write function is almost similar to the exception write in that both
functions write single data elements. The difference is the exception write is an
actual direct (block) write of data to register addresses whereas the encoded write
achieves this end result indirectly. The encoded write is a block write of some
register values to a external device. The data is written to registers that are part
of some internal program, such as ladder logic. The ladder logic may be some
programmed logic that manipulates specifies bits within a specified word. The
information comes down in a block write message for the ladder logic to know
what bits to change within a word.

824 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
I/O Translator and Protocol Driver Communications

One advantage of this method is for every element to be written, only one Modbus
Ethernet write command is needed because the external device program does the 33
actual operation on the data element (no reading before writing). A second
advantage is the external device program can control all encoded writes because
they are all written to one location in the external device.

External Device
The encoded write is defined by specifying a starting holding register address in

Interface
the Encode Address field of the Modbus Ethernet Device Definition panel.

Note

The encoded write function is an optional feature the application may or may
not use. This driver does not currently use this feature.

FACTORYLINK DOMAIN SELECTION

The standard domain for the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver is the SHARED domain, but it
can also be used in the USER domain. The protocol driver communicates with a dedicated
piece of hardware; therefore, only one task should be able to access the hardware. The task
should be started by the SHARED Run-Time Manager if only one program accesses
the hardware.

Note

The protocol driver and the IOX must be in the same domain (SHARED).

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 825

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Configuring Panels
•
•
C ONFIGURING P ANELS
This section contains instructions for configuring the panels for the Modbus
Ethernet Driver. These panels include:
• Modbus Ethernet Mailbox panel
• I/O Translator Definition panel
• Modbus Ethernet Device Definition panel
• Modbus Ethernet Dataset Definition panel

You access these panels by opening the Configuration Manager and selecting
Modbus Ethernet Protocol Driver. Four panels are displayed with the titles of all
visible for direct access. To access a specific panel, either
• Position the cursor on a visible area of that panel and click the left mouse
button
• Click on the Next/Previous buttons of the panel in full view

MAILBOX PANEL
The Modbus Ethernet Mailbox panel allows the user to define and initialize one
mailbox tag for the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver for full operation of MCI.

The Modbus TCP/IP Driver Mailbox Definition screen goes here

Perform the following steps to define the fields on this panel:

1 Open the Configuration Manager Main Menu > Modbus Ethernet Protocol
Driver.

2 Click on any visible part of the Modbus Ethernet Mailbox panel.

3 Complete the fields by entering the following information:

Protocol Tag name of the Modbus Ethernet protocol mailbox element that
Driver the application developer defines, to be referenced by an IOX
Mailbox task. The IOX task uses this mailbox to send requests to the
Tag Modbus Ethernet protocol driver.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type mailbox

Description: Description of the mailbox tag you enter.

826 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Configuring Panels

DEFINITION PANEL
33
The Ioxlator Mailbox Definition panel allows the user to specify the IOX task.
Only one mailbox tag is needed.

External Device
The Ioxlator Mailbox Definition screen shot goes here.

Interface
Perform the following steps to define the fields on this panel:

1 With the Configuration Manager>I/O Translator open, click on any visible part of the
Modbus Ethernet IOX Definition panel.

2 Complete the fields by entering the following information:

Ioxlator Tag name of an IOX mailbox element the Modbus Ethernet
Mailbox protocol driver task references. The IOX task uses this mailbox to
Tag receive data from the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver. This
entry is required.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type mailbox

Max MSG Maximum number of requests for the protocol driver that can be
queued in the mailbox tag. We recommend a value of 100
messages. The number of messages is limited by the size of an
integer value (9999) and/or by the amount of available memory.
The memory needed for a request depends on the size of the
configured datasets. This entry is required.

Valid Entry 1 - 9999 (Default = 100)

Valid Data Type output only

Description: Description of the IOX mailbox element you define.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 827

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Configuring Panels
•
•
DRIVER DEVICE DEFINITION PANEL
The Modbus Ethernet Device Definition panel allows the user to specify the
logical devices for the communication.

The Modbus TCP/IP Driver Device Definition screen goes here.

Perform the following steps to define fields on this panel:

1 With the Configuration Manager>I/O Translator open, click on any visible part of the
Modbus Ethernet Device Definition panel.

2 Complete the fields by entering the following information:

Device Logical user-assigned name assigned by the user to represent a
Name particular communication device (Quantum01).

Valid Entry alphanumeric string of up to 16 characters

IP Network IP address of the PLC.

Network
Address
Status Tag Analog tag set by the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver task to
indicate the overall status of communications to the device Any
task can reference this tag to handle communication error
situations.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type analog

Connec- Connection timeout defines the duration to wait for connection to

tion the PLC. The default is 3 seconds. If you are experiencing
Timeout problems connecting to a PLC, increase the timeout value.
(secs)
Response Response timeout defines the duration to wait for response data
Timeout to arrive (in seconds). The default is 3 seconds. If you are
(secs) experiencing longer latency times for responses from a PLC,
increase the timeout value.

828 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Configuring Panels

Read Real-time digital database element used to enable/disable read

Disable commands for the device. Read commands are enabled if no tag is 33
defined or the status of the tag is OFF. Read commands are
disabled if the status of the tag is ON.

External Device
Valid Entry standard element tag name

Interface
Valid Data Type digital

Write Real-time database element used to enable/disable write commands for the
Disable device. Write commands are enabled if no tag is defined or the status of the
tag is OFF. Write commands are disabled if the status of the tag is ON.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

Unsolicite Real-time database element used to enable/disable unsolicited commands

d Disable for the device. Unsolicited commands are enabled if no tag is defined or the
status of the tag is OFF. Unsolicited commands are disabled if the status of
the tag is ON.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 829

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Configuring Panels
•
•
DATASET DEFINITION PANEL
The Modbus Ethernet Dataset Definition panel allows the user to specify datasets
for a particular logical device and select different logical device names.

The Modbus TCP/IP Dataset Definition screen goes here.

Perform the following steps to define the fields on this panel:

1 With the Configuration Manager>I/O Translator open, click on any visible part of the
Modbus Ethernet Dataset Definition panel.

2 Complete the fields by entering the following information:

IOX Tag name of an IOX mailbox element the Modbus Ethernet
Mailbox protocol driver task references. The IOX task uses this mailbox to
Tag receive data from the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver. This
entry is required.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type mailbox

Data Set Tag name representing a unique logical name for a data set. The
name of the logical device is displayed in the Device Name field.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

Type Type definition of the data type in the logical device (PLC). The data types
can be of type Coil, Digital Input, Input Registers, Holding Registers,
Extended Memory, and Statistics.

Place the cursor in the Type field and press Ctrl>K to access the entries for
this field. The table on the next page lists the data types you can enter into
this field.

830 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Configuring Panels

Table 33-5 Data Type Entries 33

Valid Entry Data Type Reference I/O Allowed

External Device
C Digital Output 0x reference READ/WRITE

Interface
CO Digital Output 0x reference READ/WRITE

COI Digital Output 0x reference READ/WRITE

COIL Digital Output 0x reference READ/WRITE

D Digital Input 1x reference READ

DI Digital Input 1x reference READ

DIN Digital Input 1x reference READ

DINP Digital Input 1x reference READ

I Input Register 3x reference READ

IR Input Register 3x reference READ

IRE Input Register 3x reference READ

IREG Input Register 3x reference READ

H Holding Register 4x reference READ/WRITE

HR Holding Register 4x reference READ/WRITE

HRE Holding Register 4x reference READ/WRITE

HREG Holding Register 4x reference READ/WRITE

XMEM01 Extended Memory Register File #1 READ/WRITE

XMEM02 Extended Memory Register File #2 READ/WRITE

XMEM03 Extended Memory Register File #3 READ/WRITE

XMEM04 Extended Memory Register File #4 READ/WRITE

XMEM05 Extended Memory Register File #5 READ/WRITE

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 831

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Configuring Panels
•
•
Table 33-5 Data Type Entries

Valid Entry Data Type Reference I/O Allowed

XMEM06 Extended Memory Register File #6 READ/WRITE

XMEM07 Extended Memory Register File #7 READ/WRITE

XMEM08 Extended Memory Register File #8 READ/WRITE

XMEM09 Extended Memory Register File #9 READ/WRITE

XMEM10 Extended Memory Register File #10 READ/WRITE

ST Statistics READ/WRITE

STATS Statistics READ/WRITE

The following table describes the statistics information layout in the Quantum
PLC.

Table 33-6 TCP/IP Ethernet Statistics Information Layout

Word Meaning

00.02 MAC address.

03 Board status.

04 & 05 Number of receiver interrupts.

06 & 07 Number of transmitter interrupts.

08 & 09 Transmit timeout error count.

10 & 11 Collision detect error count.

12 & 13 Missed packets.

14 & 15 Memory error.

16 & 17 Number of times driver has restarted lance.

18 & 19 Receive framing error.

20 & 21 Receiver overflow error.

832 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Configuring Panels

Table 33-6 TCP/IP Ethernet Statistics Information Layout (Continued)

33
Word Meaning

22 & 23 Receive CRC error.

External Device
24 & 25 Receive buffer error.

Interface
26 & 27 Transmit buffer error.

28 & 29 Transmit silo underflow.

30 & 31 Late collision.

32 & 33 Lost carrier.

34 & 35 Number of retries.

36 & 37 IP address.

Statistics Data Access Setup

In driver:
When used to read, reads in 38 words of stats stored as 16 bit
words. Use start value of 1 and len of 38 in the Data Set field in
the Driver table.
When used for a write use start of 1 and Len of 1. The statistics
are cleared for a write (block or exception).

In Ioxlator:
READ/WRITE capable
When used to read, use the following configuration
recommendations to read in data. The addressing defines the
location of the various statistics words.
Statistics are cleared when used for a write (block or exception).

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 833

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Configuring Panels
•
•

Table 33-7 Configuration Recommendations

Tag Dimension Address Conv

mac_addr[0] (analog, tag array of 3) 3 1 WORD

board_status (analog) 1 4 WORD

rcv_interrupts (long) 1 5 LONG

xmt_interrupts (long) 1 7 LONG

xmt_timeout_err_cnt (long) 1 9 LONG

coll_det-err_cnt (long) 1 11 LONG

missed_pkts (long) 1 13 LONG

mem_err (long) 1 15 LONG

restart_lance (long) 1 17 LONG

rcv_fram_err (long) 1 19 LONG

rcv_ovr_err (long) 1 21 LONG

rcv_crc_err (long) 1 23 LONG

rcv_buf_err (long) 1 25 LONG

xmt_buf_err (long 1 27 LONG

xmt_silo_under (long) 1 29 LONG

late_coll (long) 1 31 LONG

lost_carr (long) 1 33 LONG

num_retries (long) 1 35 LONG

ip_addr[0] (analog) 1 38 BL

ip_addr[1] (analog) 1 38 BR

ip_addr[2] (analog) 1 37 BL

834 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Configuring Panels

Table 33-7 Configuration Recommendations (Continued)

33
Tag Dimension Address Conv

ip_addr[3] (analog) 1 37 BR

External Device
Interface
Start Start address number of the dataset.

Valid Entry 1 to 9999

Len Length of the dataset in bytes or words, depending on the type of

the dataset. The length is always specified in the boundary size of
a data type. For example, the HREG type has a word boundary, so
the length is specified in words. The Modbus protocol can transfer
a maximum of 125 words; therefore, the maximum size of a
dataset is 125 words.

Valid Entry 1 to 9999 (maximum length depends on type of

data set)

Read Real-time database element used to indicate a read command is complete.

Comple- This element, if defined, is forced ON by the Modbus Ethernet protocol
tion driver task and can be referenced by any other FactoryLink task.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

Write Real-time database element used to indicate a write command is complete.

Comple- This element, if defined, is forced ON by the Modbus Ethernet protocol
tion driver task and can be referenced by any other FactoryLink task.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 835

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• HOLDING REGISTER MANIPULATIONS IN THE I/O TRANSLATOR
•
•
Unsolicit- Real-time database element used to indicate an unsolicited
ed
receive command is complete. This element, if defined, is forced
Comple-
tion ON by the Modbus Ethernet protocol driver task and can be
referenced by any other FactoryLink task.

Valid Entry standard element tag name

Valid Data Type digital

HOLDING REGISTER MANIPULATIONS IN THE I/O TRANSLATOR

A holding register is a 16 bit storage area in the Quantum PLC. The driver allows
for bit & byte manipulations on a holding register. This is the only data type
(register type) within the PLC that can be addressed by the driver on a word, byte
or bit level (other register types are excluded from this feature).

For access to a holding register on the word level, simply specify WORD in the Conv column of
the tag definition panel of the I/O Translator. No conversions will occur in the driver since the
driver understands that holding registers are natively stored as 16 bit values.

If a manipulation on the bit level is to be performed, the bit number must be specified in the
Bit/Length column of the I/O Translator Tag Definition panel. Bits are designated from right
to left with the right most bit designated as bit 1 and the left most bit designated as bit 15.
Under the CONV column, specify BIT. For example, to manipulate bit 2 of a holding register,
specify 2 in the Bit/Length column and BIT in the Conv column. You can specify a digital
tag associated with the entry. When the digital tag is set to 1, bit 2 of the holding register will
be set to 1. If the tag is set to 0, bit 2 will be cleared in the holding register. To further illustrate,
if the holding register currently has a value of 5 (binary equivalent is 0000 0000 0000 0101)
and the tag is set to 1, then the holding register’s value will be changed to 7 (binary equivalent
is 0000 0000 0000 0111).

For byte manipulations, do not define a value in the Bit/Length column but do set the Conv
column to either BR (right byte) or BL (left byte). The value of the associated tag will be
reflected in the designated byte (left or right) of the holding register.

UNSOLITICTED DATA
Unsolicited data is expected by the driver to be composed of only holding registers.
This limitation is due to the PLC using the MSTR block to facilitate a write
command to the FactoryLink station. MSTR blocks can only use holding registers
as source registers.

836 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
UNSOLITICTED DATA

In defining a dataset for unsolicited data, you must know the length (number of
registers) of the dataset (exact number of registers you expect to receive in an 33
unsolicited message from the PLC). If you expect to get varying numbers of
registers being reported back, then define separate datasets for each case. An
unsolicited message will be rejected if no matching dataset can be found for it.

External Device
Datasets are matched against an unsolicited message by comparing the start and
length specifiers and by the data type definition for the dataset which must be set

Interface
to HREG.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 837

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Error Codes and Messages
•
•
E RROR C ODES AND M ESSAGES
This section describes the error codes and messages you may encounter when
using the Modbus Ethernet Driver Software.

The following error codes will be reflected in the device status tag. This tag is
defined in the Device Definition panel of the driver.

Table 33-8 Error Codes

Code Meaning

501 FactoryLink return code error

502 Memory allocation error

5031 CT processing error encountered

504 Connection attempt to a PLC failed

505 Connection was reset (disconnected)

506 Invalid Modbus message was received

507 Modbus exception response was received (see exception error codes)

508 Transmit error occurred

509 Receive error occurred

510 InterTask Mail Exchange (IMX) base API error

511 InterTask Mail Exchange (IMX) multithreaded extensions API error

512 Socket error

Error Messages
Error messages are logged either to a file or the console. To view or capture error
messages, use the following program switch setting under Program Arguments in
the System Configuration option of the FactoryLink configuration manager:
-dn for posting messages to the console
-ln for logging messages to a file, file will be automatically stored as:
%FLAPP%%DOMAIN%%FLUSER%/mbustcp.log

838 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Error Codes and Messages

n denotes the level of debug:

1 - informational messages (default level) 33
2 - warning messages
3 - critical messages

External Device
Interface
CAUTION

Extraneous output of messages will severely impact the

performance of the driver. Use it for diagnostic purposes only!

Abnormal shutdown
The driver task has shutdown due to a fatal error

Task is nut authorized to run

Task is not authorized to run because the software is not licensed.
Contact your FactoryLink customer support representative.

Failed to connect to device xxxxxx

A connection could not be made to device xxxxxx. Make sure the
IP address is correct and make sure that your ethernet card is
correctly setup for 10 BaseT communications. Make sure the
Quantum PLC is online.

FactoryLink startup error %d

The task could not be started due to an internal FactoryLink
error. Call your FactoryLink customer support representative.

IMX startup error %d

The task could not be started due to an internal FactoryLink
error. Call your FactoryLink customer support representative.

CT file cannot be opened

The driver’s CT file could not be opened. The file may not have
been generated. Run the CTGEN utility to generate the file.
The file is MBUSTCP.CT And should be located in the
appropriate FLAPP directory.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 839

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Error Codes and Messages
•
•
CT processing error
A CT could not be processed correctly because the CT information
is possibly bad or corrupted. Regenerate the CT.
If the problem persists

Only n CT tables were found, task requires 3

A total of 3 tables were not found in the CT file. Regenerate the
CT.

No datasets defined
No datasets were configured in the driver’s dataset definition
panel.

Memory cannot be allocated

The driver program could not allocate enough system memory.
Check your PC system resources.

Invalid resp msg from device %s for dataset %s

The device responded with an invalid response.

Timeout waiting to recv data

The driver timeout waiting for the device to respond. Increase the
receive wait timeout switch “-t” in the driver’s program
arguments column in Configuration Manager under “System
Configuration”. The default without a switch defined is 3 seconds.

Exception response from device xxxxxx for dataset xxxxxx, code = N

The device responded with an exception response message. Check
the code against the codes listed in Exception Response Codes.
EXCEPTION CODES
These exception codes are part of an exception message error.
They are codes returned by a Quantum PLC based on a response
to a query from a master station (FactoryLink workstation) which
may have raised an exception.

840 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
Error Codes and Messages

Table 33-9 Exception Codes 33

Code Name Meaning

External Device
01 ILLEGAL FUNCTION Function code sent in the query is not allowed

Interface
in the slave. The PLC does not support this
function.

02 ILLEGAL DATA The data address received in the query is not

ADDRESS an allowable address in the slave. The query
may be addressing a data item outside the
addressable range.

03 ILLEGAL DATA A value contained in the query data field is not

VALUE an allowable value for the slave.

04 SLAVE DEVICE The slave encountered an unrecoverable error

FAILURE while performing the requested action.

05 ACKNOWLEDGE The slave has accepted the request but will

take some time to perform the action.

06 SLAVE BUSY The slave is busy & is engaged in processing a

long-duration command.

07 NEGATIVE The slave cannot perform the program

ACKNOWLEDGE function received in the query. This code is
returned for an unsuccessful programming
request using function code 13 or 14 decimal.
The master should request diagnostic or error
information from the slave.

08 MEMORY PARITY Slave attempted to read extended memory but

ERROR detected a parity error in the memory. The
master may retry the request but the slave
may have to be serviced.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 841

• MODBUS ETHERNET DRIVER
• Error Codes and Messages
•
•

842 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Part V
I
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Semiconductor Drivers
The protocol-specific data entry requirements for Gem80 are in this supplement to
the FactoryLink ECS Device Interface Guide. This section contains information
needed to set up and configure bidirectional communications between the
FactoryLink real-time database and one or more Gem80 PLCs. The Device
Interface Guide gives you the conceptual information and procedural guidelines
for entering the protocol-specific data.
Copyright 1996 AEG Schneider Automation, SA. All rights reserved.
Chapter 34

•
•
•
•
External Device
Interface for Gem80 34

External Device
Interface
G ETTING STARTED
This section introduces the External Device Interface for Gem80 and points you to
specific sections in this chapter and in the FactoryLink ECS Device Interface
Guide (Device Interface Guide) that will help you get the Gem80 protocol module
running.

While this chapter provides all the protocol-specific data entry requirements for
Gem80, the Device Interface Guide gives you the conceptual information you need
to get started as well as procedural guidelines for entering the protocol-specific
data. If you are a first-time user of a FactoryLink device interface protocol
module, the Device Interface Guide will prove especially helpful.

Overview
This chapter, which is a supplement to the FactoryLink ECS Device Interface
Guide, contains information needed to set up and configure bi-directional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and one or more
Gem80 PLCs.

How to Use This Chapter

The Device Interface Guide is the base upon which the External Device Interface
Supplement for Gem80 is built. For a successful configuration, therefore, turn to
the Device Interface Guide first.

For an overview of the steps involved in setting up and configuring Gem80

communications with FactoryLink, go to “External Device Interface at a Glance”
in the Device Interface Guide. Here, you can determine where to look for specific
procedural information about set up and configuration.

You can use the “External Device Interface at a Glance” section throughout the
entire configuration of the Gem80 protocol module. When the Device Interface
Guide instructs you to go to a protocol-specific chapter or section, however, go to
this chapter instead and return to the Device Interface Guide when necessary.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 845

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Getting Started
•
•
For example, in the “Creating Logical Station Definitions” section of Chapter 5,
“Configuring Communication Paths,” in the Device Interface Guide, a reference
table instructs you to go to a specific section of the Device Interface Guide for each
protocol module in the base set. Since the Gem80 protocol module is not part of
the base set, go to the corresponding section in this chapter instead.

Gem80 at a Glance
This section provides a quick cross-reference to the Device Interface Guide and
indicates where to find specific information in this chapter.

External Device You create the logical port definitions by filling out the
Definition External Device Definition panel. See Chapter 5,
“Configuring Communication Paths,” in the Device Interface
Guide for descriptions of the entries you make on this panel.
Enter the information as specified with one exception: in the
Device Name column, enter GEM_.

Logical Station For each logical port, you provide device-specific

communication protocol and other information the device
interface software needs to exchange data with the device.
Enter this information in the Logical Station Control and
Logical Station Information panels. These panels, logical
station concepts, and diagrams depicting the correspondence
between the External Device Definition panel and the logical
station panels are also discussed in Chapter 5, “Configuring
Communication Paths.”
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in these
panels, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the
Logical Station Control Panel” on page 849.
Read/Write After the communication paths are defined in the Logical
Station panels, you configure the read and write operations
the application will execute across these paths in the
Read/Write Control and Read/Write Information panels.
These panels are discussed in two procedural chapters in the
Device Interface Guide: Chapter 6, “Reading Data from a
Device,” and Chapter 7, “Writing Data to a Device.”
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in these
panels, refer to this supplement. See “Configuring the
Read/Write Control Panel” on page 856.

846 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Getting Started

Technical Notes For additional information on the Gem80 protocol, refer to

“Technical Notes” on page 868. 34
System Refer to Chapter 10, “Messages and Codes,” in the Device
Messages Interface Guide for general information about system

External Device
messages displayed by FactoryLink for the EDI task and the

Interface
protocol module. For information about messages unique to
Gem80, see “Run-Time Application Messages” on page 870.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 847

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Accessing the Gem80 Configuration Panels
•
•
A CCESSING THE G EM 80 C ONFIGURATION P ANELS
When you choose Gem80 from the Configuration Manager Main Menu, the Gem80
configuration panels are displayed.

Before completing the Gem80 configuration panels, you must complete the
External Device Definition panel. See Chapter 5, “Configuring Communication
Paths,” in the Device Interface Guide for details. Enter the information as
specified with one exception: in the Device Name column, enter GEM_.

848 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL STATION C ONTROL P ANEL

34
To bring the Logical Station Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar
in the display of all configuration panels. This panel contains additional columns
not shown.

External Device
Interface
Complete a row for each logical port specified in the External Device Definition
panel you want to define as a communication path for read and write operations.

Logical Port Enter a number, defined in the External Device Definition

panel Logical Port column, to represent a particular communication
path to a Gem80 device.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical port number
(default = 0)
Baud Rate Enter the speed at which the protocol module
communicates with the devices linked to FactoryLink via
this logical port. This entry must match the baud rate
configuration of the devices. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 3600,
4800, 7200, 9600, 19200
(default = 9600)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 849

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel
•
•
Parity Enter the parity error correction during transmission via
this logical port. This entry must match the configuration of
the devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: none, even, or odd (default = odd)
Data Bits Enter the number of data bits used during transmission via
this logical port. This entry must match the configuration of
the devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 7, 8 (default = 8)
Stop Bits Enter the number of stop bits used during transmission via
this logical port. This entry must match the configuration of
the devices communicating via this port. Refer to the device
manufacturer’s documentation for details.
Valid Entry: 1, 2 (default = 2)
Response Length of time the driver waits to receive a response to a
Timeout read or write command.
0.1 seconds
Valid Entry: 0 or actual value in tenths of seconds, maximum
100
(default = 20)
Retry Timeout Length of time the driver waits after detection of any error
0.1 seconds during a read or write before processing any further reads
or writes to the same logical station.
Valid Entry: 0 or actual value in tenths of seconds, maximum
200
(default = 100)

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information.

850 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Logical Station Control Panel

Table 34-1 provides sample entries for a row defining a Gem80 logical port (the entry in
the Function column in the External Device Definition panel is SYSCOM): 34
Table 34-1 Sample Logical Station Control Panel Entries

External Device
Column Entry Description

Interface
Logical Port 0 The communication path to be used for read and
write operations between FactoryLink and devices
communicating via this port is represented as 0.

Baud Rate 9600 Serial line speed.

Baud Rate 9600 Serial line speed.

Parity ODD The parity setting for the serial line.
Data bits 8 The number of data bits for the serial line.
Stop bits 1 The number of stop bits for the serial line.

Response Timeout 20 The driver waits 2 seconds for a response to a read or

0.1 seconds write request.

Retry Timeout 0.1 100 The driver waits 10 seconds after any read or write
seconds error to the device before attempting to retry or
attempting further reads or writes to the same
device.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 851

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL S TATION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Station Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Logical Station Information panel to the
foreground. This panel contains additional columns not shown.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.

Error/Status Optionally, enter a tag name for an analog element in which

Tag to store communications error codes associated with this
Name device (logical station). For information about displaying
the codes stored in an Error/Status Tag Name element for an
operator using this application, see the FactoryLink ECS Application
Editor Guide.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

852 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Logical Station Enter a number to identify the logical station to which the
(Decimal) information in this row pertains. A logical station 34
represents the combination of a logical port with a physical
station. Assign a unique number to each device

External Device
communicating through this logical port. This number must
be unique among all Gem80 devices across all ports.

Interface
You will later enter this logical station number in a read or
write table to represent the device defined in this row. In a
read or write table, this number identifies the device to or
from which data is sent or received.
Valid Entry: unique numeric value from 0 - 999
(default = 0)

Enter the physical address of the PLC represented by this

entry.
Tributary
Address Valid Entry: 0-14 (default = 1)

Enter whether block mode messages are to be used in

communication with the Gem80. In block mode, multiple
Block Mode
tables can be read/written, so this is the most efficient
method for minimizing the number of read requests to a
PLC. See “Technical Notes” on page 868 for further
information on how Block Mode operates.
Valid Entry: yes or no (default = yes)
Connect Type Enter the type of communication with the Gem80 device.
Valid Entry: One of the following (default =
PRGPORT):
PRGPORT Programming port messages
JK J/K interchange (32/J/K tables)
JK_FLX Enhanced J/K interchange (128 J/K tables)
STARNET Starnet (N/O table interchange)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 853

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel
•
•
J/K & N/O For a Connect Type of JK, JK_FLX, or STARNET, enter the
Offset offset from zero for J/K or N/O table addresses. If a non-zero
offset is specified, addresses entered in Gem80 Read/Write
tables must be in the range:
Offset to Offset+31 (Connect Type JK)
Offset to Offset+127 (Connect Type JK_FLX
Offset to Offset+110 (Connect Type STARNET)
Example: For an Offset value of 32 with a Connect Type of
JK, Read/Write table addresses must be in the range 32 to
63 inclusive:
Valid Entry: 0 -9999 (default = 0)
Comment Optional alphanumeric text provided for descriptive
comment.
Valid Entry: 30 character alphanumeric text

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the data
type (analog) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

854 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel

Table 34-2 provides sample entries for a row defining a logical station communicating via the
logical port specified on the Logical Station Control panel: 34
Table 34-2 Sample Logical Station Information Panel Entries

External Device
Column Entry Description

Interface
Logical Port 0 The logical port number defined in
the Logical Station Control panel is
displayed.

Error/Status GEM__STATION0_STATUS Communications error codes

Tag Name generated for this logical station
are stored in an analog element,
GEM__STATION0_STATUS.

Logical 1 A device communicating with

Station FactoryLink via logical port 0 is
(Decimal) assigned a logical number of 1.

Tributary 2 A Gem80 device with a tributary

Address address of 2 is addressed by this
logical station.
Block Mode YES All programming port messages to
this device are sent in block mode.

Connect Type PRGPORT The connection to this Gem80

device is via the PLC programming
port.

J/K & N/O 0 This field is not relevant for

Offset programming port connections.

Comment Line 1 PLC Descriptive text.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 855

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the Logical Station
Information panel. This panel contains additional columns not shown.

Complete a row for each read or write table. Refer to Chapter 6, “Reading Data
from a Device,” and Chapter 7, “Writing Data to a Device,” in the Device Interface
Guide for specific instructions on configuring each type of read and write
operation. Additionally, refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and
Techniques,” for information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Table Name Name this read or write request. Define one request (table)
per line and do not include spaces in the name. You can
define as many tables in this panel as available memory
allows. Try to make the table name reflective of the
operation it represents.
If this is a triggered read or a block write table, when the
trigger element (Block Read Trigger for a read operation or Block
Write Trigger for a write operation) is forced to 1 (ON), the element
prompts FactoryLink to process this table and any other table in which
the same trigger is defined.
Valid Entry: alphanumeric string of up to 16
characters

856 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Exception Write If this is a triggered block write or a read operation, accept

the default of NO. 34
If this is an exception write operation in which element
values are to be written to the device only upon change,

External Device
enter YES.

Interface
In an exception write, an internal change-status indicator
within the element containing the data to be written
prompts the write operation. If an element is configured for
an exception write and EDI recognizes this indicator has
been set since the last scan of the real-time database
(indicating the value of the element has changed), EDI
writes this element’s value to the device.
Valid Entry: no, yes (default = no)

Tip

Do not specify elements expected to change at frequent and

unpredictable intervals in an exception write table. Any element
specified is written to the device in its own packet (message) each
time it changes. Defining elements that change value frequently as
exception writes can slow down communications or result in an
error message.

Block Read If this is a block read operation, enter a number to indicate

Priority the priority of this table, relative to other read operations.
The highest priority is 1. This number influences the order
in which the EDI task handles the queuing of block read
requests. If EDI receives two requests at the same time, it
processes the request with the highest priority first.
If this is an unsolicited read operation or a write operation,
EDI ignores the block read priority. Accept the default of 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 857

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•

Note

The Block Read Trigger, Block Read Disable, Block Read Complete, and
Block Read State elements apply only to triggered read operations. Of these
elements, only Block Read Trigger is required; the others are optional. Do not
define these block read elements for unsolicited read operations or for write
operations.

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read operation or a write operation,

Trigger ignore this column.
If this is a triggered read operation, enter a tag name for a
digital element to initiate a block read of the addresses
specified in the Read/Write Information panel. When the
value of the block read trigger is forced to 1 (ON), the
addresses are read.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read operation or a write operation,
Disable ignore this column.
If this is a triggered read operation and you need a digital
element to disable a block read of the elements specified in
this table, enter a tag name. When the value of the element
represented by this tag name is forced to 1 (ON), the read
operation is not executed, even when the block read trigger is
set to 1.
To re-enable a block read table that has been disabled, set this
element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

858 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

34
Tip

The Block Read Disable element can disable a block read operation that is

External Device
either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering cycle ceases
upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered

Interface
read table, the Block Read Disable element must be changed to 0 and the
Block Read Trigger element must be forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8,
“Application Design Tips and Techniques,” in the Device Interface Guide
for details about cascaded and self-triggered tables.

Block Read If this is an unsolicited read operation, a write operation, or

Complete a triggered read table in which more than one logical port is
specified, ignore this column.
If this is a triggered read operation and you need a digital
element to indicate when the operation is complete, enter a
tag name.
The value of the element represented by this tag name is
forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the elements defined in
the Read/Write Information panel have been updated in the
FactoryLink database, the complete element is forced to 1
again.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 859

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Block Read If this is an unsolicited read operation, a write operation, or
State a triggered read table in which more than one logical port is
specified, ignore this column.
If this is a triggered read operation and you need a digital
element to indicate the state of the operation (in progress or
complete), enter a tag name.
The value of the element represented by this tag name is
forced to 1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being
processed, the element is set to 0 (OFF). After the elements
defined in the Read/Write Information panel have been
updated in the FactoryLink database, the state element is
forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a block or exception write operation, enter a
Priority number to indicate the priority of this table, relative to
other write operations. The highest priority is 1. This
number influences the order in which the EDI task handles
the queuing of write requests. If EDI receives two requests
at the same time, it processes the request with the highest
priority first.
If this is a read operation, EDI ignores the block write
priority. Accept the default of 1.
Valid Entry: 1 - 4 (default = 1)

Note

The Block Write Trigger, Block Write Disable, Block Write Complete, and
Block Write State elements apply only to write operations. Of these elements,
only Block Write Trigger is required for a block write table; the others are
optional. Do not define these block write elements for read operations.

860 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation 34

Trigger you do not plan to periodically disable, ignore this column.
If this is a block write operation or an exception write
operation you plan to periodically disable, enter a tag name

External Device
for a digital element to initiate a block write of the element

Interface
values represented by the tag names specified in the
Read/Write Information panel to the addresses defined to
receive the values. When the value of the block write trigger
is forced to 1 (ON), the element values are written.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read operation or an exception write operation
Disable you do not plan to periodically disable, ignore this column.
If this is a block write operation or an exception write
operation you plan to periodically disable, enter a tag name
for a digital element to disable a block write to the
addresses specified in this table. When the value of the
element represented by this tag name is forced to 1 (ON),
the write operation is not executed, even when the block
write trigger is set to 1.
To re-enable a block write table that has been disabled, set
this element back to 0 (OFF).
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

Tip

The Block Write Disable element can disable a block write operation that is
either part of a cascaded loop or is self-triggered. The triggering cycle ceases
upon disabling, however. To re-enable a cascaded loop or a self-triggered
read table, the Block Write Disable element must be changed to 0 and the
Block Write Trigger element must be forced to 1. Refer to Chapter 8,
“Application Design Tips and Techniques,” in the Device Interface Guide
for details.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 861

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•

Block Write If this is a read operation, an exception write operation, or a

Complete block write table in which more than one logical port is
specified, ignore this column.
If this is a block write operation and you need a digital
element to indicate when the operation is complete, enter a
tag name.
The value of the element represented by this tag name is
forced to 1 (ON) at startup. After the data defined in the
Read/Write Information panel has been written to the
device, the complete element is forced to 1 again.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital
Block Write If this is a read operation, an exception write operation, or a
State block write table in which more than one logical port is
specified, ignore this column.
If this is a block write operation and you need a digital
element to indicate the state of the operation (in progress or
complete), enter a tag name.
The value of the element represented by this tag name is
forced to 1 (ON) at startup. While the table is being
processed, the element is set to 0 (OFF). After the data
defined in the Read/Write Information panel has been
written to the device, the state element is forced back to 1.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the data
type (digital) for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

862 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Table 34-3 provides sample entries for a row defining a triggered read table:
34
Table 34-3 Sample Read/Write Control Panel Entries

External Device
Column Entry Description

Interface
Table Name READ The name of this table is READ.

Unsolicited NO This is not an unsolicited read table.

Read

Exception NO This is not an exception write table.

Write

Block Read 1 The block read priority, which is

Priority automatically set if you do not enter
a value, is 1, the highest priority.

Block Read GEM__READ_TRIGGER When the value of

Trigger GEM__READ_TRIGGER is 1,
FactoryLink reads the specified
address and stores its value in the
element configured for this table (in
the Read/Write Information panel).

Block Read GEM__READ_DISABLE When the value of

Disable GEM__READ_DISABLE is 1,
FactoryLink disregards the trigger
element, GEM__READ_TRIGGER,
and does not process the READ
table.

Block Read GEM__READ_COMPLETE Once the data in the device is read

Complete and stored in the specified database
element (defined in the Read/Write
Information panel), FactoryLink
forces a value of 1 to
GEM__READ_COMPLETE.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 863

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Table 34-3 Sample Read/Write Control Panel Entries (Continued)

Column Entry Description

Block Read GEM__READ_STATE Once the data is read and stored in

State the specified database element,
FactoryLink forces a value of 1 to
GEM__READ_STATE. During the
read operation,
GEM__READ_STATE is set to 0.

Block Write 1 The block write priority is set to 1 by

Priority default.

Block Write Since this is a read table, tag names

Trigger for elements unique to write tables
are not defined.

Block Write
Disable

Block Write
Complete

Block Write
State

864 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE I NFORMATION P ANEL

34
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the Read/Write Information panel to the foreground.

External Device
Interface
For a Read Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element in
which data read from the device will be stored when the operation executes.

For a Write Table—Add a panel entry for each FactoryLink database element to be
written when the operation executes.

Tag Name For a read table, specify a tag name for an element in which
FactoryLink stores the data read from the device.
For a write table, specify a tag name for an element
containing a value to be written to the device.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: digital, analog, longana, float, message
Logical Station Enter the number representing the device from which the
data is read or to which the element’s value is written. This
number was originally defined in the Logical Station
Information panel for the logical port through which
communications with this device occurs.
Valid Entry: previously defined logical station
number

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 865

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel
•
•
Table For each element defined in the Tag Name column, specify the
type of table being read from or written to the device.
Valid Entry: A - Z (default = K)
QF (for floating point Q tables)
CQ (to carry out a CQ command)
CF (to carry out a CF command)
Address For a read table, enter the table address in the Gem80
where the value to be stored in this element is located.
For a write table, enter the table address in the Gem80 to
which the element value is written.
Valid Entry: 0 - 32000 (default = 0)

For reading and writing digital tags, this field is the bit
number within the specified table. For reading and writing
Bit/Length
message tags, this field is the length of the string in
characters.
Valid Entry: 0 - 99 (default = 0)
Base Address Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database element that
Tag Name holds a Gem80 table address which is added at runtime to
the contents of the Address field to form the table address
accessed. Note that if a Base Address tag is specified, then
the contents of that tag must be read by the driver at
runtime for every read/write. This may impact on the
overall communications performance, and this impact may
be significant in high-throughput applications. See also the
Technical Notes at the end of the chapter which describe the
Read/Write blocking actions of the driver.
Valid Entry: standard tag name
Valid Data Type: analog

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the tag type
for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

866 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Configuring the Read/Write Information Panel

Table 34-4 provides sample Read/Write Information panel entries for the triggered read table
defined on page Table 34-3. 34
Table 34-4 Sample Read/Write Information Panel Entries

External Device
Interface
Table Name READ The table name defined in the
Read/Write Control panel is displayed.

Tag Name G100Bit2 When the READ table is triggered by

GEM__READ_TRIGGER (defined in the
Read/Write Control panel), FactoryLink
processes the table. The value read from
the Gem80 is stored in G100Bit2 (a
digital tag).

Logical Station 1 The value stored in this element is read

from the Gem80 configured as logical
station 1.

Table G A G table is being read.

Address 100 Table G100 is being read.

Bit/Length 2 Bit 2 is extracted from table G100 and

the result is stored in element G100Bit2.

Base Address Tag G_BASE In this example, when this Gem80

Name Read/Write Table is triggered, the
current content of the Base Address Tag
G_BASE is added to the address (100) to
form the G table address retrieved from
the PLC.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 867

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Technical Notes
•
•
TECHNICAL N OTES
This section discusses the criteria used by the Gem80 driver to turn configuration
table entries into read/write requests.

Reads
1 For Block Mode NO, each tag results in a separate read command. Note that this
also applies to JK and STARNET connection types, as well as to programming
port messages. So to optimize JK or STARNET communications, it is beneficial to
set Block Mode to YES.

2 Each message tag results in a separate read command.

3 All CF requests for the same logical station and tag type are grouped into a single
read. Similarly, this is also true for all CQ requests.

4 If Block Mode is YES, entries for different tag types, different logical stations, or
different Base Address Tag Names are grouped into separate reads. For example,
Digital and Analog tags are not mixed within a single read, even for the same logical station.

5 For Block Mode YES, within a single tag type and logical station, successive
addresses are blocked into a single read provided the number of PLC tables in the
read does not exceed the maximum block size for the connection type. These block
sizes are as listed in the section Block Sizes below.

Writes
1 Every exception write results in a separate write command.

2 All following points refer to Block Writes, such as Exception Write set to N in the
configuration table.

3 For Block Mode NO, each tag results in a separate write command. Note that this
also applies to JK and STARNET connection types, as well as to programming
port messages. So to optimize JK or STARNET communications, it is beneficial to
set Block Mode to YES.

4 Each Message tag results in a separate write command.

5 If Block Mode is YES, entries for different tag types or different logical stations or
different Base Address Tag Names are grouped into separate writes. For example,
Float and Analog tags are not mixed within a single write, even for the same logical station.

868 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Technical Notes

6 For Block Mode YES, within a single non-digital tag type and the same logical
station, successive addresses are blocked into a single write provided the number 34
of PLC tables in the write does not exceed the maximum block size for the
connection type. Maximum block sizes are specified in the following table.
(Remember that QF float tables use two table addresses for each value).

External Device
7 For Block Mode YES, bit writes into the same PLC table address are grouped into

Interface
a single write. Digital writes into successive addresses are not blocked into a single write. For
example, bit writes into G100 bit 1, bit 5, and bit 12 are carried out as a single write to the PLC.
Bit writes into G100 bit 1 and G101 bit 2 are processed as two separate PLC writes.

Block Sizes

Table 34-5

Connection Type Maximum PLC tables per read/write (block size)

PRGPORT 32

JK_STD 32

JK_ENH 128

STARNET 111

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 869

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
R UN -TIME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the
Gem80 protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen. These messages are
stored in FactoryLink database elements. You define the tag names for these
elements in the Logical Station table. See “Configuring the Logical Station
Information Panel” on page Configuring the Logical Station Information Panel for
information about configuring a tag name for an analog element.

See Chapter 10, “Messages and Codes,” in the Device Interface Guide for
information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated.

Run-Time Manager Codes

The following error codes can appear in messages displayed on the Run-Time
Manager screen and in the Logical Station Error/Status tag. These codes should be
interpreted as a two-byte code. The top byte (first 2 digits) indicates the error type, the low byte
(last 2 digits) gives additional information when appropriate.

Table 34-6 Top Byte Codes

Error Code Description

ER:x0xx Cause: Error occurred during transmit processing.

Action: Verify the device configuration and cabling is
correct. The FactoryLink configuration tables
must contain the proper tributary addresses
and parameters. The Logical Station Control
panel must contain the proper baud rate, parity,
data bits, and stop bits settings.

ER:x1xx Cause: Error occurred during receive error processing.

Action: Verify the device configuration and cabling is
correct. The FactoryLink configuration tables
must contain the proper tributary addresses
and parameters. The Logical Station Control
panel must contain the proper baud rate, parity,
data bits, and stop bits settings.

870 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
Run-Time Application Messages

Table 34-6 Top Byte Codes (Continued)

34
Error Code Description

ER:xCxx Cause: The PLC failed to respond within the

External Device
configured timeout.

Interface
Action: Verify the device configuration and cabling is
correct. The FactoryLink configuration tables
must contain the proper tributary addresses
and parameters. The Logical Station Control
panel must contain the proper baud rate, parity,
data bits, and stop bits settings.

Table 34-7 Low Byte Codes

Error Code Description

ER:xxx1 Cause: Internal error.

Action: Contact Customer Support.

ER:xxx2 Cause: Receive error.

Action: Error occurred during receive processing.

ER:xxx3 Cause: Receive processing was aborted due to

transmission error
Action: Verify the device configuration and cabling is
correct. The FactoryLink configuration tables
must contain the proper tributary addresses
and parameters. The logical Station Control
panel must contain the proper baud rate, parity,
data bits, and stop bits settings.

ER:xxx4 Cause: Receive CPT error. Internal error.

Action: Contact Customer Support.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 871

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR GEM80
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•
Table 34-7 Low Byte Codes

Error Code Description

ER:xxx8 Cause: The PLC reply did not contain the expected
number of tables.
Action: Verify the PLC configuration is correct. This
error usually occurs because the requested
tables are not configured within the PLC.

872 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Chapter 35

•
•
•
•
External Device
Interface for SECS 35

External Device
Interface
G ETTING STARTED
This chapter introduces the Device Interface for SDRV Communications and
points you to specific sections that will help you get the SDRV Communications
protocol module up and running.

This chapter provides all the protocol-specific data entry requirements for SDRV
Communications, as well as procedural guidelines for entering the
protocol-specific data.

Overview
This chapter contains information needed to set up and configure bidirectional
communications between the FactoryLink real-time database and one or more
SEMI Equipment Communication Standard (SECS) Protocol devices. SDRV
Communications will support the SECS-I and SECS-II serial RS-232 protocol as
well as the HSMS TCP/IP protocol.

SDRV Communications at a Glance

This section provides a quick cross-reference and indicates where to find specific
information in this supplement.

Logical Device For each logical device, you provide device-specific

communication protocol and other information the device
interface software needs to exchange data with the device.
Enter this information in the Logical Device Control and
Logical Device Information panels.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in these
panels, refer to this guide. See “Configuring the Logical
Device Control Panel” on page 876 and “Configuring the
Logical Device Information Panel” on page 884.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 873

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Getting Started
•
•
Read/Write After the communication paths are defined in the Logical
Device panels, you configure the read and write operations
the application will execute across these paths in the
Read/Write Control panel.
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in this
panel, refer to this guide. See “Configuring the Read/Write
Control Panel” on page 886 and “Configuring the SECS-II
Message Definition Control Panel” on page 891.
SECS-II The Message Control and Information Tables define the
Message format for the messages to be sent and received
Definition
For descriptions of the specific entries you make in these
panels, refer to this guide. See “Configuring the Read/Write
Control Panel” on page 886 and “Configuring the SECS-II
Message Definition Control Panel” on page 891.
Technical Notes Contains additional information regarding specific message
protocol features such as repeat blocks, parsing and
conditional processing.
See “Technical Notes” on page 897. Also, add index entries
as needed.
System For information about messages unique to SDRV
Messages Communications, see “Run-Time Application Messages” on
page 903.

874 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Accessing the SDRV Communications Configuration Panels

A CCESSING THE SDRV C OMMUNICATIONS C ONFIGURATION P ANELS

35
When you choose SDRV Communications from the Configuration Manager Main
Menu, the SDRV Communications configuration panels are displayed.

External Device
Interface

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 875

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL D EVICE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Logical Device Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels.

Complete a row for each logical port you want to define as a communication path
for read and write operations.

Logical Port

Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 999

Number which represents a particular communications path.

SECS/HSMS

Required
Valid Entry: HSMS

SECS

Specify whether to use the SECS RS232 or HSMS protocol for communiction.

876 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel

Com Port
Required for SECS
35
Valid Entry: 1 - 8

External Device
Specify COM port for SECS protocol.

Interface
Baud Rate
Required for SECS
Valid Entry: 150 4800
300 9600 (default)
1200 19200
2400

Speed at which the task communicates.

T1 Timeout 0.1 sec

Required for SECS ONLY
Valid Entry: 1 - 255 tenths of a second
5 as default

SECS T1 (inter character) timeout value.

T2 Timeout 0.1 sec

Required for SECS ONLY
Valid Entry: 1 - 255 tenths of a second
30 as default

SECS T2 (block protocol) timeout value.

T3 Timeout 1 sec
Required
Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
10 as default

T3 Reply timeout value.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 877

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel
•
•
T4 Timeout 1 sec

Required for SECS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
10 as default

SECS T4 (inter block) timeout value.

T5 Timeout 1 sec

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
10 as default
HSMS T5 Connect Separation Timer.

T6 Timeout 1 sec

Required for HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
20 as default

HSMS T6 Control Message Replay timeout value.

T7 Timeout 1 sec

Required for HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
10 as default

HSMS T7 Connect timeout value.

T8 Timeout 1 sec

Required for HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
10 as default

HSMS T8 Inter Character timeout value.

878 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel

Retry Limit
35
Required SECS ONLY
Valid Entry: 0 - 31

External Device
3 as default

Interface
SECS retry limit

ACTIVE/PASSIVE

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: ACTIVE (MASTER)
PASSIVE (SLAVE)

Specify whether this port is the active or passive entity.

HOST/EQUIP

Required
Valid Entry: HOST
EQUIP

Specifies the communication role of this port.

Protocol

Required
Valid Entry: SMS-SS94 for HSMS
SMS-94 for HSMS
SMS93 for HSMS
ECS for SECS
EM for BOTH

Specify the version of the protocol to be used.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 879

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel
•
•
Passive IP Address

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: Standard IP Address format

Specify the IP Address for the Passive Entity on this link.

TCP Port

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: - 10000
000 as default

Specify the TCP Port Number at which the Passive Entity waits for
connection.

Connection Estab 1 sec

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: - 120 seconds
0 as default

Time to wait to establish a connection.

Circuit Assurance 1 sec

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
5 as default

Specify the frequency at which control messages will be sent to verify the link
is still functional.

880 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel

TGRACE 1 sec
35
Required HSMS ONLY
Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds

External Device
10 as default

Interface
Specify the time during which send operations will be accepted while
attempting to establish a connection.

Memory Stall 1 sec

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
30 as default

Specify time limit to allow the other end of the link to attempt to send
messages while all buffers are full.

Write Stall 1sec

Required HSMS ONLY

Valid Entry: 1 - 120 seconds
20 as default

Specify the time limit to wait for TCP/IP to accepts data.

Last Send Status Tag

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the status
for the last send operation is written.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 881

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel
•
•
Msgs Sent Counter Tag

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the count
of messages sent is written.

Msgs Rcvd Counter Tag

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the count
of messages received is written.

T3/T4 Timeout Errors Tag

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the count
of timeout errors is written.

Retry Counter Tag

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the count
of retries is written.

882 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel

Status Msg Tag

35
Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: Valid Data Type:Message

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database message tag to which status for

Interface
this logical port is written.

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 883

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Logical Device Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE L OGICAL D EVICE I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the Logical Device Control panel, select the row for the logical port you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the the Logical Device Information panel to
the foreground.

Complete a row for each device to communicate through this logical port.

Error/Status Tag Name

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element to which any errors
for this logical station are written

Logical Device Number

Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 63
0 as default

Number that you assign to represent the combination of a logical port and
physical station. A logical station number can be used only once.

884 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Logical Device Information Panel

Device ID
35
Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767

External Device
0 as default

Interface
Number to identify a physical device.

Device State at Startup

Required
Valid Entry: ON_LINE
OFF_LINE

Specify the initial state of the link at startup.

Comment

Optional
Valid Entry: Alphanumeric string of up to 30 characters

Reference information about this logical station.

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 885

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE R EAD /WRITE C ONTROL P ANEL
To bring the Read/Write Control panel to the foreground, click on its title bar in
the display of all configuration panels or click on Next from the Logical Station
Information panel. This panel contains additional columns not shown.

Complete a row for each read or write table. Refer to Chapter 6, “Reading Data
from a Device,” and Chapter 7, “Writing Data to a Device,” in the Device Interface
Guide for specific instructions on configuring each type of read and write
operation. Additionally, refer to Chapter 8, “Application Design Tips and
Techniques,” for information about triggering schemes using elements defined in
this panel.

Logical Device Number

Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 63
o as default

Number, originally specified in the External Device Definitions Table, which

represents a particular communications path

SECS-II Table ID

Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767
0 as default

Number of the table defined in the SDRV-II Message Definition Control Table
to be processed for this logical device.

886 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Send Stream Number

35
Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element which defines

Interface
the stream number of the message to be sent.

Send Function Number

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element which defines

the function number of the message to be sent.

Send Message ID

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element which defines

the message ID of the message to be sent.

Send Trigger

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Digital

Digital element whose value, when forced to 1 (ON), initiates a send of the
message defined by the stream, function and message ID tags.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 887

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Send Disable

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Digital

Digital element whose value, when 1 (ON), disables a triggered send of the
device(s) message specified in this table.

Send State

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Digital

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database digital element whose value is

0 (OFF) when a triggered send of the elements specified in this table is in
progress and 1 (ON) when the table is inactive.

Send Status

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the status
for the last send operation for this table is written.

Read Disable

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Digital

Digital element whose value, when 1 (ON), prevents the logical device from
being polled for received messages.

888 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel

Command Trigger
35
Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name

External Device
Valid Data Type: Analog

Analog element whose value, when force written, sends a predefined

Interface
command to the SDRV task. Used to set the On Line/Off Line state of the
SDRV task.

Command Value

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Analog element whose value is used in conjunction ith the Command Trigger
to build the command sent to the SDRV task.

Command Status

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Analog element whose value is used in conjunction with the Command Trigger
to build the command sent to the SDRV task.

Receive Stream Number

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element to which the

stream number of the last message received is written.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 889

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the Read/Write Control Panel
•
•
Receive Function Number

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element to which the

function number of the last message received is written.

Receive Message ID

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog element to which the

message ID number of the last message received is written.

Receive Status

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: Analog

Tag name of a FactoryLink real-time database analog tag to which the status
for the last command for this table is written.

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

890 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Control Panel

C ONFIGURING THE SECS-II M ESSAGE D EFINITION C ONTROL P ANEL

35
From the Read/Write Control panel, select the row for the table you are
configuring and click on Next to bring the the SECS-II Message Definition Control
panel to the foreground.

External Device
Interface
SECS-II Table ID

Required
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767,,az
0 as default

Specify the number fo the SECS-II Message Definition Information Table to

modify.

Comment

Optional
Valid Entry: Alphanumeric string of up to 30 characters

Reference information about this Message Definition Table.

When the panel is complete, click on Enter to validate the information. Define the
data type for any tag names displayed in the Tag Definition dialog.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 891

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel
•
•
C ONFIGURING THE SECS-II M ESSAGE D EFINITION I NFORMATION P ANEL
From the SECS-II Message Definition Control panel, select the row for the
table you are configuring and click on Next to bring the the SECS-II Message
Definition Information panel to the foreground.

Tag Name

Optional
Valid Entry: Standard FactoryLink tag name
Valid Data Type: DIGITAL
ANALOG
FLOAT
MESSAGE

Element updated as a result of a READ message or used a source of data for a

WRITE message. On WRITE, if no tag is specified the Data Item will be sent
with a value of 0. On READ, if no tag is specified the Data Item will not be
stored.

892 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel

Read/Write
35
Required on the first line of a message definition.
Valid Entry: READ

External Device
WRITE
BOTH

Interface
INQGN (Inquire/Grant)

Specify the message type. BOTH defines the message for both READ and
WRITE activity. INQGN will result in an Inquire/Grant transaction. The
value in ‘Constant’ specifies the function number of the data message. The
stream and message ID will be same for the data message.

Stream Decimal

Optional
Valid Entry: 0 - 255

Stream number for the message to be sent or received. Required on the line
which specifies READ, WRITE, BOTH or INQGN.

Function Decimal

Optional
Valid Entry: 0 - 255

Function number for the message to be sent or received. Required on the line
which specifies READ , WRITE, BOTH or INQGN.

Message ID

Optional
Valid Entry: 0 - 999

Message number for the message to be sent or received. Required on the line
which specifies READ , WRITE, BOTH or INQGN.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 893

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel
•
•
Item Type

Required
Valid Entry: LIST
BNARY
BOOLN
AXCII
JIS8
SINT8
SINT1
SINT2
SINT4
FLOT8
FLOT4
UINT8
UINT1
UINT2
UINT4
FNAME
NOBDY
FSIZE
FN_B - File Name, send data as bytes
FN_A - File Name, send data as ASCII
FN_I1 - File Name, send data as SINT1
FN_I2 - File Name, send data as SINT2
FN_I4 - File Name, send data as SINT4
FN_I8 - File Name, send data as SINT8
FN_U1 - File Name, send data as UINT1
FN_U2 - File Name, send data as UINT2
FN_U4 - File Name, send data as UINT4
FN_U8 - File Name, send data as UINT8

894 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel

CONI2 - Conditional item type SINT2

CONU2- Conditional item type UINT2 35
CONI4 - Conditional item type SINT4
CONU4- Conditional item type UINT24

External Device
CONAS- Conditional item type ASCII

Interface
Specify the data item. For additional details of FN_XX and CONXX item types
see the Technical Notes section.

Number

Optional
Valid Entry: 0 - 32767

Number used in conjunction with some data items. For specific usage see the
Technical Notes section.

Constant

Optional
Valid Entry: Alphanumeric string of up to 15 characters

Character string used in conjunction with some data items. For specific usage
see the Technical Notes section.

Parse Position

Optional
Valid Entry: Alphanumeric string of up to 15 characters

Character string used to identify the position of a data item in a message. For
specific usage see the Technical Notes section.

Reply

Required on the first line of a WRITE primary message definition.

Valid Entry: NO
YES
DELIVR

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 895

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Configuring the SECS-II Message Definition Information Panel
•
•
Specify whether a primary message requires a response or not. DELIVR can
be used on primary or secondary messages and requires acknowledgment of
message delivery.

Auto Read Disable

Optional
Valid Entry: NO
YES

If ‘YES’ and a Read Disable Tag is specified for this Logical Device, it will be
set to ‘ON’ upon receiving this message. This will prevent receiving messages
for this Logical Device until the Read Diasble Tag is set to ‘OFF’.

Parse

Optional
Valid Entry: NO
YES

Specify whether to process all data items or parse out data items to be
processed in a READ message. If ‘YES’, it must appear on the same line with
the READ.

896 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Technical Notes

TECHNICAL N OTES
35
Application Specific

External Device
INT8

Interface
For UINT8 and SINT8 the data can be stored into 2 LANA or 4 ANA by specifying
a tag array and a count in the ’Constant’ column.

Parsing

If the ’Parse’ field of a ’READ’ Message Definition Line is ’Yes’, the incoming
message will be parsed. The parsing term for each tag is entered in the ’Parse
Position’ field.

The following example illustrates ‘Parse Position’ terms for a sample message
(similar to S6,F3):
Message Structure ParsePosition String
L, 3 1
UINT4 1.1:
UINT4 1.2:
L, 1 1.3
L, 2 1.3.1
UINT4 1.3.1.1:
L, 7 1.3.1.2
ASCII, 40 1.3.1.2.1:10,20 Start with character 10, store 20
ASCII, 40 1.3.1.2.2:,40 Store first 40 characters
ASCII, 40 1.3.1.2.3:10 Start at character 10, store rest of string
ASCII, 40 1.3.1.2.4: Store whole string
UINT4 1.3.1.2.5:
INT4 1.3.1.2.6:
UINT4 1.3.1.2.7:

The term after the ':' in the form 'X,Y' is used for strings to determine the start
position (X) and the number of bytes (Y) to be stored. If 'X' is omitted (:,Y) the start
position is 0. If 'Y' is omitted (:X,) the string starting at X to the end of the end of
the string is stored. If neither X nor Y is specified, the whole string is stored. In
the case of UINT8 and SINT8 the 'X' value is used to store into 2 LANA or 4 ANA
tag array.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 897

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Technical Notes
•
•
Commands

Command Trigger and Command Value are analog tags. The Command Trigger
defines the Command Type and the Command Value contains an optional
argument for the Command. Right now the only Command defined is ’1’ which
sets the On Line/Off Line status. The desired status is stored in Command Value:
1 for On Line and 0 for Off Line.

Repeat Blocks

Repeat Blocks - A list block can be repeated if an entry is made in the ’Constant’
field for a ’LIST’ entry.

For example:

LIST 3 2

tag1 UINT4

tag2 UINT2

tag3 UINT2

will result in the following message:

LIST 6

tag1 UINT4

tag2 UINT2

tag3 UINT2

tag1+1 UINT4

tag2+1 UINT2

tag3+1 UINT2

For example:

LIST 1 2

LIST 3

898 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Technical Notes

tag1 UINT4
35
tag2 UINT2

tag3 UINT2

External Device
will result in the following message:

Interface
LIST 2

LIST 3

tag1 UINT4

tag2 UINT2

tag3 UINT2

LIST 3

tag1+1 UINT4

tag2+1 UINT2

tag3+1 UINT2

Repeat blocks can have embedded repeat blocks.

For example:

LIST 3 2

tag1 UINT2

tag2 UINT2

LIST 2 2

tag3 SINT2

tag4 SINT2

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 899

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Technical Notes
•
•
will result in the following message:

LIST 6

tag1 UINT2

tag2 UINT2

LIST 4

tag3 SINT2

tag4 SINT2

tag3+1 SINT2

tag4+1 SINT2

tag1+1 UINT2

tag2+1 UINT2

LIST 4

tag3+2 SINT2

tag4+2 SINT2

tag3+3 SINT2

tag4+3 SINT2

The message structures are expanded at start up to reduce the processing at run
time. If logging (command line ’d’ or ’D’) is enabled, the message structures will be
stored in the file ’sdrv_log.dat

Conditionals

Item types are CONI2, CONU2, CONI4, CONU4 and CONAS for SINT2, UINT2,
SINT4, UINT4 and ASCII data types respectively. Entries in the ’Constant’ field
will be used to match the incoming data. These item types can be used in normal
or parsed READ messages. The conditional fields may or may not have tags
associated with them. If there are any conditionals in a message definition, the
message will first be processed to see if the data received in the conditional fields
matches the ’Constant’ data for the conditional field before any data is stored into

900 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Technical Notes

tags. For ’CONAS’ fields, the ’:X,Y’ parsing conditions apply to the conditional
matching, but if the conditions are met, and a tag is specified for the field, the 35
whole string will be stored.

File Transfers

External Device
FNAME, FN_XX and FSIZE require a message tag containing a file name. FSIZE

Interface
will send a SINT4 with the file size.

FNAME will require a message tag containing the file name for READ functions.
To WRITE files, use the following item types: FN_B(BYTE), FN_A(ASCII),
FN_I1(SINT1), FN_U1(UINT1), FN_I2(SINT2), FN_U2(UINT2), FN_I4(SINT4),
FN_U4(UINT4), FN_I8(SINT8) and FN_U8(UINT8). Each of those item requires
a message tag containing the file name of the file to be sent. The particular item
type used determines the data type used to send the file. On a READ the data type
is determined from the messsage.

Multiple Items

A READ message such as S1F10 where a data item may consist of multiple items,
can be handled by using a tag array and specifying the size of the array in
’Number’.

System Specific

Command Line Arguments

d, D - SDR calls are displayed on the screen.

d:f, D:F - SDR calls are written to a file ’sdrv_log.dat’.

bXXX, BXXX - XXX is the number of SDR buffer allocated by the SDR task. If
missing or less than 10, 200 buffers will be allocated.

fYYYYY, FYYYYY - YYYYY is the path SDR files. Stores the ’sdrconf.cfg’ file. If
not defined, default is ’<FLAPP>/procs’.

l, L - additional data for repeat blocks and parsing will be displayed on the screen
or written to the file specified by d:f.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 901

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Technical Notes
•
•
Message Sequences

The driver handles the following six sequences:

Send Trigger - Send Primary SxFyMz, No Reply

Send Trigger - Send Primary SxFyMz, Reply

Poll for Secondary SxF(y+1)Mz
Drop Ticket

Send Trigger - Send Primary, Verify Delivery

Poll for Verification
Drop Ticket

Poll - Receive Primary SxFyMz, No Reply

Drop Ticket

Poll - Receive Primary SxFyMz, Reply

Respond with Secondary SxF(y+1)Mz

Poll - Receive Primary SxFyMz, Reply

Respond with Secondary SxF(y+1)Mz, Verify Delivery
Poll for Verification
Drop Ticket

Miscellaneous

On READ, the ’Item Type’ is ignored. The data is processed according to the
’mesg.next’ type.

902 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

 EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
Run-Time Application Messages

R UN -T IME A PPLICATION M ESSAGES

35
During EDI run time, FactoryLink generates and displays messages for the SDRV
Communications protocol module on the Run-Time Manager screen. These
messages are stored in FactoryLink database elements. You define the tag names

External Device
for these elements in the Logical Station table. See “Configuring the Logical
Device Control Panel” on page Configuring the Logical Device Control Panel for

Interface
information about configurng a tag name for a message element. See “Configuring
the Logical Device Information Panel” on page Configuring the Logical Device
Information Panel for information about configuring a tag name for an analog
element.

See Chapter 10, “Messages and Codes,” in the Device Interface Guide for
information about the messages displayed for the EDI task and the format in
which protocol module messages are generated.

FactoryLink Device Interface Guide / 903

• EXTERNAL DEVICE INTERFACE FOR SECS
• Run-Time Application Messages
•
•

904 / FactoryLink Device Interface Guide

Index
A BCD3 217
A_TO_FL BCD4 217–218
conversion function 323 BIN 217
activate/deactive station command 474 conversion functions 325
active/inactive status 475 FactoryLink element used in status 300
adapter mode/adapter station 531 FLT4 218
ADD FLT8 218
definition 302 INT2 217
process function 320 INT4 217
address specification formats, KTDTL and read holding or input register 102
NetDTL 699 read memory register 112, 114, 116, 151
addressing, offlink with KTDTL and NetDTL tags in data conversion 490
592 write to holding register 137
Allen-Bradley write to memory register 149
address entries 221 AND process function 320
data types 212 application design tips and techniques 163
Ethernet interface 605 application programs 260
INTERCHANGE 605 application, testing 181
interface modules 589 ASC to message 216
KTDTL and NetDTL data types and ad- ASCII 259, 323
dresses 695 conversion function 323
Logical Station Control panel 196 in conversion 301
Logical Station Information panel 200 strings 444
other programs using 589 associating digital element and bit 302
overview 195
Read/Write Control panel 202 B
Read/Write Information panel 209 BCD conversion function 323
return codes, used with INTERCHANGE BCD3
and KTDTL and NetDTL 726 analog 213
see also KTDTL and NetDTL floating point 214
software interface 605 long analog 215
switch setup 231 BCD4
AM process function 320 analog 213
ANALOG 280 floating point 214
analog element long analog 215
Allen-Bradley conversions 213 BIN

Index I-905
 analog 213 checksum
data type 668, 678, 696, 698 in error checking schemes 284
digital 213 limitations of GPI 261
floating point 214 non-printable characters 299
long analog 215 clear to send 56
message 216 clearing change-status indicators 607
bit-level addresses 667, 678 codes 580, 582–583
block read and write 823 coil register
Block Sizes 869 see also read coil or input status register
block write write digital element to 147
block write request 124, 127 column entries
control panel entries 662–665 AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox Tag 796
defined 649 Address 807, 866
how it works 650, 685 Address, sample entry 867
when to use 655 Base Address Tag Name 866
bridge identifier 621 Base Address Tag Name, sample entry 867
bytes Baud Rate 849
basic concept 289 Baud Rate, sample entry 851
in design flexibility 283 Bit/Length 866
Bit/Length, sample entry 867
C Block Mode 853
cable connections Block Mode, sample entry 855
description and diagrams 59 Block Read Complete 859
Modbus Plus diagram 383 Block Read Complete, sample entry 863
overview 50 Block Read Disable 858
Siemens H1 diagram 487 Block Read Disable, sample entry 863
Square D diagram 518 Block Read Priority 857
types of 59 Block Read Priority, sample entry 863
worksheet 62 Block Read State 860
capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs for Block Read State, sample entry 864
General Purpose Interface 261 Block Read Trigger 858
carrier detect 56 Block Read Trigger, sample entry 863
cascaded loop 172–174, 690–692 Block Write Complete 862
cascaded loop tables 859, 861 Block Write Disable 861
cascading tables 172 Block Write Priority 860
change-status indicator 857 Block Write State 862

I-906 FactoryLink 7.0

Block Write Trigger 861 Parity 850
Comment 854 Parity, sample entry 851
Comment, sample entry 855 Port Name 800
Connect Type 853 Port Status 801
Connect Type, sample entry 855 Pyramid Channel ID (ASCII) 803
Data Bits 850 Pyramid EI # (Decimal) 802
Data Bits, sample entry 851 Rcv Completion 808
Data Set 807 Read Completion 808
Description 796, 798 Read Disable 805
Description, sample entry 799 Receive Disable 805
Device Name 848, 875 Response Timeout 850
Encode Register 805 Response Timeout, sample entry 851
Error/Status Tag Name 852 Retry Timeout 850
Error/Status Tag Name, sample entry 855 Retry Timeout, sample entry 851
Exception Write 857 Station Address (Octal) 804
Exception Write, sample entry 863 Station Name 802
Function 851, 884 Station Status Tag 802
I/O Translator Mailbox Tag 798, 807 Station Type 804
I/O Translator Mailbox Tag, sample entry Stop Bits 850
799 Stop Bits, sample entry 851
Interface Number 801 Table 866
Interface Type 800 Table Name 856, 867
J/K & N/O Offset, sample entry 855 Table Name, sample entry 863
KT Card ID (ASCII) 803 Table, sample entry 867
LAN 798 Tag Name 865
LAN, sample entry 799 Tag Name, sample entry 867
Len 808 Tributary Address 853
Logical Port 849, 855 Tributary Address, sample entry 855
Logical Port, sample entry 851 Unsolicited Read, sample entry 863
Logical Station 865 UR 808
Logical Station (Decimal) 853 Write Completion 808
Logical Station (Decimal), sample entry Write Disable 805
855 COM ports
Logical Station, sample entry 867 COM143 default string 444
Max MSG 798 COM535 default string 444
Max MSG, sample entry 799 configuring 70–75

Index I-907
 identifying 73 sample entries 797
combination read request 97 AB RSLinx Port Definition 793, 800
combination write request 132, 159 sample entries 801
command line arguments AB RSLinx Station Definition 793, 802
for System Configuration panel 810 sample entries 806
command protocols, GPI 328 accessing 826
command response timeout 613 display of all 795, 848, 875
Command/Response Control panel External Device Definition 846, 848, 851,
General Purpose Interface 271 873, 875, 884
Command/Response Information panel I/O Translator Dataset Definition 793
General Purpose Interface 275 I/O Translator Definition 798
Command/Response table sample entries 799
General Purpose Interface 269 I/O Translator Tag Definition 793
commands, logical station 474 Ioxlator Mailbox Definition panel 827
common errors 180 Logical Station Control 846, 849, 870, 873,
see also messages and codes 876, 903
communications Logical Station Control, sample entries
Allen-Bradley card port 589, 595–597 851
errors 77 Logical Station Information 846, 852, 865,
Ethernet card port 590, 598–600 870, 873, 884, 903
KTDTL and NetDTL error tag 613 Logical Station Information, sample en-
logical port error tag 613 tries 855
methodology 20 Modbus Ethernet Mailbox panel 826
multiple devices 22 Modbus TCP/IP Dataset Definition panel
path 69–85 830
protocol 77 Modbus TCP/IP Driver Device Definition
Siemens H1 link 441 panel 828
with multiple protocol modules 23 Read/Write Control 846, 856, 874, 886
with offlink addresses 592–594 Read/Write Control, sample entries 863
computations for 5TI sequencer ladder logic Read/Write Information 846, 865, 874,
code 567 891–892
conceptual information 843, 845, 873 Read/Write Information, sample entries
configuration panels 867
AB RSLinx Dataset Definition 793, 807 configuring
sample entries 809 communication paths 69
AB RSLinx Driver Mailbox 796 communication paths for KTDTL and Net-

I-908 FactoryLink 7.0

 DTL 609 format conversion 270
considerations 45 grouping 164
KTDTL and NetDTL tips and techniques in outgoing message 284
652 LS data region 474
loop indexing tables 554 packets 48, 164, 656, 671
Telemecanique networks 760 retrieving and transferring 35
Telemecanique PLC tables 737 data entry requirements 843, 845, 873
configuring communications 845 data set ready (DSR) 56
connecting to XWAY networks using Teleme- data terminal ready (DTR) 56
canique PLC 759 data type
constant numeric, constant string 294, 303 analog 801, 852–853, 870, 884, 903
contiguous addresses 48, 164, 656 digital 805, 808, 862, 890
control loop passes 605–607 mailbox 796, 798
convention in manual 816 message 850, 870, 883, 903
conversions data type conversions 794
data type 489 data types
data types for read operations 213 Allen-Bradley 212
elements for write operations 217 conversion for read operations 213
list of functions 323 KTDTL and NetDTL 695–696
converting field values 301 OMRON 408
CP address 493 Siemens CP525 435
CP525 Read/Write Information, see Siemens Siemens H1 489
CP525 Texas Instruments 564
CRC16, process function 321 data type
CRC16_RV, process function 321 866, 891
CRCCC_RV, process function 320 DATASETS 823
CRCCCITT, process function 320 datasets 823
creating DCP 564
logical port definitions 73 debugging tools for GPI 288
logical station definitions 77 DECASC
logical station definitions for KTDTL and conversion function 323
NetDTL 613 defining
address read 668, 678, 699–700
D address written to 668, 699–700
daisy-chain tables 175, 656, 693 Allen-Bradley card port 627
data block read complete trigger 661

Index I-909
 block read disable trigger 661 parameter addresses 98, 133
block read priority 659 path to offlink station ??–621634–644
block read state trigger 163, 175, 661, 688, PLC-5/250 TCP/IP address 613
693 PLC-5/xxE 628
block read trigger 163, 175, 659, 688, 693 PLC-5/xxE TCP/IP address 613
block write complete trigger 665 protocol module to EDI 73
block write disable trigger 663 pushwheel number 627
block write priority 662 Pyramid Integrator 628
block write request 124–130, 153 read and write operations 856, 886
block write state trigger 163, 175, 665, 688, read request 89–122
693 re-enabled exception write trigger 666
block write trigger 163, 175, 663, 688, 693 self-triggered tables 175, 692–693
card number 627 stations ??–623, ??–630
cascaded loop 172–174, 690–692 status window 603
channel number 627 table type and triggers 126
combination write request 132 table type and triggers for read requests
communication path 849, 876 92
communication paths 69 TSAP pair for Siemens H1 443
data type 668, 696, 698 unsolicited data type 678
device addresses 621, 634–644 unsolicited read table 676
device type 623, 629 delimiters
devices ??–623, ??–630 in expected response 295
element for storing data read 667, 678 NUMERIC 292
element to write to device 667 TAGVALUE 292
exception write disable trigger 666 device addresses
exception write priority 666 defining 98–99, 133–134
exception write request 97, 130–132 device communications
log file 606 cable diagrams 59
logical port 613 configuring. testing, troubleshooting 587
logical port error tag 613 device control module (DCM)
logical ports 69 definition 441, 446
logical station 626 device topologies
logical station error tag 626 combination 29
logical stations 77, 83 overview 27
module type 627 devices
network address of device 621, 634–644 Allen-Bradley types 791

I-910 FactoryLink 7.0

DH+ gateway limitations 590 conversion for write operations 217
Diagram of basic concepts 289 EM, process function 321
DigiBoard port communications encoded write 824
configuring 70 End-of-response 298
overview 28 In list of functions 275
digital conversion With unsolicited mode 300
Allen-Bradley 213, 217 ENQ Retry Count 198
digital element EOR
number of 302 Process function 321
read coil or input status register 110 ER
read holding or input register 104 00ee 410
write to coil register 147 00XX 569, 572, 574, 576
write to holding register 138 error checking, see checksum
Digital tags error codes 813
Data conversion 489 error log file 605
Digital to BIN 217 error message display time 606
DIP switches error messages 811
Texas Instruments 524 Ethernet
TIWAY NIM 528 adapter display utility, H1MPDISP 493
directory override 605–606 address 493
disabling messages 656 in remote adapter address 451
domain selection 825 interface module 590
domains 77, 92, 126 thick net bus 487
thin net bus 488
E Ethernet board port communications 28
EDI Even-numbered information/acknowledge
flowcharts 178 codes
messages 189 List of 334, 336
overview 19 List of for logical port 338
Run-Time Manager line format 186 event-driven read 646, 654
sample table entries 75 exception write 824
tag naming considerations 39 exception write request
task or device driver errors 569 control panel entries 665–666
efficient triggering 172 defined 649
electrical interface signals 56 how it works 651, 687
elements overview 125, 130

Index I-911
 sample 156 FLT8
when to use 655 analog 214
Exclusive-or 303 floating point 215
External Device Interface, see EDI in Allen-Bradley 219
long analog 216
F
Field G
Breakdown of outgoing message 284 gateway identifier 621
Definition of 283 General Electric
Length 284 Logical Station Control panel 238
Modifying a previously defined 304 Logical Station Information panel 241
Field Position messages 255
Definition 292 overview 237
In GPI design 283 Read/Write Control panel 244
Field Type 294–295, 302–304 Read/Write Information panel 251
For status 300 General Purpose Interface
In GPI design 283 basic concepts 289
In outgoing message 292 capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs
List of delimiters 292 261
flexibility of GPI 283 command protocols 328
floating point Command/Response Control panel 271
Allen-Bradley conversions 214, 218 Command/Response Information panel
BCD3 218 275
BCD4 218–219 Command/Response table 269
BIN 218 configuration 305
FLT4 219 conversion functions 323
INT2 218 debugging tools 288
floating point element 214, 218 flexibility and design 283
data conversion 491 functions of 291
read holding register 106 incoming response 294
write to holding register 143 Logical Station Control panel 263
flowcharts, problem solving 178 Logical Station Information panel 267
FLT4 messages 334
analog 214 network command protocols 332
floating point 215 network response protocols 330
long analog 216 outgoing message 284

I-912 FactoryLink 7.0

 overview 259 And MULT_RSP 293
process functions 302, 320 Field length 295
response protocols 326 GPI 294
response termination and status elements In summary 289
318 number of IDs 295
GPI, see General Purpose Interface Initiating a transmission 299
grouping of data 164 installation 821
INT2
H analog 213
H1MPDISP floating point 214
adapter display utility 493 long analog 215
Handshaking INT4
Limitations of GPI 261 analog 213
Hex ASCII floating point 214
With non-printable characters 298 long analog 215
Hexadecimal 451 INTERCHANGE, see Allen-Bradley
HEXASC introduction 843, 845, 873
Conversion function 324
HILOW16 K
Conversion function 324 KTDTL and NetDTL
HILOW32 adding to system configuration 602, 607
Conversion function 324 Allen-Bradley return codes 726
HIU Option 1 through HIU Option 3 532 automatic startup of 603
host adapter number 364 configuration tips and techniques 652
configuring communication paths 609
I configuring the system configuration table
ID 602
In basic concepts 289 configuring triggered read, block write, or
In list of functions 275 exception write 659
identifying protocol module to FactoryLink 69 creating logical station definitions 613
identifying protocol types and defining logical data types 696
ports 70 executable file location 604
IEEExxx conversion functions 324 getting started 601
improving communication performance in KT- improving communication performance
DTL and NetDTL 688 688
Incoming response KTDTL topology 595

Index I-913
 logical station concepts 611 creating definitions 73
Logical Station Information panel 634 defining 70
messages and codes 721 errors associated with 77
NetDTL topology 598 logical station 853, 855, 886
offlink addressing 592 and activate deactive command 497
optimizing task performance 607 associating with logical port 77
overview 589 commands supported by Siemens H1 474
PLC-3 file type reference 701 creating definitions 77
PLC-5 file type reference 703 error tag 626
PLC-5/250 file type reference 710 errors associated with 77
program arguments for 604–607 identifying in read and write operations
reading and writing data 645 667
reading data from a device 646 identifying in unsolicited read operation
sample Logical Station table entries 631 678
sample read and write table entries 680 KTDTL and NetDTL concepts 611
see also Allen-Bradley table sample entries 85
SLC 500 file type reference 717 worksheet 71
unsolicited reads 670 Logical Station Control panel
writing data to a device 649 Allen-Bradley 196
General Electric 238
L General Purpose Interface 263
ladder logic code 567 Modicon Modbus 342
LAN adapter number 493 Modicon Modbus Plus 364
LANALOG 280 OMRON 390
Conversion function 325 Siemens CP525 418
Language 291 Siemens H1 446
least significant digit 569 Square D 500
LEN Telemecanique PLC 739
Process function 321 Texas Instruments 534
link identifier 621, 628 Logical Station Information panel
Local TSAP 443 Allen-Bradley 200
log file 606 General Electric 241
logical port 846, 849, 855, 873, 886 General Purpose Interface 267
logical ports KTDTL and NetDTL 634
associating with EDI definition 77–84 Modicon Modbus 344
associating with logical stations 77–85 Modicon Modbus Plus 366

I-914 FactoryLink 7.0

 OMRON 393 set bits in holding register 141
Siemens CP525 421 Mathematical functions
Siemens H1 450 In Read Response 270
Square D 504 memory allocation
Texas Instruments 537 filling up shared memory 44
logical station worksheet 71 shared 41
long analog element 219 memory register
BCD3 219 store in analog element 112, 114, 116, 151
BCD4 219–220 write analog to 149
BIN 219 MESSAGE 280
data conversion 491 Conversion functions 325
FLT4 220 message element 216, 220
FLT8 220 read holding register 108
INT2 219 write to holding register 145
INT4 219 message strings in TI 580
read holding register 106 message tag, data conversion 492
see also analog messages 870, 903
write to holding register 143 device 852, 855, 884, 886
longana conversions EDI 846, 874
Allen-Bradley 215, 219 port 851, 884
loop indexing 554 protocol module 846, 874
Logical Station table 556 system 846, 874
Read/Write table 562 messages and codes
LOWHI16 Allen-Bradley 233
Conversion function 324 Allen-Bradley conversions 216, 220
LOWHI32 EDI messages 189
Conversion function 324 formats 186
LRC Error Detection 197, 419 General Electric 255
LRDS 564–565 KTDTL and NetDTL 721
LRRC 564 overview 185
LRST 564–565 see also Run-Time application messages
LSDB 565 startup messages 194
tag message format 186
M Telemecanique PLC 783
major program control loop 605, 607 Modbus Ethernet Driver
mask write description 821

Index I-915
 network 822 naming considerations for EDI tags 39
purpose 815 NetDTL, see KTDTL and NetDTL
Rapid Application Protocol Driver network command protocols, GPI 332
components 823 network response protocols, GPI 330
description 823 NM Option 1 through NM Option E 532
two-task system 823 No response
Modbus Ethernet task Type of packet response 294
Configuration Manager 821 NO_RSP 300
modem interface control signals 56 non-printable characters 298
Modicon Modbus nonstandard unsolicited messages 674
Logical Station Control panel 342
Logical Station Information panel 344 O
messages 358 octal addressing format 671, 675
overview 341 OCTASC
Read/Write Control panel 346 Conversion function 324
Read/Write Information panel 353 Odd-numbered error codes
Modicon Modbus Plus List of for logical port 338
cable diagram 383 Odd-numbered error codes to build/transmit
Logical Station Control panel 364 List of 335–336
Logical Station Information panel 366 offlink addressing with KTDTL and NetDTL
messages 384 592
overview 363 OM
Read/Write Control panel 369 Process function 321
Read/Write Information panel 376 OMRON
Modifying previously defined field data types and PLC data areas 408
In list of functions 275 Logical Station Control panel 390
monitor mode, OMRON PLC 407 Logical Station Information panel 393
MSG instruction 670–671 messages 409
for SLC 5/03 and SLC 5/04 675 overview 389
MULT_RSP 300 PLC monitor mode 407
multiple devices, communicating with 22 Read/Write Control panel 396
Multiple logical station parameters Read/Write Information panel 403
Logical station commands 486 operating systems
setting parameters 53
N Windows NT Ethernet 53
NAK Retry Count 198 optimization guidelines 48

I-916 FactoryLink 7.0

OR mands 672
Process function 321 KTDTL and NetDTL PLC-3 file type refer-
Outgoing message 289, 299 ence 701
Breakdown into fields 284 KTDTL and NetDTL PLC-5 file type refer-
Defining 292 ence 703
Diagram 295 KTDTL and NetDTL PLC-5/250 file type
Diagram of 284 reference 710
In design 283 OMRON data areas 408
In GPI design 283 Siemens CP525 data areas 431
In list of functions 275 Siemens H1 data regions 474
In summary 289 Siemens H1 specific data types 489
Number of IDs 295 PMD 300
Sources of information 284 Response termination 318
overtriggering 163, 172, 175 Status elements 318
port definition 613
P Printable characters 298
Packet responses priority
Types expected 293 specifying for block reads and block or ex-
parameter addresses ception writes 171
defining 133 procedural guidelines 843, 845, 873
parameter addressess PROCESS 304
for TI element data types 564 Delimiter 292
Parsing 300 Process Function 303–304
In converting field values 301 ADD 320
Master/slave 270 AM 320
physical port 73 AND 320
pin-out diagrams and cables 383 CRC16 321
PLC CRC16_RV 321
Allen-Bradley PLC-2 addresses 221 CRCCC_RV 320
Allen-Bradley PLC-3 addresses 222 CRCCCITT 320
Allen-Bradley PLC-5 addresses 226 Definition 292
Allen-Bradley PLC5-250 native mode ad- EM 321
dresses 228 EOR 321
KTDTL and NetDTL PLC-2 format ad- for GPI 302
dresses 699 LEN 321
KTDTL and NetDTL PLC-2 write com- OM 321

Index I-917
 ONESCOMP 321 source and destination for 77
OR 321 testing 182
SL 321 read coil or input status register
SR 322 store in digital element 110
SUB 322 read complete trigger 95
SWAP 322 read disable trigger 95
TWOSCOMP 321 read holding or input register
XOR 322 store in analog element 102
processing differences in read and write oper- store in digital element 104
ations 166 store in floating-point or long analog ele-
program arguments ment 106
format for entering 604 store in message element 108
protocol driver communications 823 read memory register
block read and write 823 store in analog element 112, 114, 116, 151
datasets 823 read operations
encoded write 824 combination 97
exception write 824 configuring using the Tag Definition dia-
unsolicited receive 823 log 51
protocol modules 291 diagram 90
communicating with multiple 23 differences in processing 166
for communication with GPI 269 disabling 858
identifying types 70 indicating completion of 859
Pyramid Integrator indicating state of 860
alternate address in 671 overview 89
as server 590 priority of 94, 96, 857
data flow through 670 processing of 166
read priority 658
Q samples 118
quick reference 846, 873 trigger 175
triggered 90, 93
triggering 163, 858
R unsolicited 91, 96
RAW VALUE Read/Write Control panel
definition and size of in GPI 288 Allen-Bradley 202
read and write requests General Electric 244
device response time 77 Modicon Modbus 346
error detection 77

I-918 FactoryLink 7.0

 Modicon Modbus Plus 369 RESP_TM
OMRON 396 In end-of-response 297
Siemens CP525 423 RESP_VAR 300
Siemens H1 455 Delimiter 292
Square D 507 Example of in PMD 300 317
Texas Instruments 540 PMD 300 318
Read/Write Information panel response
Allen-Bradley 209 GPI protocols 326
General Electric 251 GPI tables 270
GPI 275 GPI termination and status elements 318
Modicon Modbus 353 packet 293
Modicon Modbus Plus 376 termination, dontcarecharacters’ 299
OMRON 403 retrieving and transferring data 35
Siemens CP525 430 row errors in Siemens H1 486
Siemens H1 463 RS-232 mechanical interface reference 57
Square D 515 RSLinx, see Allen-Bradley
Telemecanique PLC 746 RTMON 652, 654
Texas Instruments 547 Run-Time application messages 358
reading and writing data Allen-Bradley 233
KTDTL and NetDTL 645 General Electric 255
reference, Telemecanique PLC 759 General Purpose Interface 334
register addresses message format 186
reading from 98 Modicon Modbus Plus 384
writing to 133 OMRON 409
Remote Adapter Address (hexadecimal) 451 Siemens CP525 438
Remote TSAP 443 Siemens H1 494
request to send 56 Square D 519
RESP_FXD Texas Instruments 569
Delimiter 292 run-time application messages 811
RESP_ID 295, 300 Run-Time Manager Codes 870
Delimiter 292 Run-Time Manager screen 870, 903
Example of in PMD 300 317, 319
RESP_STR S
Delimiter 292 sample address field entries
In end-of-response 297 A-B KT Card ID (ASCII) 634
With dontcare’ 298 PYRAMID CHANNEL ID 638–640

Index I-919
 Station Address (Octal) 634–640 Read/Write Information panel 430
Sample Driver Error 571 switches 434
sample panel entries Siemens H1
control, combination write 159 Adapter display utility (H1MPDISP) 493
control, exception write 156 cable diagrams 487
control, unsolicited read 121 data types 489
definition, for COM ports 75 logical station commands 474
definition, for DigiBoard ports 76 Logical Station Control panel 446
information, triggered block write 154 Logical Station Information panel 450
information, triggered read 119 messages 494
information, unsolicited read 122 overview 441
sample point-to-point error 580 Read/Write Control panel 455
sample protocols for GPI 326 Read/Write Information panel 463
sample write requests 153 setting the Logical Station Variables com-
self-triggered table 859, 861 mand 482
self-triggered tables 174–175, 692–693 types of communication 441
serial communications single-packet response 293
port communications 27 SL
see also COM ports Process function 321
setting up 55 slaves and the TW7 data fields, configuring in
set bits in holding register using mask write Telemecanique PLC 761
141 SLC 500 file type reference for KTDTL and
setting operating system parameters 53 NetDTL 717
setting the Logical Station Variables com- SLC 500 file types 717
mand in Siemens H1 482 sleep period 605–607
setting up communications 845 SNG_RSP
shared memory PMD 300 318
filling up 44 SNGL_RSP 294, 300
overview 41 solicited reads/writes
Siemens CP525 pending requests 606
data types 435 specifying priority of block reads and block or
Logical Station Control panel 418 exception writes 171
Logical Station Information panel 421 Square D
messages 438 cable diagram 518
overview 417 Logical Station Control panel 500
Read/Write Control panel 423 Logical Station Information panel 504

I-920 FactoryLink 7.0

 messages 519 T
overview 499 tabbed Tag Definition dialog 865, 891–892
Read/Write Control panel 507 table entries
Read/Write Information panel 515 grouping 656
SR sort order 656
Process function 321 unsolicited sort order 672
SRRC 565 table type and triggers
startup messages 194 defining 126
STAT_TAG 300 defining for read requests 92
Definition of 288 Tag Definition dialog 51, 796, 798, 801, 805,
In GPI error messages 334 808, 850, 853, 862, 866, 883, 890–891
In list of functions 275 tag message format 186
Status tag naming considerations for EDI 39
Of incoming response 300 TAGVALUE 304
Of outgoing message 300 In incoming response 295
status elements TCP/IP network protocol 590
GPI response termination 318 Technical Notes 868
PMD 300 318 technical notes 794, 810
storing device data 865, 891–892 Technical Notes, Block Sizes 869
STRING 304 Technical Notes, Reads 868
With dontcare’ 298 Technical Notes, Writes 868
structure of manual 815 Telemecanique PLC
SUB configuring networks 760
Process function 322 configuring tables 737
SWAP configuring the external device definition
Process function 322 table 738
switch setup connecting to XWAY networks 759
Allen-Bradley 231 External Device Definition table 733
Siemens CP525 434 Logical Station Control tables 739
system configuration tables messages 783
KTDTL and NetDTL 602 overview 729
Telemecanique PLC 755 Read/Write tables 746
system messages 794 reference 759
system messages, see messages and codes slaves and theTW7 data fields 761
system configuration tables 755
TSX/PMX PLC data objects 768

Index I-921
 unsolicited data configuration example block write request sample 153
778 cascaded tables 172
testing and troubleshooting 177 considerations 40
testing communication path 652, 654 defining 126
testing your application 181 frequency 656
Texas Instruments guidelines 47
computations for 5TI sequencer ladder overtriggering 172
logic code 567 read control panel entries 659–662
data types 564 read operations considerations 45
DIP switches 524 read operations overview 35
DIP switches for TIWAY NIM 528 read request 90, 93
Logical Station Control panel 534 read request sample 118
Logical Station Information panel 537 read, block write, or exception write for
loop indexing 554 KTDTL and NetDTL 659
messages 569 read, defined 646
overview 523 read, how it works 647, 681
Read/Write Control panel 540 read, when to use 654
Read/Write Information panel 547 self-triggered tables 174
setup 524 timed 172
TIWAY Ser.Unilink Network or TSAP
Point-to-Point exception code errors 572 and ASCII strings 444
Unlink Setup Information panel 531 and Device Control Module 441
Unlink Setup table 530 defining pair 443
thick net bus 487 definition 441
thin net bus 488 Local 443
TI PLC point-to-point errors 577 Needed to define 443
timed triggering 172 Remote 443
timed-interval read 646, 654 TSAP pair 443
tips and techniques 163 see also Siemens H1
KTDTL and NetDTL 652 TSPRINTF
transferring data 35, 89–119, 123–154 Conversion function 325
transferring FactoryLink data to device 865, TSX/PMX PLC data objects in Telemecanique
891–892 PLC 768
Transport Service Access Points TWOSCOMP
TSAPs 441 Process function 321
triggers

I-922 FactoryLink 7.0

U for devices and ports 71–87
Unlink Setup Information panel write analog element
Texas Instruments 531 to holding register 137
Unlink Setup table to memory register 149
Texas Instruments 530 write operations
unprotected write command 671 block write request 127
unsolicited messages combination 132
backlog queue 605 complete trigger 129
pending 607 configuring using the Tag Definition dia-
unsolicited mode 299 log 51
unsolicited read digital element value to coil register 147
and TSAP pairs 442 digital element value to holding register
completing a panel 96 138
concepts 670 disable trigger 129
data packets 671, 674 disabling 861
data type 678 exception write request 130
defined 646 exception write requests 125
diagram 91 floating-point or long analog element val-
how it works 648, 683 ue to holding register 143
KTDTL and NetDTL 670 in KTDTL and NetDTL 649
message forma 670 indicating completion of 862
overview 36, 46, 91 indicating state of 862
sample of 121 message element value to holding register
when to use 655 145
unsolicited receive 823 overview 123
priority of 127, 860
processing of 168
V retrieving data 37
Variable characters 299 samples 153
verifying proper communications 182 state trigger 129
triggering 861
W write priority 658
Windows NT Ethernet
setting operating system parameters 53 X
worksheet XOR
for COM cable connections 62 Definition 302

Index I-923
 definition 302
in PROCESS 292
process function 322
XWAY networks, see Telemecanique PLC

I-924 FactoryLink 7.0