EtherNet/IP

The EtherNet/IP PLC component is a Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) tag client for Allen-Bradley (Rockwell) programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It connects to one PLC and polls the PLC tags you list in its point map. It publishes each one as a Profinity tag. It supports ControlLogix, CompactLogix, Micro800, PLC-5, and SLC controllers.

flowchart LR
    PLC["Allen-Bradley PLC"]
    subgraph Profinity
        Component["EtherNet/IP PLC"] --> Tags
    end
    PLC --> Component

The EtherNet/IP PLC component in Profinity polls the PLC tags in its point map from one PLC and publishes each as a Profinity tag

Licence required

The EtherNet/IP plugin requires the Industrial Protocols licensed component group, and Install an industrial protocol plugin explains how to obtain, install, and licence it.

Add an EtherNet/IP PLC to your Profile from the Industrial Protocols group in the component catalogue, as described in How to add a component to your profile. Add one component for each PLC you want to read. You can change the settings in the Communications settings section later from the component's Change Settings menu action.

You list each PLC tag by name in the point map. The component does not browse the PLC's CIP objects to discover tags for you.

Communications settings

Setting	Description
Name	The name of the component. Must be unique within the profile.
Gateway	The IP address of the PLC, or of the gateway module that the PLC sits behind. Required. The default is `127.0.0.1`.
CIP path	The route to the PLC's central processing unit (CPU), as comma-separated values. The default is `1,0`.
PLC kind	The family of PLC: `ControlLogix` (the default), `CompactLogix`, `Micro800`, `PLC-5` or `SLC`.
Poll interval (ms)	How often the point map is read, in milliseconds. Between `50` and `600000`. The default is `1000`.
Request timeout (ms)	How long Profinity waits for the PLC to answer a request, in milliseconds. Between `50` and `60000`. The default is `1000`.
Reconnect delay (ms)	How long Profinity waits between connection attempts, in milliseconds. Between `0` and `600000`. The default is `2000`.
Auto Connect	Connects to the PLC automatically when the profile is loaded. Off by default, as described in Connections and reconnecting.

Profinity sends the CIP path to the PLC as you enter it:

The default 1,0 is the backplane (1) and slot 0. For a CPU in slot 2 of the same chassis, enter 1,2.
Leave it empty to send no path.
For a CPU reached through a bridge module, enter the route as pairs of port and address, one pair for each hop.
A PLC-5 or SLC controller on EtherNet/IP needs no path. These controllers ignore a path unless it is a route through a Data Highway Plus (DH+) bridge. The default 1,0 therefore does no harm, and you can clear it.
Micro800 controllers ignore this setting even when it is filled in.

Profinity keeps trying to connect when the PLC is down at start and after a connection is lost, as described in Connections and reconnecting.

Point map

The point map lists the PLC tags to read. Each row becomes one tag.

Column	Description
Name	The name of the tag, published under the component's `Points` tags. Use a unique name for each row.
PLC tag	The tag name in the PLC. For ControlLogix, CompactLogix and Micro800 this is the Logix tag name. For PLC-5 and SLC it is the file and element, for example `N7:0`.
Data type	How the value is read: `Boolean`, `Word`, `SignedWord`, `Dword` (the default), `SignedDword` or `Real`.
Writable	Allows Profinity to write the PLC tag from the Profinity tag. Off by default.
Unit	An optional unit label for the tag.

The data types map to the element size in the PLC, and to the type of the Profinity tag.

Data type	Size	Profinity tag
`Boolean`	1 byte	Boolean
`Word` / `SignedWord`	2 bytes (unsigned / signed)	Integer
`Dword` / `SignedDword`	4 bytes (unsigned / signed)	Integer
`Real`	4 bytes (floating point)	Number

Choose a data type that matches the PLC tag's type, otherwise the value is misread. Each row reads one element of the size given for its data type.

Writing to a PLC

A write can change the controlled process, so turn Writable on only for tags that must be set from Profinity.

Dashboard

The component dashboard shows the connection STATUS and whether the PLC is CONNECTED. It also shows the number of values read (RECEIVED) and values written (SENT). Use the Connect / Disconnect menu action to start or stop polling manually. Viewing the dashboard requires the Security administration permission, described under Roles and permissions.

Polled values behave like any other tag, so they can be shown on a dashboard, logged, watched by a rule, or read by a script.

If a point shows bad quality

If a point cannot be read, its tag is marked as bad quality. Check the usual causes in this table before reading the Log for the reason.

Cause	Fix
The PLC tag name does not exist in the PLC.	Enter the tag name as it appears in the PLC.
The Data type does not match the PLC tag's type.	Choose the data type that matches the PLC tag's type.
The CIP path does not lead to the CPU.	Enter the route to the CPU, as described under the settings table.
The PLC kind does not match the controller.	Select the family of the controller.

Refer to Connections and reconnecting for how the Log records failed reads and recovery.