NET-ENI Messaging

Looking to send message instructions from several SLC-500's
That all have NET-ENI's Between the SLC and a Panelview +
If I address the nodes to match the IP Addresses in ENI Utility
If the write messages were coming from 3 of the SLC's each with their NET-ENI set up as
Node-2 & IP, Node-3 & IP, Node-4 & IP and the 4th SLC is set up as Node-1 & IP with 3 Read Messages. In the Target device box on the Write Message screen Set Up Screen would I enter a 0 and On the Read Message Target Device Set Up Screen would I enter
2-3 & 4 as I would if I were not using the NET-ENI & do I change the node addresses in the Chanel Configuration to Match the one in NET-ENI or leave them all as 1
I have only done messaging one before with the 1747 AIC THANKS

Your post was a little hard to follow, but I think I know what's going on.

For those of you who are unfamiliar; the 1761-NET-ENI is a DF1 Serial <-> EtherNet/IP interface, built to make the older SLC-500 and MicroLogix controllers accessible over Ethernet, before the 1100/1400 were on the market.

Because the operating system of the serial-only MicroLogix don't know anything about IP addresses, you must configure a table of DF1 addresses that equate to IP addresses.

This table can be configured by the Net-ENI utility and stored in nonvolatile memory inside the Net-ENI, or you can use special MSG instructions in the PLC to configure it. I recommend starting with the Net-ENI utility.

That DF1/IP table is why you can address the remote SLC's as though they were DF1 devices. The Net-ENI takes the outgoing message, looks at the DF1 address, and forwards it to the IP address over Ethernet.

In RSLogix 500, you can leave the actual DF1 address of each SLC-500 serial port at the default value; The Net-ENI only (ONLY !) supports DF1 Full-Duplex Point-to-Point, where the DF1 addresses are actually ignored.

BUT... keep reading.

The 1761-NET-ENI only supports 6 TCP Connections.

It can support 2 initiated by the serial device (Outgoing), 2 initiated by an Ethernet device (Incoming) and 2 either direction.

By my count you've exceeded that with this network design because the "SLC1" controller needs to make:

Outgoing TCP Connection to SLC 2.
Outgoing TCP Connection to SLC 3.
Outgoing TCP Connection to SLC 4.
Incoming TCP Connection from SLC2.
Incoming TCP Connection from SLC3.
Incoming TCP Connection from SLC4.
Incoming TCP Connection from PanelView Plus.
Incoming TCP Connection from Programming PC.

The effects of such a capacity overload are very frustrating; it tends to work until you connect all the controllers, or until you connect the HMI, or fails if one controller gets disconnected and you connect a troubleshooting PC.

I think that the best solution would be to upgrade the SLC1 controller to an SLC-5/05. The smallest SLC-5/05 model (1747-L551) supports 16 TCP connections.

Replacing the 1761-NET-ENI with a Digi One IAP is often suggested because the Digi One IAP supports more simultaneous TCP connections, but as far as I know the Digi One IAP does not support the outgoing DF1/EtherNetIP messages.

Thank You
SLC-1 only needs to receive from 2-3 &4 + talk to a panelview
SLC's 2-3-&4 Need to each send one message to SLS-1 talk to their Panelview +
I was doing this because the Panelview +'s are not CE modules and My plant wanted to collect data. I was going to collect the Data from each SLC on one (4 integer's each SLC)
and run them through a Panelview + CE running Datastore Plus
I could upgrade each PV+ to CE by changing the logic module but I was hoping I could also user the Ethernet Network to go on line from my office instead of the plant floor.
I'm sure there are a lot of options,
If this would work would the the Node address of the target device on the read messages be 2-3 &4

Looking at this today, Would it be possible to to just add a PV+CE and network all systems together from their Ethernet Switches through another switch with the PV+CE terminal on it and add a shortcut to each SLC in Linx Enterprise on the PV+CE, then run my DataStore Plus Active X on the PV+CE to collect data.

Each machine currently consists of an SLC 532 linked through a NET-ENI to an Ethernet switch that has a 2711P-T10C4D1 on it

I agree that it would be much more practical to network all the controllers together and run a single datalogging station.

That would require less programming work, be easier to troubleshoot, and would not add as much of a burden to the Net-ENI modules.

There are certainly other options for logging data than the PV+CE and the DataStore Plus ActiveX, but if you want to stick with just this platform, it will probably do the job.

Thank You I will give it a try, Nothing pressing and its all new to me so I want to learn it and the IT geeks here write some pretty nice stuff we are working with not only reports and graphs with the data but they put 42" flat screens at each machine center giving stats
and can have an overhead view of machine showing locations of jam-Safety gate open- estop and what nots I already have these programed on PV+ but the reports will give us more tools on where we need to focus on uptime