Allen Bradley Kinetic via Ethernet - Network Requirements

Currently, I have a machine that utilizes an Ntron 7018 network switch to connect:

1. Control Logix L72S/P w/EN2TR
2. AB Panel View
3. 1734-AENT with safety modules
4. qty. 8 of VFD's controlled via ethernet

I need to upgrade one of the VFD's to a Kinetic 5500 servo. Do I have to use Allen Bradley's Stratix ethernet switch when doing motion via ethernet? Especially since its only 1 axis of motion.

We have done several jobs over the last 2-3 years with jobs containing upwards of 40 axis of motion on one network. THOSE we did use the Stratix switches, and had NO issues.

I just need to know if its feasible to keep the Ntron switch in place.

I get that some of you have the same thought as me...Upgrade the switch to eliminate any headaces, and why change what has worked in the past. But my question is more of a WHY do I have to. What CIP protocols could I find in a different switch?

Thanks Guys!

Welcome to the Forum!
You might or might be not be able to use the existing (unmanaged?) switch; the culprit is the HMI application running on the same subnet as IO, Safety IO and and a CIP Motion Axis; you will need to maintain a consistent 2ms connection RPI for the Kinetix drive module in order to use it for a motion application; the Broadcast nature of any HMI application might conflict with the required high rate of data exchange.
An alternative to the Stratix managed switch install will be the addition of a dedicated 1756-EN(x)T Ethernet/IP bridge within the controller chassis and the use of this subnet for highly critical data exchange (alternatively, you could connect the Kinetix Module to the existing subnet and move the HMI to the newly implemented one); this setup (keeping the IO and HMI communications segregated) will ensure proper functionality and further development capabilities(HMI and /or IO additions).

My understanding is that CIP Motion requires a switch that supports IEEE1588 V2 to sync the times of the PLC/Drive. This minimizes jitter to so that you have a more deterministic cycle time.

Historically it has also been recommended for a switch to support IGMP Snooping for EIP, but this isn't necessary if you are using the newer unicast messaging.

Altought recommended you don't need a managed switch...

I've seen networks with 50 servos running on stratix 2000...

I don't think you need a stratix if you plug the drive directly into one of the EN2TR ports. I recently did a 5 K5700 system where they ended up plugging directly in to a L33ERM and the system worked fine. Our local Rockwell guys blessed it before we did it.

Thanks for all the great info guys. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I wondered if I could of come out of the 2nd port of the EN2TR directly to my servo. Then the 1st port can stay the way it is. It would only take about 25ft of network cable to accomplish too.

I never knew that the HMI blasts that amount of traffic on a network. We have another project where there is a mixture of PanelViews and Kinetics on the same subnet and our RPI is getting close to the uncomfortable level. (can't remember the exact number). I wonder how much would change if I VLAN or completely segregate the HMI's back to their own ENxT?? Can anyone point me towards a white paper or knowledge base reference, shedding some light on this??

How many if you guys keep HMI's on segregated from motion networks????

ds7891 said:

I wondered if I could of come out of the 2nd port of the EN2TR directly to my servo. Then the 1st port can stay the way it is. It would only take about 25ft of network cable to accomplish too.

Click to expand...

I have been using this on L33ERM and L36ERM processors with anywhere from 1 to 13 K5500 drives. 1 port goes to my switch, and 1 goes to the first K5500 in the chain. Some of those machines have a full licence Stratix 5700 in them, and when I set the drives up initially through the switch; there was no difference in performance.