A question to all you multiple platform users out there.

Tharon

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Jan 2007
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I've got a question to those of you out there who use many different PLC platforms.

I've had to install many different PLC, HMI, Vision system softwares on my laptop. Over a dozen total from many different name brands.

I'm curious if you multi-users out there use a single laptop for everything, or if you split it up? I've never had any issues, but I have noticed a significant communication speed difference between my main laptop (with everything), and another similar one with just 1 software package installed.
 
I use just one laptop for the automation software, and I think any PC slows down with more "stuff" on it. The registry grows, the file system grows, the amount of stuff resident in memory grows. It's probably easier to buy a faster computer.

Some others have suggested using virtual machines (like MS Virtual PC, VMWare, etc.) to keep separate machine images to deal with the problem you're describing. However, the virtualization itself certainly introduces a performance hit, and then you have to worry about how to map your serial ports, etc. to the virtual machine, and all the problems that might cause. For instance, if you run two virtual machines at once, which one can control the serial port?

I personally use VMware, but not for my automation software. I use them for my more resource intensive tasks like SQL Server and Visual Studio. For automation, I prefer the convenience of being able to hibernate the laptop, open it up on site and be up and running in 30 seconds, and everything is right there available, no need to boot or resume another virtual machine inside that. Plus I keep my virtual machines on an external hard drive, which is one more inconvenience if I'm on the plant floor.
 
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I have everything on one PC... I do use VMWare and DosBox but for the most part, you can see I have a lot running on this PC

The KEY (I think) is to not have 'every thing' running at once, under ControlPanel/AdminTools/Services you can set a lot of your setting to manual, this means that the program will only start when you tell it to, just about all software manufactures want their software to run all the time, this does slow down you PC and it will get hung up or the blue screen of death a lot

Be careful as some of these need to run or your PC will not...

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I have all that is possible in my PC. That is everything that is not a server, and need to be running.
Some servers I put in manual, so that they don't start unless I want to.
Step7 and other Siemens products are installed in a nice VM. for VMWare, because they always want to be running.
For HMIs and some PLCs software, I had to make VM because sometimes, for compatibility, I need different versions. (Cimiplicity 6.0, 6.1 sp1, 6.1 sp 5, 7.0 - Machine edition 4.0, 5.5)
Also, I have some old DOS programs in a VM with win98.

So... VM is for me a great solution. Like they say, it has its toll in performance, but is best than having a second laptop an have to think which I take today.
I have an external disk full of VM. They also took a lot of space!
 

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