Dialing into SLC 505 using modem??

Hi, I have a quick question for you guys. I have a network of 6 SLC 505's all connected via ethernet and to a main 16 port switch. I'm trying to set up a way for me to be able to dial into this network from the office, and be able to troubleshoot. There is a phone line already at the panel, and we have a laptop and modem ready. My question is: how do i set up the laptop/modem so that i can dial into it, then be able to access any of the plcs in the network? Also, is a laptop needed, or is there a way to dial into the PLC directly, then jump to the other plcs once connected. thanks

You could probably forget the laptop and use THIS .

What we have here is an outstanding opportunity for a PPP/Ethernet bridging device.

3COM makes on of these that is very popular, called the 3C886. It combines a phone modem (56K capacity, there
s a two-line version!) with a small Ethernet 10/100 switch and router. When you dial in to the 3C886, your dialup connection receives an IP address that is on the network with the switch.

The practical upshot of this is that you make a dialup connection to the 3C886 and then fire up RSLinx with it's AB_ETH or EtherNet/IP drivers and awaaaay you go ! It's much faster than a 9600 baud or 19.2 kbaud dialup connection to a DF1 port, and certainly faster than sharing such a connection through Df1/Ethernet passthrough on an SLC-5/05. The only thing that needs to reside at the panel with the Ethernet switch is the 3C886.

This has rudimentary security; you can configure it to dial you back, and there's some passwording. Fine for 90% of the business.

Rockwell introduced a small, hardened version of this sort of thing that's in the same plastic and small footprint as their remote access modems. Gold-plated price tag, to be sure, but then they can actually support it and there's less danger of obsolescence or a bad wall-wart power supply taking down your system than there is with stuff you buy at CompUSA. I think it has a 9300-series part number; a salesman would recognize it if you mentioned a "dialup Ethernet modem".

If you need really good security I have a couple of customers having outstanding success with SonicWall SOHO3 VPN appliances. One guy estimates he saves three plane flights a month down the Coast with these devices, and his consulting clients love him for keeping his expenses low. That, plus he doesn't miss baseball season.

We have industrial type modem ZYPCOM model Z32t-SE Data/Fax Modem, (modem connected to CHANNEL 0 ) and software: REMOTE ACCESS TUTORIAL v 2.0 for Remote Access modem kits: 1747CHORAD(1) ; 1785CHORAD(1) ; 1785KERAD(1) ; 1770KF2RAD(1) ; 1747KERAD(1). TELEPHONE SUPPORT 8:00 - 5:00 est (440)-646-6800
May be this will help you
VUFU
P.S. I'm not sure, but I think that modems should be same from both sides ( PC & PLC )

Thanks for the help. It turns out that we actually have a few of the rockwell automation remote access modems in our warehouse. Has anyone used these before? I'm guessing that it will connect to a PLC via the serial port. My question is: if i dial into the modem, access the plc though the serial port, can i then jump to other PLC's on the network?

Thanks once again

You really do not need the AB modem. I am using a US Robotics 5686 External fax Modem and the modem in my laptop into the RS 232 port of a SLC 500. It takes some playing around with the dip switches but it is not that bad to set up. I f you want more info on this path e-mail me and could send you additional info.
The AB stuff is expensive. The US Robotics modem is about 100 bucks plus a cable. I am not 100% sure but I think if you are plugged into the RS 232 port you can only access that processor.

Jim
GO JETS

A-B just resells those Zypcom modems (like Eddie says, with the gold plated price tag) because the're a *known* quantity. Tech Support can spend many times the cost of a cheap modem teaching people how to program initialization strings into their SLC-5/03's and it is a big drag on resources to try to figure out every modem anyone could buy and attach to a PLC. "But it's a really common one !" is something I hear, when what they mean is "It was on clearance at Computer City !" or "I found it in a drawer from 1992 !". The Zypcoms can be configured for default settings with just four DIP switches that are on the front.

But yes, a regular phone modem will only get you into one CPU. You could *maybe* use DF1->Ethernet passthrough but that will be just a trickle. Plus the DF1 port doesn't support RSLinx autoconfigure when you turn on Ethernet passthrough, which is a pain when you're trying to start from scratch with a messed up comms configuration.

Use a Rockwell dial-in switch or a 3COM 3C886 or an Intel NetModem and you get full 56K speed (if your phone line will support it, usually 33.6 or so for long distance) plus the ability to access any one of the SLC-5/05's on Ethernet. I have a customer using the 3C886 in every panel he ships. Hi Freeman !

hi. i'm having trouble configuring my 3COM lan modem. I have it connected to a 16 port switch in the panel. I'm able to dial into the 3COM unit, but i can't access anything connected to the switch. Does anyone have any pointers on setting up the 3C886?

You should get an IP address assigned to your dialled-in PC by the 3C886. Get a C:\ prompt and type "IPCONFIG" to find out what that is.

That IP address needs to be on the same subnet as the SLC-5/05 controllers attached to that switch.

Then you need to have a list of those SLC-5/05 IP addresses in your RSLinx AB_ETH driver configuration.

thats my problem actually. All of my plc's use the ip address 192.168.2.*

Even my Lan Modem is using 192.168.2.*

But when i dial in, i'm getting assigned an ip address of 192.168.254.254 from the lan modem. I tried setting my ip address to a static one in the same domain at the PLC's, but the lan modem wont let me connect with i try this. I have DHCP disabled on the modem. And same problem.

Also, should I be setting the gateway on the PLC's to be the addresss of the lan modem?

thanks for the help. If i get this working, it'll save me a 2 hour drive each way at least once a week.

Yes, you should set the "Default Gateway" on the SLC-5/05 to be the IP address of your LAN modem.

As for how to get the 3C886 to assign you something other than what you're getting, I dunno. I don't have one of those to test.

I have used the 3COM LAN Modem for connecting to a Yokogawa DAQ station and it worked just fine. I would like to use one to connect to a SLC 5/05. I tried it this morning and it caused problems with our corporate network. Originally I had the LAN modem set up to do DHCP and it actually bumped a couple of people off the network. I am not an IT expert so I don't know if this device will not work for me or if I just don't know how to use it properly. Right now I have a SLC 5/05 and a Micrologix 1200 using a 1761-NET-ENI. Both of these are connected to our company network through a switch and have static IP addresses. I had thought about running a separate network just for the controllers buy our IT guy said I didn't need to do that and he of course was right. I thought I could just give the 3COM modem an IP address and then just dial into it and be able to see the controllers. Will this work or would I be better off using one of the AB Remote Access Ethernet Modems? It would be nice to use the 3COM since I already have it.

Randy A.