Data from PLC to DATABASE

Hi,

What will be the cheap and best way to log data from PLC (let that be Modbus supported) to SQL server? I don't want SCADA or Historian.

Need your valuable suggestions...


Rgds,
Randheer

Randheer,
Also related to your other post - the Ignition solution would most likely be the SQL Bridge Limited module ($950). You could evaluate the whole thing with a trial.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=52709&page=2

Alternatively, do searches on "OPC data loggers", keeping in mind that you may need to purchase both the data logger utility and the OPC server (if you don't have a license for software compatible with your device).

I assume that "SQL server" is referring to Microsoft SQL Server...

I haven't heard of free packages that do what you're looking for. Some do exist that provide visualization capabilities (like Archie's VB based AdvancedHMI project). Some also exist with Excel spreadsheets (like the RSView->Excel over DDE), but that path is a nightmare to maintain.

randheerp said:

Hi,

What will be the cheap and best way to log data from PLC (let that be Modbus supported) to SQL server? I don't want SCADA or Historian.

Need your valuable suggestions...


Rgds,
Randheer

Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with Nathan; Ignition's SQLBridge is the easiest, most robust database-oriented automation software system I have used.

If your PLC supports Modbus/TCP, you are all set; the free OPC-UA driver works with Modbus/TCP.

If your PLC supports Modbus/RTU over serial, you will need a Modbus TCP->RTU converter. There are many models on the market, including from vendors like Digi, Moxa, and Lantronix.

I'm a fan of your replies. Its absolutely clear surferb.


Thanks ken.

I am not necessarily trying to be a cheerleader for Ignition, it's just that I am working on a different product this week and have spent literally days stitching together a laborious correlation between an HMI panel's data log, a PLC's embedded data log, some custom VB software, and an Excel report.

If this system was built using Ignition, everything would be in one SQL database. Finding the time and sequence of a set of events would be nearly trivial.

As it is, I have to spend literally ten minutes holding down the "scroll" key, then taking photographs of the alarm history on a touchscreen, then matching their timestamps (not synchronized except to a couple of minutes) to an Excel file.

I would still have my other firmware problems and calibration problems and training problems. But I would have no database problems.

@Ken - thanks for the clarification regarding Modbus/RTU over serial!