USB to Ethnet adapter Windows 7

Hi,

I was recently given a new laptop by my IT department. The old computer was a Panasonic CF-51 Toughbook running Windows XP, the new one is a HP Probook 6560b running Windows 7 32 bit. I used to use a Belkin F5D5050 USB to Ethernet adapter to communicate to our Compactlogix processors. The Belkin installed on my new laptop using the Vista driver but I can't see any processors in RS Linx. My IT guy got me a Linksys USB300M which does not come with a Windows 7 driver but is compatible according to Microsoft and did install without any problems, but I still could not see any controllers. I have tried both the Ethernet and Ethernet IP drivers, I verified I have the correct IP address assigned to the adapter, I verified that I have the adapter assigned to the IP driver in linx, everthing is set how it used to work. Any ideas what I am missing?

thanks,

I am not sure about your problem but may I ask why are you using this adapter instead of going directly out of the ethernet port on your laptop?

I had an adapter so that I could manually assign it an IP address that enabled me to communicate with most of our processors, and I did not have to change the port on my laptop and then change it back to "auto assign", so that I could link to our LAN, every time I have to go out on the floor. I been trying the last few months to learn more about about ethernet IP, so if there is a better way to do this, I am open to suggestions.

thanks,

When troubleshooting RSLinx drivers, you first need to get the basic TCP/IP and Ethernet connectivity out of the way.

1. From the command line, PING the controller and be sure you get a response.
2. From an Internet browser, type the controller's IP address and see if the embedded web page responds.
3. Use the free utility "TCPing" to probe TCP Port 44818 (for modern A-B controllers).

Once you've verified basic TCP/IP connectivity, you can start looking at the RSLinx drivers.

In Windows 7 the usual culprit is the Windows Firewall. A-B has a utility that usually runs during RSLinx installation to configure the Windows Firewall to allow through browsing traffic. It should be in the FactoryTalk Tools directory.

If you are using multiple TCP/IP adapters (like WiFi and wired Ethernet, or a built-in NIC and a USB NIC), Windows frequently doesn't know which network to use. If you can, be sure that your automation network is on a different IP subnet than your office or enterprise network.

To troubleshoot this, it's usually as simple as disconnecting or disabling the enterprise network connection and running only with the automation network.

Asmaint2, I have never considered your approach but I may check into it. I have used some free software called IPSWITCHER.
Here is a link
http://www.eusing.com/ipswitch/free_ip_switcher.htm

asmaint2,

What driver are you using with your USB adapter in RSLinx, what com port was it using?

You can try one of my cables the drivers are built in Windows 7 on most systems builds and they are just plug and play

Can you post a link to the TCPing your using? I noted there are many diferent ones out there by many people.

Thanks!

Ken Roach said:

When troubleshooting RSLinx drivers, you first need to get the basic TCP/IP and Ethernet connectivity out of the way.

1. From the command line, PING the controller and be sure you get a response.
2. From an Internet browser, type the controller's IP address and see if the embedded web page responds.
3. Use the free utility "TCPing" to probe TCP Port 44818 (for modern A-B controllers).

Once you've verified basic TCP/IP connectivity, you can start looking at the RSLinx drivers.

In Windows 7 the usual culprit is the Windows Firewall. A-B has a utility that usually runs during RSLinx installation to configure the Windows Firewall to allow through browsing traffic. It should be in the FactoryTalk Tools directory.

If you are using multiple TCP/IP adapters (like WiFi and wired Ethernet, or a built-in NIC and a USB NIC), Windows frequently doesn't know which network to use. If you can, be sure that your automation network is on a different IP subnet than your office or enterprise network.

To troubleshoot this, it's usually as simple as disconnecting or disabling the enterprise network connection and running only with the automation network.

Click to expand...

I use USB to Ethernet unit.The main reason I use it, is when I want to take over network from remote.One port connected to the web and the other connected to the line.It not work well with every computer.I don't know why.
It work well with my HP but not with my Dell.Since it is not so common use I didn't pay much attention for that.
I find very nice Mark post this software would help to switch networks very easy.That something I do a lot.

The TCPing utility I use is by Eli Fulkerson. It's the first hit for a Google search with on the word "TCPing".

http://www.elifulkerson.com/projects/tcping.php

I've found this to be very useful when troubleshooting multi-network or VPN systems.

It sounds like the hardware is setup and working. The problem is windows now has two possible paths to communicate on. Windows has a real problem when it comes to figuring out which one to use.

Let's assume that your 'normal' gateway address is 10.0.0.1 and your 'PLC' gateway address is 192.168.0.1. You want to talk to the PLC at 192.168.7.50. Which gateway should Windows send the data out? You'd hope 192.168.0.1, however Windows often uses 10.0.0.1, the default geteway.

Fortunately it is simple to tell windows which gateway to send a particular address. The following command will cause windows to send all data destined for 192.168.x.x to the gateway 192.168.0.1 regardless of where it thinks it ought to go.

If you are on other IP addresses simply substitute the appropriate values. 192.168.0.0 represents the subnet you wish to route; mask 255.255.0.0 represents the subnet size you wish to route; and 192.168.0.1 represents the IP address of the second ethernet adapter's gateway.

route add 'network' mask 'subnet mask' 'gateway'


If this works you will probably want to add this route to routing table permanently by using the -p switch.


I'm running a Windows 7 machine with and use both the built-in ethernet port connected to the internet and a Trendnet TUw-ET100 USB ethernet adapter and this is how I configured my machine.

Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. The problem was the Windows Firewall. I tried running the Firewall Configuration Utility and it gave me a bunch of errors, so I reinstalled RSLinx 2.59, and now everything works fine.

Windows firewall sux and is a real PITA disable it and add years to your life in reduced stress. If you are behind a corporate firewall then it is not needed anyway.