Rslogix 5000 Firmware update questions

calinorth

Member
Join Date
Apr 2015
Location
Stockton
Posts
21
I want to update the firmware 15 to 20 on a ControlLogix 5561 Processor, Cat series 1756 L61 B. Is this possible? There are other components connected to the PLC such as A PanelView Plus 1000 and Allen Bradley ethernet switch. Will I have to update these components as well? Is this worth the Hassle?
 
Yes, the L61 supports up to v20. Keep in mind, you will have to have RSLogix5000 v20 installed, 20.05 preferably. Your PanelView won't notice the difference. What else is in your CLX rack? Most likely, nothing in your CLX rack will care either, I'm always a bit uneasy about ControlNet/DeviceNet, or other specialty cards.

Worth the upgrade? If there isn't something specific you are addressing with the upgrade, then I'd say it probably isn't worth it. I guess Rockwell addressed some security related issues in the newer version of v20, so you can take that into consideration. At the end of the day, your machine is working and producing. Assuming no issues, your machine will still be working and producing after the upgrade. So no gain there. Any hiccups will just be a net negative.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I think RA added little things to v20 software that might make a better experience for users. I think they had tag filtering in the tag database, which they didn't have in v15. Things like that.
 
Yes, the L61 supports up to v20. Keep in mind, you will have to have RSLogix5000 v20 installed, 20.05 preferably. Your PanelView won't notice the difference. What else is in your CLX rack? Most likely, nothing in your CLX rack will care either, I'm always a bit uneasy about ControlNet/DeviceNet, or other specialty cards.

Worth the upgrade? If there isn't something specific you are addressing with the upgrade, then I'd say it probably isn't worth it. I guess Rockwell addressed some security related issues in the newer version of v20, so you can take that into consideration. At the end of the day, your machine is working and producing. Assuming no issues, your machine will still be working and producing after the upgrade. So no gain there. Any hiccups will just be a net negative.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I think RA added little things to v20 software that might make a better experience for users. I think they had tag filtering in the tag database, which they didn't have in v15. Things like that.


This is important to learn! why upgrade when the upgrade is just a grade.... there is no up.

I have had customers ask me if it was worth it to match the revisions on all their equipment, and I asked them why would they want to do that.

They simply said, "well, isn't it easier for people to deal with if everything is the same?".... From the beginning it is, but after the fact it isn't. Unless their own in-house team only has a couple of permanent license version of rslogix, then there isn't much to gain if no errors have been corrected.
 
This is important to learn! why upgrade when the upgrade is just a grade.... there is no up.

I have had customers ask me if it was worth it to match the revisions on all their equipment, and I asked them why would they want to do that.

They simply said, "well, isn't it easier for people to deal with if everything is the same?".... From the beginning it is, but after the fact it isn't. Unless their own in-house team only has a couple of permanent license version of rslogix, then there isn't much to gain if no errors have been corrected.

It does if the IT department requires the programming laptops run Win10/11. RSLogix 5K v20.05 is the only version that runs native on Win10/11 so upgrading the processor may be a requirement just for that reason. I've run into this with bigger customers.
 
It does if the IT department requires the programming laptops run Win10/11. RSLogix 5K v20.05 is the only version that runs native on Win10/11 so upgrading the processor may be a requirement just for that reason. I've run into this with bigger customers.

IT should never, ever dictate what firmware is in a controller, because of laptop OS

The sane man would just get a VM for that old version.
 
Last edited:
IT should never, ever dictate what firmware is in a controller, because of laptop OS

The sane man would just get a VM for that old version.
You'd be surprised on the tight grip IT has at bigger organizations. VMs are absolutely NOT allowed.

Its not a matter of IT dictating the PLC firmware, its the control they have over what can be run on their company laptops, and anything that connects to their network.
 
I would say upgrading from 15 to 20 is a worthwhile upgrade on the software side. There were a lot of usability improvements added in-between those versions.

The one thing to watch for is the system clock was changed in either version 15 or 16. I don't recall which it was. The DateTime attribute was changed to reflect UTC time instead of your local time. The LocalDateTime attribute was added to be your local time (adjusted for time zone and daylight savings). Any logic you had that was using DateTime would have to be changed to LocalDateTime. It does warn you about this when the program is upgraded.

OG
 
You'd be surprised on the tight grip IT has at bigger organizations. VMs are absolutely NOT allowed.

Its not a matter of IT dictating the PLC firmware, its the control they have over what can be run on their company laptops, and anything that connects to their network.

I bow to your experience.

We do supply a few engineering laptops to customers loaded with what they need, but invoiced as 'service call'

Always ways around it!
 
It does if the IT department requires the programming laptops run Win10/11. RSLogix 5K v20.05 is the only version that runs native on Win10/11 so upgrading the processor may be a requirement just for that reason. I've run into this with bigger customers.
I've just installed every RSLogix/Logix Designer version from v10 through v33 on Windows 11 ARM, except v17 which is currently playing hard-to-get. v26 and v27 failed to launch but I'm optimistic that with some gentle persuasion I'll get them working.

Prior to this I had all of those versions installed and working on Windows Server 2019, which is more or less the same as Windows 10 for compatibility purposes.
 
I've just installed every RSLogix/Logix Designer version from v10 through v33 on Windows 11 ARM, except v17 which is currently playing hard-to-get. v26 and v27 failed to launch but I'm optimistic that with some gentle persuasion I'll get them working.

Prior to this I had all of those versions installed and working on Windows Server 2019, which is more or less the same as Windows 10 for compatibility purposes.

I bet you were an administrator! Makes a difference when IT won't let you rise above a regular user. A regular use won't get a Server Edition either. I feel sorry for some of my customers, I been called in on service calls to upgrade firmware (rarely) just because they couldn't. I just nod and say 'I feel for ya'.
 
Oh yes, I'm fortunate enough to work in a small enough company that all the higher ups recognise the necessity of keeping IT hands off our OT laptops.

I know someone else who lost 8 hours on a crucial commissioning timeline only to find out that it was because overnight IT had blocked the BOOTP protocol on all their laptops.

And yes, there are lots of tricks involved in getting that software working on newer OS's, that you have to be an admin to do.
 
That's probably why so many engineering departments have secret laptops :D

Speaking as the IT guy in this situation, If they didn't keep breaking their 'secret' laptops and asking us to fix them, we wouldn't care.

But because they want support, We're asking folks to standardize on a 'limited' number of FW revisions so support isn't a nightmare.
We do just provide a VM now w/ software preinstalled for them, Since patch revisions turned into a nightmare w/ every engineer having a different version of ViewSE and its patches installed and isn't THAT a cluster to fix after the fact.
 
It does if the IT department requires the programming laptops run Win10/11. RSLogix 5K v20.05 is the only version that runs native on Win10/11 so upgrading the processor may be a requirement just for that reason. I've run into this with bigger customers.


I have V18 and V19 on a Win10 machine. Forget if I had to download a patch or something to make it work but it definitely is possible.
 

Similar Topics

I am working for a client and currently installed on their computer studio 5000. they need to give me a backup file on their plc with rslogix 5000...
Replies
1
Views
405
I am working for a client and currently installed on their computer studio 5000. they need to give me a backup file on their plc with rslogix 5000...
Replies
10
Views
753
Hello Gentlemen, I am having this weird issue. I can see the controller on Rslinx via ethernet. when I open the RSlogx 5k, open RSWho, I still...
Replies
3
Views
1,928
Need help understanding how to choose firmware and Revision on RSlogix 5000. Does the Firmware in the controller needs to match exactly with the...
Replies
4
Views
2,264
Hey, Can you guys help explain this to me, I have always seem to get this confused. The question is whats the difference between the Rslogix 5000...
Replies
2
Views
5,097
Back
Top Bottom