How do I download the latest, most complete firmware kits from rockwell?

PreLC · Apr 30, 2019

Hello everyone!

I work in a big plant with a lot of controllers/HMI/equipment that I don't have a catalog of. I want to be future ready for when I need to replace a controller and need to upgrade it's firmware, and would like to have a firmware kit(Similar to the ones that come with the Logix Designer installation)

Please help!
-PreLC

BlueAltezza · Apr 30, 2019

Stock up on booze and/or drugs, then sacrifice all of your children and possibly a few organs if it's AB stuff.

You should create the catalog of equipment that you don't have and note current firmware. That should help you focus on where to go on the websites and what to download one category at a time. It will be time consuming, but if you're going to be there a long time I'm sure it will be a great investment of time.

Firejo · Apr 30, 2019

You have to be careful with firmware upgrades especially when working with Logix Controllers. The firmware version is tied very tightly to the software version used to program it so if you update the controllers firmware to the latest you will need the latest version of Studio 5000 which moves you into the realm of having to fork out money that you otherwise may not have had to do. While I like the forward thinking, I'd take the "do it when necessary" approach I.E. don't upgrade controller firmware until you have to because of programming software.

PreLC · Apr 30, 2019

ou have to be careful with firmware upgrades especially when working with Logix Controllers. The firmware version is tied very tightly to the software version used to program it so if you update the controllers firmware to the latest you will need the latest version of Studio 5000 which moves you into the realm of having to fork out money that you otherwise may not have had to do. While I like the forward thinking, I'd take the "do it when necessary" approach I.E. don't upgrade controller firmware until you have to because of programming software.

I know what you are talking about, I merely wanted the firmware downloaded on my PC in case I need to upgrade, when I need to upgrade.

PreLC · Apr 30, 2019

BlueAltezza said:
Stock up on booze and/or drugs, then sacrifice all of your children and possibly a few organs if it's AB stuff.

You should create the catalog of equipment that you don't have and note current firmware. That should help you focus on where to go on the websites and what to download one category at a time. It will be time consuming, but if you're going to be there a long time I'm sure it will be a great investment of time.

Seems like it's a world of pain in front of me!

dmroeder · Apr 30, 2019

I think Rockwell has been slowly making ControlFlash more terrible than it already was in order to motivate users to use ControlFlash Plus. I haven't used it yet, but I've heard that it will automagically get firmware kits from the internets. I suspect at the expense of massive amounts of hard drive space.

JohnCalderwood · Apr 30, 2019

By all means, record the firmware of the critical items like processors and communication cards.

If you have spares, then check these also, and see if the firmware is compatible. I have had to update a few spares I/O and comms cards once I realised they would not match. The processors can be flashed to their correct firmware version when you have to use them.

Otherwise......leave well alone....

dmroeder · Apr 30, 2019

PreLC said:
a world of pain

to quote the great philosopher Walter Sobchak

PreLC · May 6, 2019

I actually started working with ControlFlash Plus and it does indeed do what it advertises. It's pretty neat how it manages the firmware.

I don't know how heavy the caching load would get on the PC in the future, but for now, it was one of the most convenient ways to find and load firmware!

Vlad Romanov · May 6, 2019

PreLC said:
Hello everyone!

I work in a big plant with a lot of controllers/HMI/equipment that I don't have a catalog of. I want to be future ready for when I need to replace a controller and need to upgrade it's firmware, and would like to have a firmware kit(Similar to the ones that come with the Logix Designer installation)

Please help!
-PreLC

I'm not sure what you're struggling with exactly, but you can go into the Rockwell Compatibility tool, find your exact product and download any firmware kit it's compatible with.

I haven't had any issues with ControlFlash and use it extensively on controllers at multiple sites. The same goes for ME Firmware Upgrade Wizard.

Let me know if you need any specific help or something isn't working; I'll gladly help you out.

Cheers,
Vlad

Steelheader · May 10, 2019

dmroeder said:
I think Rockwell has been slowly making ControlFlash more terrible than it already was in order to motivate users to use ControlFlash Plus. I haven't used it yet, but I've heard that it will automagically get firmware kits from the internets. I suspect at the expense of massive amounts of hard drive space.

No, it doesn't. ControlFLASH Plus only downloads missing firmware kits selected by the user.

jraef · May 10, 2019

Steelheader said:
No, it doesn't. ControlFLASH Plus only downloads missing firmware kits selected by the user.

Correct. It basically just automates what you would do with a mouse and an internet connection. The nice part is that it goes out on your network, finds and records all of your device firmware vs hardware versions, then compares it to the latest available for the devices in question, downloads only those that you select to update and puts them into the devices for you. The trick of course is to do this, you must be down, so you do it on a scheduled down time.

I guess you could do it during an unscheduled down time, but generally those involve a lot of people running around with their hair on fire, so it's not a good moment to introduce new tasks that might introduce more delays.

Steelheader · May 10, 2019

jraef said:
Correct. It basically just automates what you would do with a mouse and an internet connection. The nice part is that it goes out on your network, finds and records all of your device firmware vs hardware versions, then compares it to the latest available for the devices in question, downloads only those that you select to update and puts them into the devices for you. The trick of course is to do this, you must be down, so you do it on a scheduled down time.

I guess you could do it during an unscheduled down time, but generally those involve a lot of people running around with their hair on fire, so it's not a good moment to introduce new tasks that might introduce more delays.

Correct. We designed intentionally to improve the user experience and allow for improved productivity.

janner_10 · May 10, 2019

JohnCalderwood said:
The processors can be flashed to their correct firmware version when you have to use them.

Otherwise......leave well alone....

KISS. If you have a spares controller, the project will tell you the version of the controller, download the firmware when you need, squirt to the plc, then the project. Good to go.

How do I download the latest, most complete firmware kits from rockwell?

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