S602 or LEAN

Hi,

When we have a new project and we have profinet devices and a link to an upper level system like SCADA or MES, we allways use a PN CPU with an extra Lean card or a CPU with seperated ethernet ports to devide both networks, the realtime ethernet network profinet and the link with office network.

Today I can see that the compnay where I work for uses S602 routers an don't use lean cars. They even call the lean cards old fashion .

Isn't it odd to do it this way with an S602 in every cabinet... I mean, when having devices on profinet and the S602 connected, when you go online with your laptop or MES or SCADA, you go through the S602 on the profinet prot to the CPU... Isn't seperation of the office network and devices network much better ?

Kind regards,
Combo

Have you actually connected the office network directly to the CPU/Lean card?
At least some newer 1500-series CPUs (might be also older models, haven'st worked with those much) have up to three RJ45 ports, where two are in the same network, and the third one can be used to connect to other networks.

In systems I have worked with, SCADA is usually in the same network as the PLC. The SCADA computer is equipped with two network cards, where second card is used to connect to office network/MES. The SCADA handles the communication to the upper systems, without exposing the PLC directly to outer world.

New CPU's more ports

Hi,

I have checked and you are right, devices are on one port en scada on the orther port of the 1500 cpu.

But in the older production dept. we have an old 300 cpu that can be reached via S602 and the devices are connected on the same port, so profinet and office network are mixed... this looks odd to me...
I have also the experience that networks are seperated and that devices shouldn't be exposed to other network users of the company...

Kind regards,
Combo

Hietsu said:

Have you actually connected the office network directly to the CPU/Lean card?
At least some newer 1500-series CPUs (might be also older models, haven'st worked with those much) have up to three RJ45 ports, where two are in the same network, and the third one can be used to connect to other networks.

In systems I have worked with, SCADA is usually in the same network as the PLC. The SCADA computer is equipped with two network cards, where second card is used to connect to office network/MES. The SCADA handles the communication to the upper systems, without exposing the PLC directly to outer world.

Click to expand...

It depends how you break it down really.

I'm used to having PLC's in the same network and one port of the SCADA Servers (servers only) in that network to "speak" with the PLC's.

The Servers then have a different network card that connects on a different network where the rest of the SCADA system is connected.

I've used the S602's to go from the SCADA network to the corporate/Support one, but never with the automation devices themselves.