RSLinx Classic / Enterprise

Hi All,

Looking for some clarity regards the relatively recent rebranding of RSLinx Classic.

From what I can make out from the RA website and other sites, it appears that:-

RSLinx Classic and RSLinx Enterprise have been merged into one application. FT Linx.

RSLinx Classic Gateway has become FT Linx Gateway

Is my assumption correct?

If so, and Classic has become FT Linx, have the various classic guises been incorporated also (such as Lite, single -node, OEM)?

Several years ago Rockwell rebranded RSLinx Enterprise to FactoryTalk Linx. This has not had any impact on RSLinx Classic. It is still a stand-alone product, thought FT Linx is now doing some things for which RSLinx Classic used to be required.

But to my knowledge, nothing has changed with RSLinx Classic.

OG

Operaghost said:

Several years ago Rockwell rebranded RSLinx Enterprise to FactoryTalk Linx. This has not had any impact on RSLinx Classic. It is still a stand-alone product, thought FT Linx is now doing some things for which RSLinx Classic used to be required.

But to my knowledge, nothing has changed with RSLinx Classic.

OG

Click to expand...

Thanks Operaghost.

I did read that on a website, but then another site posted conflicting information.

On the RA site under the Software page, there is no mention of Linx Classic, just FT Linx and they offer a comparison excel sheet that basically shows that most of the functionality of Classic is now available with FT Linx.

However.. I have read somewhere that FT Linx does not contain the exclusive list of drivers that classic did Such as Serial and DH+ etc.

Very confused.

Yes. RSLinx Classic (originally just called RSLinx) was originally developed when the PLC-5 and SLC 500 were the height of Allen-Bradley technology. Back then we had a lot of dedicated hardware for talking to proprietary networks. You used RSLinx to create a driver based on the hardware you were plugging into your PC. You had an ISA style card, or maybe a PCI style, or even a PCMCIA style. And then of course USB. So there were several Ethernet options, several DH+ option, several DeviceNet and ControlNet options. They did of course make it work with older PLC-2 and PLC-3 systems (though those systems never had Windows software). And naturally they made it work with the new "Logix" controllers. But at its core, it was built for PLC-5/SLC 500. And they later had versions that supported DDE and OPC communications, but those capabilities required you to purchase an advanced version of the software.

When Rockwell came out with their FT View products, they introduced a whole new scheme for getting data into and out of these systems. And, they wanted to optimize it for use with their newer "Logix" style controller. They decided that they would use something similar to OPC. FactoryTalk LiveData was the end result.

RSLinx Classic supported OPC, but they were charging people for that. They needed something they could include in the View platform without devaluing their existing paid product. So they came out with RSLinx Enterprise, and the original RSLinx product was renamed RSLinx Classic. Enterprise was designed/optimized for the Logix controllers, but it could still talk with the older legacy systems as well. The Enterprise name implies that it is "more" than the newly renamed RSLinx Classic, but it was in reality less. Enterprise was simply a glorified OPC server for this LiveData for the View platform. You still needed Classic whenever you wanted to go online with a PLC from your laptop. Enterprise couldn't do any of that for us.

Fast forward to today, and RSLinx Enterprise is now FactoryTalk Linx, and it can now handle other tasks beyond being just an OPC server. Beyond just LiveData, I can now use it to go online with my Logix controller. I can use it to perform firmware updates. I can use it pass alarm data between my PLC and my HMI.

We live in a largely Ethernet world these days. We don't need dozens of different proprietary interfaces anymore. FT Linx can't handle some of the old oddball configurations we used to have to use to be able to talk to older PLCs on older networks with older hardware. If my plant still has a bunch of SLC 500 controllers, then I still need RSLinx Classic. But the need for RSLinx is getting less and less all the time. And I doubt FT Linx will ever be a complete replacement for RSLinx Classic.

I have probably over-simplified some of this, and may have mixed some things up here and there. But hopefully that helps to clarify why these two separate products exist.

Oh, and they probably don't mention RSLinx on the page you talked about because it is an old product and they want people to move away from it. If I go to their product page, there is no mention of RSLogix 5 or RSLogix 500. If I dig a little, I can find them though. And remember RSLinx Classic on its own is kind of useless. You use it with something else, like RSLogix 5/500/5000.

OG

Uncertain if it's relevant to your concerns. But RSLinx Enterprise (or whatever FT suffix they call it this week) is rebranded and somewhat crippled KepserverEX.

Operaghost said:

Yes. RSLinx Classic (originally just called RSLinx) was originally developed when the PLC-5 and SLC 500 were the height of Allen-Bradley technology. Back then we had a lot of dedicated hardware for talking to proprietary networks. You used RSLinx to create a driver base don the hardware you were plugging into your PC. So there were several Ethernet options, several DH+ option, several DeviceNet and ControlNet options. They did of course make it work with older PLC-2 and PLC-3 systems (though those systems never had Windows software). And naturally they made it work with the new "Logix" controllers. But at its core, it was built for PLC-5/SLC 500. And they later had versions that supported DDE and OPC communications, but those capabilities were an added cost.

When Rockwell came out with their FT View products, they introduced a whole new scheme for getting data into and out of these systems. And, they wanted to optimize it for use with their newer "Logix" style controller. They decided that they would use something similar to OPC. FactoryTalk LiveData was the end result.

RSLinx Classic supported OPC, but they were charging people for that. They needed something they could include in the View platform without devaluing their existing paid product. So they came out with RSLinx Enterprise, and the original RSLinx product was renamed RSLinx Classic. Enterprise was designed/optimized for the Logix controllers, but it could still talk with the older legacy systems as well.

The Enterprise name implies that it is "more" than the newly renamed RSLinx Classic, but it was in reality less. Enterprise was simply a glorified OPC server for this LiveData for the View platform. You still needed Classic whenever you wanted to go online with a PLC from your laptop. Enterprise couldn't do any of that for us.

Fast forward to today, and RSLinx Enterprise is now FactoryTalk Linx, and it can now handle other tasks beyond being just an OPC server. Beyond just LiveData, I can now use it to go online with my Logix controller. I can use it to perform firmware updates. I can use it to get alarm data.

We live in a largely Ethernet world these days. We don't need dozens of different proprietary interfaces anymore. FT Linx can't handle some of the oddball configurations we used to have to use to be able to talk on older networks with older hardware. If my plant still has a bunch of SLC 500 controllers, then I still need RSLinx Classic. But the need for RSLinx is getting less and less all the time. And I doubt FT Linx will ever be a complete replacement for RSLinx Classic.

I have probably over-simplified some of this, and may have mixed some things up here. But hopefully that helps to clarify why these two separate products exist.

Oh, and they probably don't mention RSLinx on the page you talked about because it is an old product and they want people to move away from it. If I go to their product page, there is no mention of RSLogix 5 or RSLogix 500. If I dig a little, I can find them though. And remember RSLinx Classic on its own is kind of useless. You use it with something else, like RSLogix 5/500/5000.

OG

Click to expand...

That's fantastic OG, An easily digestible summary thank you.

TheWaterboy said:

Uncertain if it's relevant to your concerns. But RSLinx Enterprise (or whatever FT suffix they call it this week) is rebranded and somewhat crippled KepserverEX.

Click to expand...

Thanks Waterboy.
Have to say I'm not familiar with KepserverEX, but how has the rebranded FT Linx (previously RSLinx Enterprise) been detrimental to it?
Most Rockwell licences aren't cheap, so is it an expanded range of functionality within FT Linx, for the same price that has subsequently killed it?

Kepware has the ability to add Plug-ins for data collection, SQL, Historians, Serial comms calculation tags etc. none of those will plug into FTLinx. The only place I have RSLinx enterprise is in PanelView's so if it has become necessary for other AB applications, I'd be pretty confident that AB intentionally locked out Kepware as option.

TheWaterboy said:

Kepware has the ability to add Plug-ins for data collection, SQL, Historians, Serial comms calculation tags etc. none of those will plug into FTLinx. The only place I have RSLinx enterprise is in PanelView's so if it has become necessary for other AB applications, I'd be pretty confident that AB intentionally locked out Kepware as option.

Click to expand...

Ah, ok. Makes sense.
Thanks for that.

Kepware has also been rebranded as TopServer and sold by Software Toolbox, but that one is a fully functional version like the original.