I just can't connect to my 1769 PLC

I've done this before and I've been at it for almost 2 hours trying to connect to this damn 1769-L24ER PLC using RSlinx through a Windows 7 VMware. I don't have a serial cable so I have been trying to go through ethernet.

I downloaded Wireshark to make sure I was getting the correct IP address, but it just isn't popping up in RSlinx.

I've looked at countless forums and read the manuals I just.can't.get it.

Any help is appreciated, I'll be around to give more information on my problem.

Welcome to the PLCTalk forum community !

I sympathize with the situation; I use VMWare extensively and one of the tricky parts is always getting networking working correctly.

Exposition: the 1769-L24ER controllers have a USB port and an Ethernet port, but no scrolling display that will show the IP address.

Are you using VMWare Workstation, or VMWare Player ?

Are you connecting through a built-in Ethernet port or an expansion (USB, usually) NIC Adapter ?

Have you set up your VMWare guest adapter as Bridged, or NAT ?

When I'm troubleshooting PLC connectivity, I always work out PING and HTTP before I even start working with RSLinx.

Ken Roach said:

Exposition: the 1769-L24ER controllers have a USB port and an Ethernet port, but no scrolling display that will show the IP address.

Click to expand...

USB has been a lot easier for myself... its just a A to B USB cable nothing special so you may have one and worth a look?

Thank you Ken,

I'm using VMware workstation 14 player. I'm connected with Ethernet through a basic network switch since I am also hooked up to a HMI. I was able to PING what I believe is the IP address, 168.192.1.10. But no devices show up in RSlinx.

I'm not sure about the VMWare adapter setting.

I can't find a USB cable in the office to use, I think my co-worker took it to a job site....

Do you have a local walmart/frys/staples or any computer store close by? its just a printer cable

If you can PING the controller, let's verify some things about that.

First, open up a CMD window and issue a PING command to 192.168.1.10.

Next, type "ARP -A". That will give you a list of all the IP addresses and MAC hardware addresses on your network(s).

Look at the MAC address associated with 192.168.1.10. It should match the MAC address printed on a label on the CompactLogix.

You can also use HTTP to verify that you're connected to the correct thing. Type the IP address into any Web browser and the embedded web page for the controller should appear.

The EtherNet/IP driver in RSLinx Classic relies on a broadcast packet to discover controllers. Firewall settings, bridging settings, dual-homing (WiFi and wired at the same time) and VPN software can all interfere with that.

But the "Ethernet Devices" driver in RSLinx requires you to enter the IP address of each target station, which allows RSLinx to connect directly to that device and uses no broadcast packets. Give that a try.

Ya, I was just trying to avoid buying one for now. I also am probably going to have to figure out how to do this using Ethernet at some point anyways

I am able to ping the IP address, but I'm not seeing the correct MAC address. When I used WireShark I could see it detecting the correct MAC

My guess is that you have an IP address conflict. Narrow down your network so that only the PC and the controller are on it.

This morning I just got a nice new 3-port USB/Ethernet dongle.

I set it up for a static IP address under my Windows 10 host, then configured my VMWare Workstation (using the Virtual Network Editor) to bridge VMNet0 to that specific hardware adapter.

Then I set up the VMWare Guest OS (Windows 7 32-bit) for another static IP address on the same subnet, and was able to go online with my controllers.

One of the challenges of VMWare Player is that it doesn't come with the Virtual Network Editor and defaults to "automatic" selection of the VMNet0 bridged network adapter. Because I use a few different NICs, I have to be able to select which one to bridge, and that's OK because I have VMWare Workstation.

On some other systems, I've copied over the Virtual Network Editor (you can search the Internet for directions) so that VMWare Player Professional was able to be set up the same way.

I've been trying to make sure there is no other internet connection on my computer, but man, I just can not get this damn thing to work. I've followed every possible instruction I can find on the internet and still get NOTHING. I can't even get BOOTp to recognize the device.

I had connected to this PLC last week with no problems at all.

Don't get frustrated. Be methodical.

Why do you think BOOTP is applicable ? Have you been using the BOOTP/DHCP Server to provide an IP address to the device, or do you think it already has a static IP address, since you connected to it last week without problems ?

As I posted, I always start with PING and HTTP before troubleshooting anything else. If you are concerned about a duplicate IP, just do the simplest test: PING with the CompactLogix physically connected, then again with the CompactLogix physically disconnected.

Get PING working first, then HTTP (or TCPing on Port 44818), and then start trying to figure out RSLinx Classic.

Ken Roach said:

If you can PING the controller, let's verify some things about that.

First, open up a CMD window and issue a PING command to 192.168.1.10.

Next, type "ARP -A". That will give you a list of all the IP addresses and MAC hardware addresses on your network(s).

Look at the MAC address associated with 192.168.1.10. It should match the MAC address printed on a label on the CompactLogix.

Click to expand...

This is enormously important. I had this exact issue come up once, the IP address in the ARP table didn't match the MAC address of the controller. If you find that the IP address doesn't match the MAC address, then you'll need to clear the ARP table otherwise you will never, ever get it to work. To clear the ARP table, follow these directions.

Really though, USB cable is definitely the way to go. Fast, easy, no addressing to deal with...it's truly a nice way to go about things. IP address is great in that you don't have to be near the controller though, I get that.