PC for Automation --> No Ethernet Port???

[Esieli]

Has anyone else used a PC for controls work that didn't come with an Ethernet port?

I'm looking at the Lenovo P1 Gen 2 and it only comes with an adapter. Has anyone had trouble with these?
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/P1-Gen-2/p/22WS2WPP102






Thank you in advance.

 

[theColonel26]

yup used one for year. No Issues. It was a Microsoft Surface Book Gen 1.

I'd link a Lenovo ThinkPad P53

I also like to run several USB to Ethernet Adapters at the same time, makes working in the field easier sometimes.

 

[GaryS]

Used several for years HP ACER
no problems except the hard drives are to small
I use a USB to serial adaptor and a USB to ethernet both work very well
I also use a VM machine on the laptop with the USB adaptors
The one thins with some software you need to assign the USB serial port to Com 1 or Com 2 to get it work

 

[Ken Roach]

Invest in decent quality USB/Ethernet adapters and make sure you're familiar with your OS (and VM) NIC configuration tools.

I got a couple that serve both as USB 3.0 hubs and Gigabit Ethernet NICs and like them a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Gigabit-Ethernet-Converter-Support/dp/B014ZOJX7W/

Handy for USB dongles as well as removable storage.

 

[drbitboy]

Invest in decent quality USB/Ethernet adapters and make sure you're familiar with your OS (and VM) NIC configuration tools.

I got a couple that serve both as USB 3.0 hubs and Gigabit Ethernet NICs and like them a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Gigabit-Ethernet-Converter-Support/dp/B014ZOJX7W/

Handy for USB dongles as well as removable storage.

Oof da, that is sweet. Where was this thread when I got my Ethernet-only dongle?


I actually prefer the dongle now: I can tell my VM manager (Linux/VirtualBox) to give the USB device exclusively to the guest, so there is not even any bridging because the Win10 VM guest has the RJ45 all to itself. I was unable to connect to a Siemens S7-1200 when bridging the VM guest network onto the laptop host's wifi network connection, even though I could sniff the level 2 broadcast packets going out and the S7's packets coming back. But once I put the dongle in place I could finally connect to the S7 from the VM guest.

 

[Esieli]

Oof da, that is sweet. Where was this thread when I got my Ethernet-only dongle?


I actually prefer the dongle now: I can tell my VM manager (Linux/VirtualBox) to give the USB device exclusively to the guest, so there is not even any bridging because the Win10 VM guest has the RJ45 all to itself. I was unable to connect to a Siemens S7-1200 when bridging the VM guest network onto the laptop host's wifi network connection, even though I could sniff the level 2 broadcast packets going out and the S7's packets coming back. But once I put the dongle in place I could finally connect to the S7 from the VM guest.

That's a great point.

 

[Esieli]

Thanks everyone for the info. My laptop is on the way.

 

[Zimmer]

Slightly OT, but I find this very handy, if you are working in an office with wireless or you use one of those mifi or phone hotspots.
I usually use it on Siemens Logo's, if there is no chair near the equipment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Su...1&keywords=tp+link+nano&qid=1588151131&sr=8-6

They are tiny, I have one stuck on to a phone power bank, with a short ethernet cable, gives you a wireless connection.

 

[Esieli]

Slightly OT, but I find this very handy, if you are working in an office with wireless or you use one of those mifi or phone hotspots.
I usually use it on Siemens Logo's, if there is no chair near the equipment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Su...1&keywords=tp+link+nano&qid=1588151131&sr=8-6

They are tiny, I have one stuck on to a phone power bank, with a short ethernet cable, gives you a wireless connection.

That's awesome. I will give it a try.

 

[77nomad]

I use a USBc to Ethernet adapter on my Dell. I can't remember the brand name off hand but I've had weird issues just recently. When setting the IP using BootP I was getting IP conflict issues. I could ping the IP I set. But RSLinx couldn't see it. I tried everything I could think of. Rebooting, re-downloaded BootP even plugged directly into the PLC. I wound up downloading using a USB cable. The truly odd thing was I could then go online using the Ethernet adapter. I used it all week last week debugging and actually forgot about the issue.

Yesterday the issue came back while downloading to a different PLC. I went through the same issues all over again. This time I grabbed a different adapter from my desk and it worked fine.

Just an observation, these adapters are only 6mo old.