Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I/O Mirroring with MOXA's ioLogik E1200 Series

Thanks to firmware updates, MOXA ioLogik E1200 series devices are now capable of peer-to-peer I/O mirroring. This brief how-to guide will show you how to set up a pair of E1200 units so that you can mirror digital or analog I/O signals from one to the other over an Ethernet network. 






Step 1: The ioLogik devices will need to be configured for the network they will be used on. This process will vary greatly depending on the type of network, so please refer to the product manual to complete this process. The manual can be found at www.moxa.com/support or at www.logic-control.com .


In our example, the input/sending device is an E1210 (set to 192.168.100.15), and the output/receiving unit will be an E1242 (192.168.100.16)






Step 2: Update the device firmware to the newest available version, which is available at www.moxa.com/support or at www.logic-control.com .


In the browser based configurator, select System Management > Firmware Update. Browse for the location on your computer where you have the firmware update save, then click update and follow the on screen instructions.



Step 3: Now we will configure the peer-to-peer communication between the two units. Use the menu on the left to navigate to Peer-to-Peer Settings > Rule 1-10.
In the configurator for the input E1210 device (192.168.100.15), we need to select the input channel we want to use to receive the initial signal (DI 00), the IP address of the output E1242 device (192.168.100.15)  the port we want to use (default, 9020) and how often the signal can be transmitted. In this example, we will disable the interval time and check On Change, so any change in the signal will be transmitted regardless of interval. For analog signals, On Change includes a percent value to determine how big a change needs to be in order to be transmitted.
Don't forget to check Enable!
 Step 4: Now we will configure the output device (E1242; 192.168.100.16).
In the configurator for the E1242, we navigate to the peer-to-peer settings like we did on the E1210. We select to output channel on the E1242 that we want to output the digital signal (DO 00). Then, we enter the IP address for the input 1210 device (192.168.100.15), the port number (9020), and the input channel we set up already on the E1210 (DI 00). It is very important that the remote channel and remote port values match between two units. Note that the interval time and on change values are greyed out. This is because the output unit will transmit the signal exactly as it is received, regardless of the interval established in the input unit.
The input signal to the E1210 should now be transmitted over the network and be mirrored on the output channel of the E1242. That's all there is to it.
For help with similar or more advanced applications, feel free to contact the Logic office as needed.
Written by Spencer Brown

Monday, August 13, 2012

Manuals and Datasheets? Logic has them.

Delving around to find the manual for that certain piece of hardware or software can be quite time consuming. Wouldn't it be nice if they were all hosted at one place? We are now hosting manuals and datasheets on our public website, www.logic-control.com. Visit the products page and choose a vendor. Each vendor will have section to browse so you can find what you need. Manuals and datasheets are getting added all the time so if we don't have it, we will soon.


Products page, choose a vendor, and select a manual